Text Ch.7b Flashcards
Foreign Policy Research must take into account(4)
research must pay close
attention to the specific details
1– the geographical context (e.g., the Arctic, Haiti, the Middle East)
2– the domestic context (e.g.,
ideology of government, public
opinion, the economy)
3– the policy stakeholders (e.g., the United Nations, powerful
actors such as the US, local
individuals/communities)
4– the personalities of the decision makers
Small ‘n’ research Vs. Large ‘N’ Research
Small ‘N’ research:
• An in-depth examination and/or comparison of a
particular phenomenon
• Range single case study to a comparative study
of a few cases
• Small number of cases with many variables
Large ‘N’ research:
• Large number of cases with fewer variables
• Seeks to generalize (external validity)
seeks to generalize=______ validity
external
How do we assess whether a study’s
findings accurately reflect reality?
Internal validy
External Validity
measurement(construct) validity
1• internal validity: the extent to which the researcher has produced results reflective of reality, as measured within the confines of the study. Concerned with causality.
ex: cross-sectional versus experimental data, controlling for confounding variables…
2• external validity: the extent to which the findings drawn from the cases under examination may be used to make generalizations about phenomena outside the original study. Concerned with representativeness.
ex: considerations of sample representativeness (sampling frame, selection, sample size)
3• measurement (construct) validity: the extent to which the measurement of a particular concept matches its
operational definition. Prerequisite for internal and external validity
ex: assessments of validity and reliability
counter-intuitive
“All case studies begin from the observation of a counter-intuitive; something that does not conform to our expectations.”
contrary to intuition or to common-sense expectation (but often nevertheless true).
Prime Minister Pearson and the Suez Crisis is an example of
counter intuitive
- highly involved in the crisis despite our foreign policy being more isolationist
- why did pearson get involved? This seems odd, how can we make sense of that
2 types of case studies
1.Descriptive Case Study
• Exploratory questions in
absence of theory
2.Theory Testing Case Study
• failed ‘most-likely case’: phenomenon is expected
to confirm theory but refutes it (falsifies theory)
• successful ‘least-likely case’: phenomenon is expected to refute a theory but confirms it (expands theory)
failed ‘most-likely case’ means
phenomenon is expected
to confirm theory but refutes it (falsifies theory)
successful ‘least-likely case’
phenomenon is expected to refute a theory but confirms it (expands theory)
Proccess Tracing
.take all information that you can get to try and help get a narrative/causal reasoning for the way things transpired
-generally presented on timeline
• Used to generate causal reasoning • Collect observations (speeches, decisions, events, etc.) that can help explain phenomenon • Use observations to make arguments re: “how” and “why”
Comparative Approaches:
Examine a Small Number of Cases in Detail
-can compare a number of techniques aslong as there is more then 1
• distinguish what are common traits shared between societies and what is unique to a particular community • examine system-level traits (e.g., federalism; developing economies)
-must compare two or more
Purposive Sampling: Case Selection(2)
1.Most similar systems design: Compare similar systems and then explain differences(different outcome but similar path)
• “If the theory is such that it is possible to identify ahead
of time the variables that may be influential, then one
can choose cases that match on these variables, rendering the most-similar- systems design appropriate.”
2.Most different systems design: Compare different systems and then explain similarities(same outcome but different path)
• “if there is less knowledge of influential factors, or if it
is not possible to match cases appropriately on
particular variables, the most-different-systems
design is appro
Discuss Small n research and internal validity
“Scholars choose small N studies in order to
create in-depth knowledge with strong internal
validity. … Small N research allows for greater
internal validity than does large N research due
to the fact that small N research allows for more
diversity in variables and therefore is open to
many potential explanations for the
phenomenon.”
Does small N research or Large N research have more internal validity?
Small N research allows for greater
internal validity than does large N research due
to the fact that small N research allows for more
diversity in variables and therefore is open to
many potential explanations for the
phenomenon
causal criteria are? 5
Causal criteria: • Correlation • Plausible • Temporal order • Not spurious • Consistent (reproducibility)
Galton’s Problem
Galton’s Problem:
.need to make sure units under observation are independent of one another
-if units are not, then argument of spurious relationships is possible
portability
transferability
portability – results applicable in some way to
other environments.
transferability –the ability to export lessons from
one set of cases to draw conclusions about another
set of cases
What to look for when judging trasnferability?3
Is there enough information that the reader can assess
whether or not the results apply to another situation?
• Is the methodology clearly reported and justified?
• Are detailed findings reported?
• Are limitations of the study, scope conditions, etc.
discussed?
define Scope conditions
“Scope conditions are the
explicit limits to which the
research claims to make
valid claims.”
3 types of Ambiguity
Ambiguity: an expression is ambiguous when it has
more than one acceptable interpretation
- e.g. Amelia Bedelia children books
Semantic ambiguity: word has more than one
interpretation
e.g., Woman stoned at public rally.
Syntactic ambiguity: phrase has more than one
interpretation
e.g., Police kill man with chainsaw.
Equivalence so that everyone understands everything is based on 4 differences which may occur
Lexicon- Differing (or non existent) words
Contextual- Differing social meanings
Conceptual- Differing understanding of ideas
Measurement- May need different measures for same
concept
3 Key Questions to Critically Assess Measures
• Is the instrument/measure reliable? • Is the instrument/measure valid? • Is the instrument/measure culturally sensitive?
