Text Ch.11

Question 1

“experiment”study =

Answer 1

studies that include at least these two criteria(random assignment and intervention)
-random assignment equals out groups

Question 2

Temporal order and cross-sectional analysis

Answer 2

• Cross-sectional studies
allow for correlational
analysis, but rely on
theory/logic to determine
temporal order
-Distinction between
“correlational” designs and
“experimental designs”

Question 3

confounding variable

Answer 3

• the presence of some
unobserved difference
between groups that is
correlated both with the
outcome of interest and
with the independent
variable of interest, thereby
making causal inference
impossible.

Question 4

random assignment vs. random sample

Answer 4

Random selection refers to how sample members (study participants) are selected from the population for inclusion in the study. Random assignment is an aspect of experimental design in which study participants are assigned to the treatment or control group using a random procedure.

Random assignment: is to get at that issue of confounding variables
-used in experimental studies only
-important for studying causality
-internal validity
-• Intervention
(manipulation,
stimulus) during data
collection

Random Sampling:

• used to permit generalizations to larger population
• external validity

Question 5

T OR F

SURVEYS use only random sampling and not random assignment

Answer 5

T

Question 6

random sample assignment

Answer 6

May be used in
experimental studies; if so,
known as random sample
assignment. In this
approach, random sampling
done first, random
assignment done second.

Question 7

Essentially

Random Sampling = _______Claims
Random Assignment = ______ Claims

Answer 7

Generalizability

Causality

Question 8

Most experiments are ______while most observational studies are _______

Answer 8

random assignment, no random sampling

random sampling, no random assignment

Question 9

Survey experiments

Answer 9

Survey Experiments: combination of survey and experiment
.like a normal survey but they build in the two requirements of a survey: random assignment and intervention
-treatment groups and control groups
Advantages: representative population
Disadvantage: not real world setting

Question 10

T OR F

experimental research is declining in political science

Answer 10

F, its rising

Question 11

WEIRD

Answer 11

WEIRD is the phenomenon that plagues a lot of psychology and other social science studies: Their participants are overwhelming Western, educated, and from industrialized, rich, and democratic countries.

Question 12

Spillover

Answer 12

Spillover: possible information could spread from groups to others

Question 13

Natural Experiments

Answer 13

Natural experiment: sometimes nature does the intervention for us
-gives researchers the opportunity to test ideas based on natural interventions

Question 14

causal effect

Answer 14

the difference between the value of an outcome when a subject recieves a treatment and when a subject does not recieve a treatment

Question 15

Fundamental problem of causal inference

Answer 15

a situation refering to the fact that causal effects cannot be observed in the real world and that causal inferences are therefore required

Question 16

Internal validity in experiments

Answer 16

does A really change B in this setting or is there something else
-biased environment or measurement tool

Question 17

Single Blind design

Double blind design

Answer 17

an experiment that blinds the subjects to the randomization process is a single-blind design

for experiments with an individual administering the treatment the gold standard is doubleblindin which both subjects and treatment administrators are unaware of the effect being tested

Question 18

Textual Analysis

Answer 18

“Textual analysis is the
systematic examination of
the messages and
meanings conveyed by
texts.”

Question 19

Why study texts? of all types

Answer 19

“Most of us are spectators
to political life, and the
information and impressions
we form are based on texts.
…. Systematic analysis of
these texts can tell us what
is being said about politics
and what is assumed or
understood to be ‘true’.”

Question 20

2 structural features of texts

Answer 20

– Format of communication
– Ways in which content is conveyed
– E.g., type of story; length of story

What is said and what it means: How works, themes,
symbols, etc. convey meanings, norms, and assumptions
• Manifest content: surface meaning
• Latent content: underlying meaning

Question 21

Latent content

Answer 21

actual underlying meaning of a text

Question 22

manifest content

Answer 22

surface meaning of a text

Question 23

Textual Analysis(2 types)

Answer 23

1.“Content analysis is a quantitative research
technique used to analyze the message
characteristics in any formof communication.”

2.“Discourse analysis, in contrast, is a qualitative
approach that focuses on the meanings reflected in,
and created by, discourses.”