Methods Can be Murder: A Metaphorical Framework for Teaching Research Design

Abstract

This article offers two novel tools for teaching political science methodology and research design. The first is a comprehensive framework for helping students conceptualize a research project in political science. The second is a reformulation of the dominant conceptualization of process-tracing tests. Building on Collier’s use of Sherlock Holmes stories to teach process tracing tracing and Kollars and Rosen’s employment of murder mystery party games in research methods courses, both the comprehensive framework and the reconceptualization of process-tracing are framed around the metaphor of a murder investigation and trial, specifically on the model of the plot to an episode of Law and Order. By drawing on pulp depictions of criminal procedure, students conceptualize research projects as analogous to a murder investigation, from the discovery of a body all the way through securing a conviction at trial. This framework draws upon innovative practices of extended simulations and pedagogical scaffolding, with the goal of fostering a creative and collaborative environment for developing undergraduate research projects and gaining mastery over methodological concepts.