Social and Political Data Science: Introduction

Karl Ho

School of Economic, Political and Policy Sciences

University of Texas at Dallas

How to write conference proposal

Questions to ask

  • Why going to a conference?

  • Why you want to present a paper?

  • What do you want to acheive?

Speaker bio.

Research proposal components

  • Topic/title

  • Research Statement

  • Literature

  • Data and Method

  • References

Research proposal components

1. Topic/title:


An area or a topic you will develop expertise.  You may choose a Taiwan political or policy topic (e.g. Cross-Strait relations, public health, political parties, high technology).  

Research proposal components

2. Research Statement

A thesis of what you are most interested in and/or what you want to argue for.  You may first start by asking an interesting question.

For instance,

What is Taiwanese identity?  What are the consequences of the New Southbound policy?  What are the contributing factors of Taiwan's success in AI industry?  

Writing the Proposal/Abstract

  • Define the problem you are addressing clearly and concisely: the research statement

  • Include key words or phrases from the CFP

Questions to ask

  • Captivate readers with your research description in terms of the problem by:

    • Providing interesting or controversial perspectives on the topic.

    • Explaining what the presentation will cover in regard to the topic and problem presented.

    • Matching your research to the conference theme/CFP’s topics

More to ask

  • Title: Should be descriptive and intriguing
  • Word count: After you have your ideas down, stay within the word count on the CFP (usually between 100-500 words).
  • Meet the deadline.

How to start

Ask:

  • What topic/question is most interesting to you?
  • Anyone has done it before?
  • What data will look like?  
    • - News
    • - Documents
    • - Opinion surveys
    • - Social media
    • - Websites
    • - Qualitative data
  • How to collect data?

Applying for conference presentation

  • Providing interesting or controversial perspectives on your topic.

  • Explaining what your presentation will cover in regard to the topic and problem presented.

  • Matching your research to the conference theme/CFP's topics, and making sure the scope of your presentation matches the time allowed for presentations.

Strategy

  • Choice of panel/session

    • How competitive it is?  

    • Will your proposal stand out?

    • Backup/second choice

  • Potential of proposal/paper to become publication