Introduction Flashcards
What is political science
How to study political science
Différence btwn History and political science, and according to who
Gaddis
History:
.understand things that happened thus far
. Pay attention to context and détail
Political science:
. Explain nowadays things with past éléments
. Forecast/ predict
. Aim to generalise findings
What is political according to Heywood
Politics is contested concept: there are some def
A. Politics as an art (Most narrow views):
. Art of négo…
.official institutions, heads of states
.critics: overlook people ( not everyone is visible in ‘official’ politics). + Everyday mechanisms hold more valuable infos abt politics than Big négociations ( power dynamics…)
B. More broad views:
- politics as public Space: institutions are not enough so: institutions+ private actors that do politics spaces in certain conditions ( ex: members of NGOs if they are rescuing a boat yes but if they are grocery shopping no)
-politics as a process: any discussion/ disagreement IF it affects wider groups (=/ personal affairs) ex neighbour meeting
C.politics as power (Broadest views): everything is political, including personal experiences (ex watching TV : money and Time to watching, what program and what language are proposed…)
What is philosophy of science
Thé différent perspectives for research
What is a a scientific paradigms + def of Nickerson
Ideas of what constitues good or Bad research, right or Bad way to do researches
Nickerson: “a set of ideas and beliefs which provide a framework or model which research Can follow
What are thé 2 Big research methods
Positivism and interpretivism
What is positivism
A paradigms
Research methods which tries to bé as close as possible to science methods used in natural science: questions, research, hypothesis, experiments (not in politics bcs not ethnic and cut thé person from société), analyse data, accept/reject result
What is interpretivism
WE should not try to do exp, WE need to take thé all into account, take thé context
Mostly qualitative data ex analyse a discours, single case study…
What is ontology
Our view abt thé World as it existe( what is thé World)
- positivist view:
.there is a Real, Independent World: objective
. there are Real social laws that WE Can find
-interpretivists:
.’ireal’ World,
. exist only bcs WE are part of it and we interpret it : subjective,
.bcs everything dépend on thé context
What is epistemology
How Can WE learn bat the World
- positivism :
. Real World exist,
.WE Can collect datas and observations = scientific method
. WE mesure and test datas collectés
.World is objective, exist without us so WE don’t modify the world with our researches
- interpretivism :
. giving meaning by researching
.Impossible to detach as a research: WE let marks, WE create/ interpret thé World by doing researches = giving meaning by researching thé World
.think with thé context
Relationship btwn ontology and epistemology
Marsh and Al.: ontology>epistemology
Epistemology>ontology
Poststructuralism: interconnected
Critics to data from Atchinson
. Data should not bé assumed neutral and unbiased: influenced by values, assomptions…
. Implication for research : necessity for scholars and reaserchers to bé transparent, vigilant abt biases
