What are the independent and dependent vari-ables?

You are to write a short paper that critically discusses a piece of political science research (from the list below). In your paper yous should address the following:

What is the theory that the article presents? What are the independent and dependent vari-ables? What causal mechanism links the dependent variable to the main independent vari-able(s)? Is that causal story credible(credibility)? Why or why not?

How does the researchers operationalize that theory into a testable hypothesis? How are the variables measured? Are those measures valid and reliable? Why or why not?

What type of research design do the researchers utilize? Is this design appropriate? Why or why not? Do the researchers balance internal and external validity appropriately? Why or why not?

How do the researchers control for confounding variables and self-selection e ects? Are there confounding variables that the researchers neglect to address? Is reverse causation a problem? If so, how do the researchers address it?

What are the articles main findings? Do the researchers conclusions follow from their em-pirical tests? Why or why not?

Article
Fish, Steven M. 2002. Islam and Authoritarianism.” World Politics 55(1): 4-37.

Requirements and Expectations

Your paper should be 3 pages in length (double-spaced with one-inch margins and standard sized font, such as 12-point Times New Roman). It should be clearly written and well-structured (i.e., with an introduction, body, and conclusion). Please make it obvious which article you are discussing in your paper. You need not (and should not) reference any sources beyond the article itself.

All the yellowed terms can be find in the note i uploaded to assist you to write an accurate paper. An easy way to do it is to open all the PPTs and use Ctrl+F to search the key terms.