Chapter 4 Flashcards
Concepts
Abstract ideas that represent qualities in the world
Parsimonious
Theory should be as simple as possible
Theory building research
Also referred to as inductive research or exploratory research, seeks to obtain real-world observations sufficient to develop a simple (parsimonious), generalizable (general), and testable (falsifiable) explanation of the variation of interest
Theory testing research
Also referred to as deductive research, is research that deliberately sets out to test the hypotheses established by theory.
Casual Mechanism
A plausible explanation of why the concepts are related.
Typology
Cases are categorized based on their characteristics
Continuum
Order a concept’s values along a dimension, ranging from low to high or from less to more
Action (or advocacy) research
A reflective and iterative process of research focused on solving specific “real world” problems; typically practised by individuals who are deeply committed to an issue, often with a goal of marshalling evidence to heighten public debate and discussion of the issue and to influence the policy process. (p. 53)
Applied Research
A term that is often used in contrast to pure research or basic research to indicate that the research addresses a topic or problem in the real world. (p. 51)
Basic Research
Research conducted to increase understanding of the world, whether or not the results of the research have immediate or obvious applications; often used in contrast to applied research. (p. 51)
Bivariate
Involving two variables
Causality
The relationship between two events, in which one is a consequence of the other (i.e., a cause-and-effect relationship). (p. 55)
Control Variable
A variable that is kept constant
Correlation
The measurement or observation of a common variation among multiple concepts or measures; can exist without a causal relation. (p. 55)
Deductive reasoning
A type of reasoning that shows or attempts to show that a conclusion necessarily flows from a set of premises; in political science, often used in rational choice analysis. (p. 57)
Ecological fallacy
The assumption that group-level patterns imply individual-level patterns. (p. 64)
Hypothesis-testing
A method used in statistics to test the validity of a statement by comparing expected results with empirical or observed results. (p. 57)
Ideal type
Concept formulation based on a notion of its “true form” rather than in relation to how it operates in the real world. (p. 55)
Inductive reasoning:
A type of reasoning that bases conclusions on the presence of empirical evidence. (p. 57)
Intervening variable:
A situation in which a third variable comes between an independent and dependent variable; the independent variable influences the intervening variable, which in turn influences the dependent variable. (p. 64)
Multivariate
Involving three or more variables. (p. 62)
Negative correlation
A relationship between two variables in which increases in one are associated with decreases in the other. (p. 55)
Positive correlation
A relationship between two variables in which an increase in one is associated with an increase in the other. (p. 55)
Prior condition
The nature or status of a situation before the inclusion of an independent effect. (p. 62)
Proposition
A statement expressing the truth or falseness of a situation. (p. 53)
Reinforcing variable
A variable that strengthens or magnifies the relationship between the two other variables. (p. 65)
Spurious
The relationship between the independent and dependent variables that, while initially thought to be causal, is non-causal and is a function of the presence of a third variable, which causes the variation in both variables. (p. 63)
Typology
The classification of things on the basis of their characteristics. (p. 55)
hypothesis
a prediction that allows us to test our theory through real-world observations that we use to gather empirical evidence
Theory-oriented research
also referred to as basic research, aims to broaden our understanding of political life
causal mechanism
which is a plausible explanation of why the concepts are related
typology
in which cases are categorized based on their characteristics
conceptual definition
which is an explicit description of the concept in question
multidimensional concept
one in which more than one factor, or dimension, exists within a concept
Conceptualization
the process of choosing the conceptual definition for a study
operational definition
which is a concrete, measurable version of the concept
operationalization
the process of moving from abstract concepts (conceptual definitions) to concrete measures (operational definitions)
inductive reasoning
using empirical evidence to draw a conclusion—to help form the definition of a concept
measure
is a tool by which we obtain observable evidence about our concept of interest
themes
which are recurring patterns of importance to the topic found in the data.
variable
which is a more concrete representation of the concept that has within it variations
indicator
which is the means by which we assign each individual case to the different values of the variable
index
a single measure of the concept or variable in question
correlation
a state in which two entities change in conjunction with the other
independent variable
ariable believed to be causing the change is known as
dependent variable
gets changed by independent
positive correlation
occurs when the direction of change is the same for each variable (both increase or both decrease)
negative correlation
occurs when the direction of change is inverse (one increases and one decreases).
temporal order
which is the time sequence of events
prior conditions
the nature or status of a situation before the inclusion of an independent effect
spurious
which means the relationship between two variables can be accounted for by a third variable
Confounding variables
are factors that are correlated with both the independent and the dependent variable
bivariate relationship
one dependent and one independent
multivariate relationship
multiple independent variables in a complex causal chain.
intervening variable
is one that comes between the independent and dependent variables
conditional variables
which strengthen the relationship between an independent variable and a dependent variable for some categories (subgroups) of the conditional variable, while weakening the relationship for others
reinforcing variables
which strengthen and magnify the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable
categorical concepts
the variations within the concept indicate differences of kind, and cases are grouped into categories according to descriptive types.
continuous concepts
the variations within the concept indicate differences of degree, the concept’s characteristics are sequentially connected, and categories are placed on a continuum
level of measurement
the precision used in interpreting the numerical values of the measures used in the research project; distinction is made among nominal, ordinal, and interval/ratio measures.
nominal variables
Categorical concepts are operationalized
Ordinal variables
The categories are distinct, but they cannot logically be ordered.
• Ordinal:
Interval variables
are those that can be ordered and for which the categories are separated by a standard unit
Ratio variables
have the same qualities as interval variables, with the additional quality of an absolute zero (that is, a value of zero means that there are none of the variable’s values).
Concept qualities
Many concepts of interest do not have a natural or set standard unit of distance between categories, and imposing such a scale onto such concepts can seem inauthentic. (Point in favour for ordinal variables.)
Measurement error
is the difference between the true value and the measured (observed) value of a quantity
random error
which is naturally occurring, non-systematic error,
non-random error
also referred to as systematic error, which is error that results from faults in the measures
reliability
which is the extent to which the measurement of a quantity yields consistent results.
measurement validity
which refers to the extent to which the measurement of a concept matches the conceptual definition.
Internal validity
refers to the degree to which a study demonstrates a trustworthy assessment of causality
external validity
which is the extent to which the findings from the cases under examination may be used to make generalizations beyond the original study).
High-income earners are more likely to support conservatism than low-income earners.” This statement is an example of a ____
hypothesis
The textbook notes that a theory argues that there is
a relationship between concepts
A variable that can strengthen and magnify the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable is known as a ___
reinforcing variable
The “A–B–C–D–F” grading system is an example of ordinal ranking.
True
the variable, unlike the concept, can take on different _____, thereby capturing the variation within the concept.
Values
Interval variables ____________________________________________________________.
can be placed on a continuum where categories are separated by a standard unit.
Multiple indicators rarely give us more insight into a variable
False
In the question, “What impact does education have on voting?”, education is the____________ and voting is the ________.
independent; dependent.
One way to accurately capture concepts and reduce loss of meaning is to use ______________.
multiple variables to tap the same concept
__________ concepts result in the selection of nominal variables, whereas _________ concepts lend themselves to either ordinal or interval variables.
categorical; continuous
