Political Scientists

What Does a Political Scientists Do?

Study the origin, development, and operation of political systems. May study topics, such as public opinion, political decisionmaking, and ideology. May analyze the structure and operation of governments, as well as various political entities. May conduct public opinion surveys, analyze election results, or analyze public documents.

Day-to-Day Responsibilities

• 1Teach political science.
• 2Maintain current knowledge of government policy decisions.
• 3Develop and test theories, using information from interviews, newspapers, periodicals, case law, historical papers, polls, or statistical sources.
• 4Disseminate research results through academic publications, written reports, or public presentations.
• 5Advise political science students.
• 6Collect, analyze, and interpret data, such as election results and public opinion surveys, reporting on findings, recommendations, and conclusions.
• 7Interpret and analyze policies, public issues, legislation, or the operations of governments, businesses, and organizations.
• 8Identify issues for research and analysis.

Required Skills

• Reading Comprehension
• Active Listening
• Speaking
• Active Learning
• Critical Thinking
• Writing
• Learning Strategies
• Adobe Acrobat
• Bare Bones Software BBEdit
• CQ Press Political Reference Suite
• Data visualization software
• DataMystic TextPipe Pro
• EBSCO Publishing Academic Search Premier
• EBSCO Publishing Political Science Complete
• Email software
• Europa World Plus
• FedStats

Political Scientists Salary