Research Strategies & Designs

Question 1

In ‘Politics of Resentment’ (2016), what is the key validity Katherine Cramer focuses on?

Answer 1

Ecological validity

Question 2

How does Cramer (2016) establish ecological validity in ‘Politics of Resentment’?

Answer 2

• Cramer drives around Wisconsin, talking to people in places they hang out (i.e. natural settings)
• “where you can hear and see [them] talking in a way that does not necessarily occur in a one-on-one interview with a researcher”

Question 3

What does Cramer look for in ‘Politics of Resentment’ (2016)?

Answer 3

Understand the perceptions of Wisconsinites and how they inform attitudes to policy
- “make sense of politics”
- “causal stories people tell about their situation”
(no causality)

Question 4

What is the approach to theory-building in ‘Politics of Resentment’ (Cramer, 2016)?

Answer 4

Mostly inductive approach

Question 5

What is the independent variable in ‘Politics of Resentment’ (Cramer, 2016)?

Answer 5

Identities

Question 6

What is the dependent variable in ‘Politics of Resentment’ (Cramer, 2016)?

Answer 6

Political attitudes

Question 7

What is Cramer’s position regarding her study in ‘Politics of Resentment’ (2016)?

Answer 7

Reflexive

• she acknowledges her own subject-position (i.e. city girl working at a university)
  -> not objective

Question 8

What is Cramer’s definition of social class (2016)?

Answer 8

“our perceived social standing relative to each other, which is rooted in economic characteristics”

Question 8

What is the ontological approach adopted by Cramer in ‘Politics of Resentment’ (2016)?

Answer 8

Constructivist

Question 9

What is the epistemological approach adopted by Cramer in ‘Politics of Resentment’ (2016)?

Answer 9

Interpretivist

Question 10

What makes Cramer’ study in ‘Politics of Resentment’ (2016) a qualitative research?

Answer 10

• Constructivist ontology
• Interpretivist epistemology
• Mostly inductive approach to theory-building
• Not value-free (i.e. she’s explicit about her values/commitments)

Question 11

What are the types of research designs?

Answer 11

• Experimental
• Cross-sectional
• Ethnographic
• Case-study
• Longitudinal
• Comparative

Question 12

What makes a research design experimental?

Answer 12

You manipulate the independent variable to observe its effects on the dependent variable