Graduate School Bulletin

Facilities of the Department of Political Science

The department has extensive research facilities equal to any in the country, most located on the same floor with faculty and student offices. Students routinely use the conveniently located computer facilities for writing and analysis as part of their professional training. The Social and Behavioral Sciences Data Laboratory on our floor provides access to state-of-the-art personal computers tied to a local computer network and providing connections to all computers on campus. The Stony Brook Instructional Networked Computer site one floor below the department provides additional personal computers for classroom and research work. In addition, our data lab maintains a library of reference materials, holds classes on specific software packages, provides access to the extensive data archives available through the Inter-University Consortium for Political and Social Resources, and employs computer consultants to help with student research projects. All of the resources of the data lab are available to graduate students.

The laboratories for political psychology research are designed for the experimental study of political behavior. One set of labs contains computerized equipment to monitor, control, record, and analyze multiple responses from subjects. Much of the recent work focuses on information processing and decision-making—how citizens interpret, use, and recall political information. The other set of labs contains a large survey and experiment room equipped with computerized data collection stations . Students may also take advantage of our modern, fully equipped Survey Center for public opinion studies using computer-assisted, telephone interviewing.