POLS 2000 Lecture 1: 1
5 May 2018
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For the research design assignment, the first question formulated as a potential research
topic is as follows: To what extent has the ongoing War on Terrorism affected American privacy
rights? We believe that this research question would be successful, based on the five key
characteristics established by Lisa Baglione. This question serves as important most obviously
because the subject matter is already being heavily investigated by political scientists, but also
because foundational American ideals are currently at risk, depending on the magnitude of the
effects of this war. This potential research question also meets the standard of being direct,
because we are only concerned with proving the correlation, or perhaps even the causation,
between the war on terrorism and a decrease of democratic surveillance and privacy practices.
Additionally, this question is short, because we are not investigating whether or not the war on
terrorism has been deemed successful in eradicating acts of terror. Rather, we are determining
the extent to which the war’s tactics have directly affected a specific policy area. The last of the
characteristics that can be applied to this question is that the research is doable. Published data
and legislation on this subject already exist, so the resources are available. Plus, the study raises
no ethical concerns. In order to accurately answer the question, there are several variables to be
considered.
Analyzing radical changes in legislation surrounding surveillance and security will
provide the most prominent evidence of the war on terrorism affecting democracy. Additionally,
going directly to the citizens who depend America’s promise of democracy through protections
such as the fourth amendment would aid the research. By surveying citizens’ attitudes towards
changes throughout this time, we would get an indication of how legislation is affecting
everyday life for Americans. Another key variable for answering the question is examining
allegations of government encroachments on constitutional rights caused by the war on
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Document Summary
We believe that this research question would be successful, based on the five key characteristics established by lisa baglione. This question serves as important most obviously because the subject matter is already being heavily investigated by political scientists, but also because foundational american ideals are currently at risk, depending on the magnitude of the effects of this war. This potential research question also meets the standard of being direct, because we are only concerned with proving the correlation, or perhaps even the causation, between the war on terrorism and a decrease of democratic surveillance and privacy practices. Additionally, this question is short, because we are not investigating whether or not the war on terrorism has been deemed successful in eradicating acts of terror. Rather, we are determining the extent to which the war"s tactics have directly affected a specific policy area. The last of the characteristics that can be applied to this question is that the research is doable.
