Reading 2 (!!only the readings will be tested) Flashcards
what is a concept?
an abstract idea that we attempt to define as we ask ad answer questions
- e.g. freedom, democracy, justice, nationalism, federalism, identity
most concepts are categories (e.g. elements of the periodic table)
! few clear-cut categories in social and political life
we use concepts to get a handle on the real world (not to capture exact boundaries between social and political phenomena)
how does conceptualization work?
- look at how scholars have already conceptualized major ideas
- don’t create a new concept unless it is necessary (otherwise you get multiple concepts for the same thing)
how is our use of concepts pragmatic?
we identify concepts based on how they help us answer research questions
What are features of good concepts?
- clarity and coherence
concepts must be explicit and clear to know what you are studying - consistency
logically consistency is important internally and between different concepts - usefulness
specific enough to allow for distinctions in analyzing examples - must allow to identify and measure variables
e.g. democratization
Sartori’s ladder of abstraction
some questions require more general concepts, others more specific concepts
Sartori’s ladder of abstraction ranges from general concepts at the top to specific concepts at the bottom
which rung you stand on depends on your specific question/study
the concept of freedom
4 different views, how do they connect?
- freedom in ‘‘negative’’ terms = you are free to the extent that nobody impinges on your ability to act in accordance with your own will
- freedom in ‘‘positive’’ terms = you are free to the extent that one can engage in particular sorts of acts or ways of life
- freedom in mystical terms: free to the extent that you experience transcendence through service to others etc.
- Marxist interpretations: free to the extent that you aren’t alienated from others, your work and from a sense of purpose/meaning
connection = freedom is a quality of an individual
what is operationalization?
the proces through which we make a concept measurable/workable
there are many ways to operationalize a concept, all can be valid as long as the operational definition matches with the concept
- e.g. concept democracy in terms of elections -> measure democracy by elections, not by e.g. norms
possible operational definitions of democratization
5
- a country holds a free and fair multiparty election
- two turnovers of government at the ballot box have occurred, in which the ruling party loses an election and peacefully steps down from power
- free and fair elections are held, and a constitutional law is in place guaranteeing the rights of freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion to all citizens
- there is no verifiable suppression of political participation and expression
- more than 2/3 of citizens in a survey express values that reject authoritarian rule
what is a theory
a general set of explanatory claims about some specifiable empirical range
- aims to explain more than a limited amount of cases/examples
- is backed by supporting facts as evidence
! a theory is NOT to describe a hunch or idea (everyday use)
what types of theory are there in political science?
- normative theory = questions of values and moral beliefs (what should/what is the best)
- empirical/positive theory = empirical questions (what is, what factors, what causes)
*empirical theory: theory as a general explanation of why things happen
what is a hypothesis
a specific prediction, derived from a theory, that can be tested against empirical evidence
they are possible answers to a question
if it receives support from evidence, it can become a thesis in an argument
how can hypotheses be developed?
deductive reasoning:
- moving from general claims or theories to specific observations or predictions about a phenomenon or set of cases
- (test an observable implication of the starting theory)
deviant cases / outliers = a case that doesn’t fit the pattern predicted by a given theory
what is a bad way to come to a hypothesis?
inductive reasoning (induction): the process of moving from specific observations to general claims
we don’t do the research, find the answer, then go back and propose our hypothesis
instead we (should) approach our hypothesis with an open mind toward what answers we may find, hypothesis can be right or wrong (mostly they are wrong)
what is a thesis?
a claim to argue on the basis of evidence from research
an argument supported by the research evidence that comes from testing a hypothesis
!not a full theory: needs ample evidence + multiple scholars
how do theories emerge and how are they used?
we narrow in on good explanations by finding increasing evidence that certain hypotheses are consistent with the evidence, while others aren’t
we can rarely fully prove, name true, hypotheses
competing theories may coexist
there may be facts/evidence that support a theory and that undermine a theory at the same time
wrong theories can hold sway for a long time until they are replaced
