The Apathetic Majority

Abstract

In Nationalist China, political science research projects are done in the library. Few professors are familiar with survey research field work, so popular in the West. Yet many political science students are eager to become acquainted with the new methods. In 1968, I was asked to teach a graduate seminar in "Western Methods of Political Science Research," a course that had never been offered before at National Taiwan University. In view of the interests of the students, it seemed logical not merely to teach general principles of survey design and statistics but actually to do a research project. After some discussion, the class decided to investigate student political participation, since the most accessible subjects for investigation were the young men and women at the University.