{"id":11224,"date":"2012-02-16T11:11:28","date_gmt":"2012-02-16T15:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/umweagleeye.wpengine.com\/?p=11224"},"modified":"2012-02-16T11:11:28","modified_gmt":"2012-02-16T15:11:28","slug":"political-science-students-collaborate-on-book-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/2012\/02\/16\/political-science-students-collaborate-on-book-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Political Science Students Collaborate on Book Project"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

(From left) Ian Huff, Assistant Professor of Political Science Chad Murphy, Chris Blough and Eric Stortz in Monroe Hall<\/p><\/div>\n

As a political science and pre-law philosophy double major, Michael Behrens figured he would spend much of his senior year writing extensive research papers. He never expected to collaborate with his professor on writing a book.<\/p>\n

Behrens and three fellow seniors \u2014 Chris Blough, Ian Huff and Eric Stortz \u2014 have teamed up with Assistant Professor of Political Science Chad Murphy to research and write chapters for a book on presidential rhetoric.<\/p>\n

The project is one of more than dozen research initiatives in the university\u2019s innovative undergraduate research program. This semester\u2019s undergraduate projects delve into such issues as women in Islam; statistical consulting for after-school programs; stress, guilt and eating; the effects of Atrazine in zebra fish; and the effects of exercise and estrogen on mouse hearts.<\/p>\n

Still Behrens isn\u2019t surprised to be part of such a challenging project at UMW.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just the environment that the school\u2019s attitude cultivates,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you have a professor who has a common interest, there\u2019s no harm in asking if there is a project you can work on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy had no qualms about teaming with his students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe undergraduates here are really strong, they can pull off something like this,\u201d said Murphy, who has published articles on the effects of political rhetoric and the media in numerous peer-reviewed journals. \u201cThis is the chance to do professional-quality research as an undergraduate.\u00a0 When you go to the bigger state schools, you don\u2019t get that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea for the book project grew from a thesis written by former student Anne Morris, who graduated in 2011. Her year-long research for a paper about presidential rhetoric addressed some compelling issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe answers the question in a really creative, interesting way,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI think it has such promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy invited all students from his upper-level political science research methods class last semester to participate in the project. He assigned the students chapters based on the subjects he believed would be most compatible with their interests.<\/p>\n

Others in the class tackled a myriad of other political issues that range from social media\u2019s effect on voter turnout to how scandals impact of politicians\u2019 prospects for re-election, with many continuing their projects as independent studies this semester.<\/p>\n

One of the students who is continuing her thesis, junior political science and education major Erin Hill, agreed. She said that at other schools, undergraduates typically gather statistics and do the grunt work of the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t really exploring the question,\u201d she said. \u201cHere, you\u2019re doing the complete thing all by yourself. If I went to grad school, I would know how to fully explore a question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blough, who has applied to several graduate schools to study urban planning, feels more prepared by working on the research for the book.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really have a lot of opportunities to do one-on-one research here,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have a lot of guidance. It really helps you if you\u2019re applying to grad school. It shows that you have the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stortz also believes his research and writing project will give him credibility after graduation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to say \u2018I\u2019m a good writer;\u2019 it\u2019s another to say, \u2018I\u2019m published,\u2019\u201d Stortz said.<\/p>\n

But Stortz is most impressed with the amount of faith Murphy has placed in his group of students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this project shows that Professor Murphy has a lot of faith in Mary Washington students in general,\u201d he said. \u201cThe opportunities are out there if you put the effort in.\u201d<\/p>\n

# # #<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Anne Elder<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"[caption id=\"attachment_11225\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\" caption=\"(From left) Ian Huff, Assistant Professor of Political Science Chad Murphy, Chris Blough and Eric Stortz in Monroe Hall\"]\"\"<\/a>[\/caption]\n

As a political science and pre-law philosophy double major, Michael Behrens figured he would spend much of his senior year writing extensive research papers. He never expected to collaborate with his professor on writing a book.<\/p>\n

Behrens and three fellow seniors \u2014 Chris Blough, Ian Huff and Eric Stortz \u2014 have teamed up with Assistant Professor of Political Science Chad Murphy to research and write chapters for a book on presidential rhetoric.<\/p>\n

The project is one of more than dozen research initiatives in the university\u2019s innovative undergraduate research program. This semester\u2019s undergraduate projects delve into such issues as women in Islam; statistical consulting for after-school programs; stress, guilt and eating; the effects of Atrazine in zebra fish; and the effects of exercise and estrogen on mouse hearts.<\/p>\n

Still Behrens isn\u2019t surprised to be part of such a challenging project at UMW.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s just the environment that the school\u2019s attitude cultivates,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you have a professor who has a common interest, there\u2019s no harm in asking if there is a project you can work on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy had no qualms about teaming with his students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe undergraduates here are really strong, they can pull off something like this,\u201d said Murphy, who has published articles on the effects of political rhetoric and the media in numerous peer-reviewed journals. \u201cThis is the chance to do professional-quality research as an undergraduate.\u00a0 When you go to the bigger state schools, you don\u2019t get that.\u201d<\/p>\n

The idea for the book project grew from a thesis written by former student Anne Morris, who graduated in 2011. Her year-long research for a paper about presidential rhetoric addressed some compelling issues.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe answers the question in a really creative, interesting way,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI think it has such promise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy invited all students from his upper-level political science research methods class last semester to participate in the project. He assigned the students chapters based on the subjects he believed would be most compatible with their interests.<\/p>\n

Others in the class tackled a myriad of other political issues that range from social media\u2019s effect on voter turnout to how scandals impact of politicians\u2019 prospects for re-election, with many continuing their projects as independent studies this semester.<\/p>\n

One of the students who is continuing her thesis, junior political science and education major Erin Hill, agreed. She said that at other schools, undergraduates typically gather statistics and do the grunt work of the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou aren\u2019t really exploring the question,\u201d she said. \u201cHere, you\u2019re doing the complete thing all by yourself. If I went to grad school, I would know how to fully explore a question.\u201d<\/p>\n

Blough, who has applied to several graduate schools to study urban planning, feels more prepared by working on the research for the book.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou really have a lot of opportunities to do one-on-one research here,\u201d he said. \u201cYou have a lot of guidance. It really helps you if you\u2019re applying to grad school. It shows that you have the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stortz also believes his research and writing project will give him credibility after graduation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one thing to say \u2018I\u2019m a good writer;\u2019 it\u2019s another to say, \u2018I\u2019m published,\u2019\u201d Stortz said.<\/p>\n

But Stortz is most impressed with the amount of faith Murphy has placed in his group of students.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think this project shows that Professor Murphy has a lot of faith in Mary Washington students in general,\u201d he said. \u201cThe opportunities are out there if you put the effort in.\u201d<\/p>\n

# # #<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Anne Elder<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5991,"featured_media":11225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[116],"tags":[266,730,915],"class_list":{"0":"post-11224","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-whats-new-umw","8":"tag-cmurphy3","9":"tag-political-science","10":"tag-undergraduate-research","11":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5991"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11224\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webarchive.umw.edu\/eagleeye\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}