This course is designed to help students understand development in political behaviour literature and prepare them for conducting independent research. In this course we consider the following topics: turnout, voting, economic voting, and public opinion on various issues. The course will consider both theoretical and empirical work that will be drawn from studies of mass political behavior in a variety of different political contexts.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Identify the concepts that influence the dynamics of political behaviour;
- Understand the sources of these concepts and their historical development;
- Use these concepts in order to critically research, analyse, and evaluate major issues in political behaviour; and
- Develop skills for research, argument, and analysis in order to to effectively communicate their own perspectives on key concepts and issues in political behaviour.
Indicative Assessment
- Class Participation (10) [LO 1,2,3,4]
- Seminar leadership (present readings and facilitate discussions) (10) [LO 1,4]
- Two Response Papers (2000 words each; 15% each) (30) [LO 2,3,4]
- Research Paper (5000 words) (50) [LO 1,2,3,4]
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Workload
130 hours of total student learning time made up from:a) 24 hours of seminars over 12 weeks;
and b) 106 hours of independent student research, reading and writing.
Inherent Requirements
Not applicable
Prescribed Texts
None
Preliminary Reading
Downs, A. (1957). An Economic Theory of Democracy.Hellwig, T. and McAllister, I. (2016). Does the economy matter? Economic perceptions
and the vote in Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science, 51(2):236—254.
Sheppard, J. (2015). Online petitions in Australia: Information, opportunity and gender. Australian Journal of Political Science, 50(3):480—495.
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 14
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
First Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2501 | 23 Feb 2026 | 02 Mar 2026 | 31 Mar 2026 | 29 May 2026 | In Person | N/A |