Topic E Flashcards
What are qualitative methods in political science?
Non-numerical techniques such as archival research, text analysis, and interviews.
What are quantitative methods in political science?
The application of statistical techniques to identify correlations and causal relationships.
What is a hypothesis?
A proposed explanation of the causal relationship between independent and dependent variables.
What is a case study in qualitative research?
Close observation of one particular case or phenomenon.
What is a theory-generating case study?
a study that helps create a new explanation for something. Instead of testing an existing idea, the researcher looks at a specific case, tries to understand what is happening, and then develops a new theory that can be tested in other cases
What is a theory-testing case study?
A study that tests an existing theoretical idea by examining a specific case.
What is the ‘Method of Agreement’?
Looks at cases that share the same outcome (e.g., both are democracies) and identifies what they do not have in common.
What is the ‘Method of Difference’?
Looks at cases with different outcomes (e.g., one democracy, one non-democracy) and finds what they do have in common.
What is process-tracing?
Mapping the pathway (the how and why) from one variable to another to uncover causal mechanisms.
What qualitative method did Henry Brady use in his study of the 2000 US Presidential election?
Process-tracing.
What are some benefits of qualitative research methods?
- Measure complex causal relationships
- Discover new facts
- Gain deep understanding of behaviors and processes.
What are some criticisms of qualitative research methods?
- Hard to replicate
- May lack theoretical robustness
- Can resemble good journalism.
What has contributed to the rise of quantitative methods in political science?
- Collection of new datasets
- Development of statistical methods
- Increased computer power.
What are the strengths of quantitative methods in political science?
- Test theoretical propositions
- Control for multiple causes of variation
- Easy to replicate
What is a major weakness of quantitative methods?
They require phenomena to be quantified.
How should qualitative and quantitative methods be viewed in political science?
As complementary rather than in confrontation.
What is regression analysis?
aims to identify how far a dependent variable changes when any one of a number of independent variables is varied, while the other independent variables are held fixed
How do qualitative and quantitative methods differ fundamentally?
In the number of observations studied
