Since Political Science is essentially a study of human behavior, observations in controlled environments are usually not available and impossible to reproduce or duplicate. Because of this Political Scientists seek patterns in the reasons and outcomes for political events so that generalizations and theories can be made. Again, study is still difficult since humans make conscious choices unlike other subjects in science, such as organisms, or even inanimate objects as in physics. Despite the complexities, consensus has been reached on various political topics with the help of proper study.

The advent of political science as a university discipline was marked by the creation of university departments and chairs with the title of political science arising in the late 19th century. In fact, the designation "political scientist" is typically reserved for those with a doctorate in the field. Integrating political studies of the past into a unified discipline is ongoing, and the history of political science has provided a rich field for the growth of both normative and positive political science, with each part of the discipline sharing some historical predecessors. The American Political Science Association was founded in 1903 and the American Political Science Review was founded in 1906 in an effort to distinguish the study of politics from economics and other social phenomena.

In the 1950s and the 1960s, a behavioural revolution stressing the systematic and rigorously scientific study of individual and group behaviour swept the discipline. At the same time that political science moved toward greater depth of analysis, it also moved toward a closer working relationship with other disciplines, especially sociology, economics, history, anthropology, psychology, public administration and statistics.^{[citation needed]} Increasingly, students of political behaviour have used the scientific method to create an intellectual discipline based on the postulating of hypotheses followed by empirical verification and the inference of political trends, and of generalizations that explain individual and group political actions. Over the past generation, the discipline placed an increasing emphasis on relevance, or the use of new approaches and methodologies to solve political and social problems.

Political science has, broadly, five subfields: international relations, political theory, public policy and public administration, national politics, and comparative politics. Separate degree granting programs in international relations and public policy are not uncommon at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Master's level programs in public administration are common.

The national honour society for college and university students of government and politics in the United States is Pi Sigma Alpha.

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References

1. ^ Schools offering the B.S. or M.S. in political science include: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Illinois Institute of Technology, University of Idaho, Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and others.
2. ^ See the example of New York University in particular. The term politics is used at:
   • University of California, Santa Cruz, Ursinus College, Brandeis University, Cornell College, Occidental College, New York University, Monash University, Mount Holyoke College, Princeton University, Hendrix College, Lake Forest College, and Washington and Lee University
   The term government is used by:
   • Smith College, Colby College, Dartmouth College, Bowdoin College, Harvard University, Cornell University, Georgetown University, the University of Texas at Austin, the College of William and Mary, the University of Sydney, the University of Ulster, the University of Essex, Victoria University of Wellington (which has both a School of Government and a separate Political Science and International Relations Programme) and the London School of Economics and Political Science to describe the field.
   The term politics and government is used by the University of Puget Sound.

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Further reading

• American Political Science Review - The Evolution of Political Science. APSR Centennial Volume - Special Issue - November 2006
• Klingemann, Hans-Dieter (ed.): The State of Political Science in Western Europe. Opladen: Barbara Budrich Publishers 2007, ISBN 978-3-86649-045-3
• Schram, Sanford F. and Brian Caterino (eds.) Making Political Science Matter: Debating Knowledge, Research, and Method. New York and London: New York University Press, 2006.
• Robert E. Goodin, Hans-Dieter Klingemann (Hrsg.): A New Handbook of Political Science. Oxford / New York u.a.: Oxford University Press 1996, ISBN 0-19-829471-9 (englisch)
• Michael Roskin, Robert L. Cord, James A. Medeiros, and Walter S. Jones, 2007, Political Science: An Introduction (New York: Prentice Hall). ISBN 0-13-24

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See also

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External links

• International Association for Political Science Students
• American Political Science Association
• European Consortium for Political Research
• International Political Science Association
• Political Studies Association of the UK
• PROL: Political Science Research Online (prepublished research)
• Truman State University Political Science Research Design Handbook
• A New Nation Votes: American Elections Returns 1787-1825

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