Up to Exam 1 Flashcards
Empirical Issues
observable and factual investigations
Normative Issues
Issues involving judgement and ethics
Postbehavioralism**
Alternative to traditionalism and behavioralism
David Easton
Solely looking at behavior is irresponsible
Postbehavioralists warned, political science would produce data that were scientifically reliable (empirically observed) but irrelevant.
It is not value free because understanding comes from observation, not ethical assessments
David Easton
Politics is always in a world of flux, tension and transitions. Politics is the decision making over the worlds resources.
Postbehavioralist
Behavioralists
Became popular after WWII
Charles Merriam
Examining the actual BEHAVIOR of political officials, not the rules they go by.
The Behavioralists approach to congress would be studying the actual congress men and women, such as how much time they devote to writing law, interacting with lobbyists, raising money for reelection, giving speeches ect.
Case Studies
investigation of a specific phenomenon or entity
allows for an in depth examination of phenomenon
minimizes idols because of isolated data
Survey Research
most popular
questionares or interviews
limitations: types of questions asked, demographics, biases
Experiments **
Test and control groups
participants are randomly assigned to either the treatment or the control group
Quasi-Experiments**
Observation in an uncontrolled environment
participants are not assigned randomly to a treatment or control group in a quasi-experiment.
field experiment
Indirect Quantitive Analysis
data is already compiled by others
Operational Definitions
a definition so precise that it allows for Empirical testing.
Hypothesis
a statement proposing a specific relationship between phenomena
Proposes a relationship that will be tested with empirical observations of the variables
Educated guess on how an independent variable is thought to affect, influence or alter a dependent variable
Independent and Dependent Variables
Independent variable are those that act on or affect something
Dependent variables are what the hypothesis presents as being acted on by the
Age example: age is independent because it effects the level of voting, level of voting is dependent.
Second Amendment: party affiliation is the independent variable because it effects being in favor or out of favor of the second amendment, favorability is dependent variable
Correlation
Relationship in which changes in one variable appear when there are changes in another variable
higher approval rates of the second amendment appears in members of the Republican Party in the US
Causation
Indisputable
we cannot say that being a part of the Republican Party in the US absolutely proves that someone approves of the second amendment
Six Steps of the Scientific Method in Political Science
Formulating Hypothesis-
Operational Definitions- a definition so precise that it allows for Empirical testing.
Identifying independent and dependent variables
Clarifying measurement criteria
Distinguishing the difference between correlation and causation
developing scientific theories - can free us from “idols”
Hawthorne Effect
behavior changes based on environment
Rosenthal Effect
confirmation bias
our actions confirm our own beliefs
Empirical Research Methods
a set of procedures that employ scientific principles and techniques
the dominant approach to research although it is controversial in and out of political science
Questions to a systematic, empirical inquiry
1) How did they arrive at their conclusions?
2) was their method sound?
3) what sorts of evidence support their thesis?
4) should we take their word simply because the authors are well known scholars?
5) Is someone else examined the problem, would they come to the same conclusion?
Interpretation
the effort to see how people understand, use, and react to language, symbols and social institutions and rules
Interpretationists
want to get inside people’s heads, as it were to see how they, not the researcher, comprehend the world.
The Research Process
Curiosity and Necessity Are the primary motives underlying human inquiry
Empirical Analysis
deals with how and what we know
Concerned with developing and using common objective language to describe and explain political reality
Normative Analysis
deals with how we should use our knowledge
Quantitative
statistical comparisons of the characteristics of various objects
Qualitative
researcher’s informed understanding of the same objects or cases
The Operationalization of Theory
operationalization- the conversion or redefinition of our relatively abstract theoretical notions not concrete terms that will allow us actually to measure whatever it is we are after
Moving from the conceptual level of thinking to the operational level of deciding how to solve it.
Research Methods Theories
1) Pick an appropriate research question
2) is a question worthy or research because it fulfills a scientific need or basic need
3) will the answer help us deal with one or another of the problems faced by our society. can it be applied?
Feasibility
stage of the research process at which we prepare to actually go into the real world. We must assure ourselves that whatever method or technique we select can be properly employed under any condition we may face
Generalizability
the ability to generalize or extend our conclusions with some confidence from the observed behavior of a few cases to the behavior of an entire population
sampling procedure
we can decide which few of many cases we can study to come to conclusions that might apply to the entire population of cases
reactivity
Reactivity occurs when the subject of the study (e.g. survey respondent) is affected either by the instruments of the study or the individuals conducting the study in a way that changes whatever is being measured.
Questions concerning the analysis of data
are the two variables statistically related?
how are the variables related?
how likely is it that the relationship of the variables in a small pool of cases also be found in a large population of cases?
Interpretation of the Results
What have we discovered?
What is the substantive importance of our findings?
How do these results square with our expectations?
Empirical Generalization
summarizes relations between individual facts
coincidence v correlation v causality
I walk under a ladder and notice and get all fizzled then I stub my toe
I walk under a ladder, get all fizzled, stub my toe, then ask was I looking at the ladder instead of the ground? I was obsessed about having bad luck?
Did I choose to act differently than I otherwise would have?
I walk under a ladder, get all fizzled, and then I stub my toe. The ladder is the proximate cause but my actions are the direct cause.
Explanatory Knowledge
it can be predictive by offering a systematic, reasoned anticipation of future events.
Explanations give scientific reasons or justifications for why certain outcomes is to be expected
Parsimony
simplicity. the simpler, the better.
the simplest of two explanations
Ockham’s razor
-Exploratory research-
an inadequate knowledge of the facts could fundamentally misdirect theory-building efforts
pre-research research.
designed to establish the facts in a. given case. Helps determine the best research design.
-patterns-**
characteristics and motives
knowing pattens will help with insight but to develop explanation of why someone could do something in order to frame our explanation
-induction-
Evidence to generalization
generalizing from what we have observed to what we have not or cannot observe
induction forms the basis of the scientific theory
theories built through inductions are said to be empirically grounded
All republicans in Iowa are conservative therefore all republicans are conservative
-deduction-
Generalizations to evidence and concrete statements
abstract to the concrete and specific
The Republican Party attracts only conservatives therefore all Republicans in Iowa will be conservative
Assumptions
the conditions under which we expect the tentative explanation we have reached to be supported by evidence
assumptions allow us to explain specific behavior by showing that it follows logically from a set of theoretical assumptions
the reverse of inductive reasoning
survey v case study
survey is when a researcher gathers data through interviews or questionnaires of an entire population or large sample
case study is a study of an individual, group, or specific phenomenon
explanatory and pattern
knowledge as to WHY something happens
patterns are characteristics and motives which could help explain why one would do something
induction v deduction
evidence to generalization v
abstract to specific and concrete
The dominant methodological perspective in political science is
Empiricism
Scientists believe that their findings are based on __________, systematic observation.
Objective
A __________ statement is one that can, in principle, be rejected in the face of contravening empirical evidence.
falsifiable
Normative knowledge that is evaluative, value laden, and concerned with prescribing what ought to be.
True
Cumulative knowledge, with respect to the scientific method, is
Based upon the result of prior studies
The term parsimony refers to
the simplest explanation
A theory is defined as
A body of statements that systemize knowledge and explain phenomena
Political scientists who believe that a proper goal of social science is to critique and improve society (by making it more just and humane) rather than merely understand or explain what is going on embrace
critical theory
Global or broad range theories might include theories of each of the following topics except
A. International relations
B. The rise and fall of civilizations
C. The spread of democracy
D. Role of revolution in political development
role of revolution in political development
Each of the following is a basic standard for judging scientific theories, except
A. Claims are normative
B. Assumptions and axioms are clearly separated from propositions and hypotheses
C. Claims can be verified
D. Claims provide general explanation and add to existing knowledge
claims are normative
Deduction refers to the process of drawing and inference from a set of premises and observations.
False
Inductive reasoning differs from deductive reasoning because the premises do not guarantee the conclusion but instead lend support to it.
True
Each of the following are obstacles to empirical research in political science, except
A. The data needed to test explanations and theories may be extremely hard to obtain
B. Human behavior is complex; perhaps, even more complex than the subject matter of other sciences
C. The concepts of interest to many political scientists are abstract and value laden
D. All of the above
All of the above
Constructionism relies on the understanding that
Instead of knowing reality directly our perceptions about the many “facts” stem largely, if not entirely, from human cultural and historical experiences practices
Which of the following characteristics are most closely associated with a proper research question for an empirical political science research project?
A. The questions address a political phenomenon
B. The question is concerned with discrete facts
C. The question is focused on reaching normative conclusions
D. The question addresses human behaviour
The question addresses a political phenomenon
One of the first tasks when developing a research question is limiting the scope of the investigation into something manageable.
True
Association, dependence, and covariance are all examples of a _________?
Relationship
The purpose of a literature review includes all of the following, except
A. To analyze data to test hypotheses
B. To see what has and has not been investigated
C. To develop general explanations for observed variations in a behavior or phenomenon
D. To identify potential relationships between concepts and to identify researchable hypotheses
To analyze data to test a hypothesis
A research question should be limited to discrete or narrow factual issues.
False
Which of the following is a scholarly source for use in a literature review?
A. The New York Times
B. The Weekly Standard
C. The American Political Science Review
D. The United Nations Webpage
The American Political Science Review
Which of the following characteristics is most closely associated with scholarly sources?
Peer-review system
How many sources must be cited in an effective literature review?
The number is contingent on the purpose and scope of the project
The text classifies sources as each of the following, except
A. Colloquial
B. Personal
C. Scholarly
D. Nonscholarly
Colloquial
Which of the following sources are most likely to be found using an Internet search engine like Google?
Non scholarly
Which of the following sources are most likely to be found using a database like Web of Science?
Scholarly
The text suggests that once you have identified references for inclusion in a literature review you can then begin to explain the base of knowledge. The base of knowledge can be defined as what we know about a topic from previous work.
True
Political Science
he application of well defined principals for collecting analyzing and evaluating data to the study of phenomena that are political in nature
Political Scientists are interested in:
mass behavior, elite behavior, at different levels of government, within and between political institutions
Political Phenomenon
individual actions relationships between institutions and individuals, between two or more institutions and so on
Why should you understand how to conduct empirical research?
- citizens are confronted with empirical research daily through political news and deb ate
- empirical research methods concepts are related to students other coursework
- Use empirical research techniques to improve your own work
Empirical research can be used to
- Improve the understanding of and find solutions to difficult problems (applied research)
- Satisfy your intellectual curiosity about the nature of political phenomena (theoretical research)
The Empirical research process involves…
- developing an idea to investigate and a problem to solve
- hypothesis formation
- data collection
- interpretation and decisions’
- modifications and extension
Each decision will affect the conclusions.
Examples of Empirical Research in political science
- Winners and losers in politics
- Who votes and who does not
- Repression of human rights
- Public support for U.S. foreign involvement
primary v secondary data
- primary data is the layer closest to the truth
- Secondary data are derived, not from the truth, but from primary data
example: Primary: in depth interview
Secondary: an article about the in depth interview
Quantitative v Qualitative research
quantitative: large scale numbers
qualitative: small scale focused idea
How sampling works***
Internal and External Validity ***
Ethical Issues***
Research Design
A general strategy for solving a research problem
Provides the overall structure for the procedures the researcher follows, the data the researcher collects, and the data - research planning
The Nature and Role of Data
Data are not absolute reality but manifestations of reality.
Data are transient and ever changing
Data is primary or secondary
- primary data is the layer closest to the truth - Secondary data are derived, not from the truth, but from primary data
Data must meet certain criteria to be admitted to study; any data not meeting the criteria are excluded from the study.
Planning for data collection
Answers to the following questions will bring the process into focus. What data are needed? Where are the data located? How will the data be obtained? How will the data be interpreted?
Identify appropriate measurement instruments
We pin down data by measuring it in some way
Measurements instruments provide a basis on which the entire research effort rests
A research effort employing faulty measurement tools is of little value in solving the problem under investigation
In planning the research project the nature of the measurement instruments should be clearly identified
Instrumentation should be described in explicit, concrete terms
Instruments should have a reasonable degree of validity and reliability
Measurement as a tool of research
Measurement limiting the data of any phenomenon - substantial or insubstantial - so that those data may be interpreted and, ultimately, compared to a particular qualitative or quantitative standard
Substantial v Insubstantial Measurments
Substantial measurements = those things being measured that have physical substance
Insubstantial measurements = exist only as concepts, ideas, opinions, feeling or other intangible entities
Four scales of measurements
Nominal scale : one object is different from another
Ordinal scale : one object is bigger or better or more of anything than another
Interval scale : one object is so many units (degrees ect) more than another
Ratio scale : Interval scale with an absolute zero
Validity and Reliability of Measures
Validity = the extent to which a measurement instrument measures what it is intended to measure
Reliability = the consistency with which a measurement instrument yields a certain result when the entity being measured hasn’t changed
Electronic databases
A collection of information (of any type) stored on an electromagnetic medium that can be accessed and examined by certain computer programs
Literature review
A systematic examination and interpretation of the literature for the purpose of informing further work on a topic
Relationship
The association, dependence, or covariance of the values of one variable with the values of another variable
Hypothesis Independent Dependent Antecedent Intervening
As one’s income increases, one is more likely to vote and vote conservatively.
Independent: health Dependent: voter turnout
Anteceding: age
Intervening: being able bodied
What is the most logical next step after you develop your research question?
Propose and explanation for the phenomenon that we think will help us account for the object of our research and then specifying how and why these two (or more) phenomenon are related
The phenomena investigated by political scientists are diverse and are limited to only by whether they are
significant, observable and political
Political scientists attempt to answer questions about
the political behavior of individuals, groups, institutions and political jurisdictions
Independent variable:
measurements of the phenomena that are through to influence, affect, or cause some other phenomena
Dependent variable:
cause, to depend upon, or be a function of the independent variable
Modern political science
relies heavily on objective observation, experimentation and logical reasoning
Empirical Research process
- development of an idea you want to investigate
- hypothesis formation
- data collection
- interpretation and decision
- modification and extension
Normative knowledge
Normative analysis is concerned with developing and examining subjective goals, values and morals to guide us in applying what we have learned of that reality
What is the object of a political inquiry?
The object in undertaking in a political inquiry is to draw upon both types of analysis - Empirical and Normative- so as to maximize not only our knowledge but also our understanding of political reality.
Elements of Empiricism
transmissible, verifiable, falsifiable, cumulative, explanatory (type x occurs, type y follows), parsimonious
Two aspects of Empirical Theory
1- that is leads to specific testable predictions
2- that the more observations there are to support these predictions, the ore the theory is confirmed
Karl Popper
argued that scientists should think solely in terns of invalidating or falsifying theories, not proving them
it is possible to imagine some kind of argument which should invalidate it
Normative and non-normative
normative— evaluative, value laden and concerned with prescribing what ought to be
Non normative SAME AS EMPIRICAL— knowledge that is concerned NOT with evaluation or prescription but with Factual or Objective Determination
Three major reasons why we should know why political scientists conduct empirical research
- evaluate arguments and research political phenomena
- assimilation and evaluation of coursework
- to conduct research on your own
applied research
has a fairly direct, immediate application to a real world situation
two reasons why researchers conduct empirical studies
- accumulate knowledge that will apply to a particular problem in need of a solution or to a condition in need of improvement
- satisfy intellectual curiosity about a subject
pure, theoretical or recreational research
not concerned primarily with practical applications
Harold Lasswell
Politics is about DECIDING who does and does not get access to what the world has to offer. Peace, war, medicine, water, food, housing and jobs are not phenomena over which women and men have no control.
materialism
only concrete and observable entities have casual efficacy
realism
there is a real world that exists independently of observers
Denial of supernatural causes
Explanations of phenomena based on mysterious, unknowable, unobservable, “hidden” forces are unacceptable
Regularity
natural phenomena exhibit regularities and patterns that can be revealed by reasons dn observation
Verification and falsification
statements about the world must be verified or falsified by experience or data (don’t take anything on faith alone)
irrelevance of preferences
to the maximum extent, one’s values and biases should not affect the decision to reject or accept an empirical claim
theory and causal explanation
the goal of science is to create general, verified explanatory theories
selective class demobilization
people of the lower working classes, low income, low levels of education, and work manual, routine unskilled jobs are less likely to vote. For every upper class voter there are two to three lower class non voters
who votes, and who doesn’t?
research is contradictory, because turnout is measured differently.
paradox of voting
changes in public policy could encourage voting
Politics and the gender gap
“dramatic gender gap in political ambition”
research goes all the way back to childhood
women are undermined from the start
data shows women are important
judges
political scientists seek to learn how judges reach the decisions they do in the course of discharging their judicial roles
especially in the Supreme Court
research on negative political ads
trait based attack ad sponsored by an unknown independent group was found more effective than the one sponsored by a candidate because candidates were punished for running attack ads
research on public support for us foreign involvement
the rhetorical argument are counter-productive unless one is targeting sympathetic argument
Hot topics studied in political science
foreign involvement, judges and supreme courts, negative political ads, who votes who doesn’t, gender gaps
I call em as they are
empiricism
there is fact in things like balls and strikes, and he can always tell the difference merely by looking at the pitches as they’re thrown
a political science umpire demands that data and measurements support whatever point is being made.
interpretation
decoding verbal and physical actions
Reaction to Empirical approach: Practical objections
self reflection and individuality
- subjectivity of politics
Is political science trivial or irrelevant?
- philosophy issues
non-empiricism
human actions cannot be explained scientifically but must be interpreted from the point of view of the actors
Social scientists have to realize that the world, far from having an independent existence that they observe directly, but is constructed by observers themselves
Literature review
Focus on the concepts and ideas across the literature rather than around individual books, articles and authors
Group articles according to their research questions. It is likely that ten articles address a similar broad topic but do not share the exact same research questions
Three common research questions between the 10 articles
4 for question one, three articles for two, three articles for three
Francis Bacon
Developed the 4 idols or misconceptions
Idols of the Marketplace (the use of words to mislead)
Idols of the tribe (human nature distorts the true nature of things)
Idols of the den (nationalism)
Idols of the theatre (dogmatic teachings: whatever I believe, that’s the only way)
constant
A concept that does not change the value is called a constant
CONSTANTS cannot to investigate a relationship
A student working on a survey to be distributed to her classmates wanted to see if students having served in the military had different attitudes toward the war in Iraq than did students without military service connections. She discovered that none of the students had any military service connections
Service connection was the constant, and now she had to find another one
Six characteristics of a good hypothesis
is it an empirical statement Is it stated as a generality Is it plausible Is it specific Is it stated in a manner that corresponds to the way in which the researcher intends to test it It is testable
what cannot be tested?***
a hypotheses stated in tautological form are also untestable. A tautology is a statement linking two concepts that mean essentially the same thing
An acceptable hypothesis can not be tested if there are practical barriers like time in the way.
If your research question starts with ___ it is a good one
why
generality in a hypothesis
knowledge about the causes of particular occurrences of a phenomenon could be helpful in formulating more general guesses about the relationships between concepts, but with a general hypothesis, we attempt to expand the scope of our knowledge beyond individual cases
generality examples
A) Senator X voted for a bill because it is the president’s bill and they are both democrats
B) senators are more likely to vote for bills sponsored by the president if they belong to the same political party as the president
B is correct
The United States has more murders than other countries because so many people own guns there
Countries with more guns per capita will experience more murders per capita than countries with fewer guns
Proximity theory
assertion that people support parties and candidates that are closest in proximity in policy issues
Characteristics of a good hypothesis
empirical statement generality plausibility specificity correspondence to the way in which the researcher intends to test the hypothesis testability
who came up with the four types of political culture
David Easton
Antecedent
has to affect the independent and comes before the independent
Theories consists of
set of primitive terms
assumptions about the subject
explicit definition of key concepts
commitment to a particular set of empirical tools
document analysis
general and verifiable statements that explain the subject matter
All the E
Elements of Empiricism: transmissible, verifiable, falsifiable, cumulative, explanatory (type x occurs, type y follows), parsimonious, non-normative, general
Empiricism: call em as they are. a verifiable assertion of “what is”
Empirical research process: development of an idea to investigate or a problem to solve, hypothesis formation, data collection, interpretation and decision, modification and extension
Assumptions of Empirical Research: realism, materialism, denial of supernatural causes, regularity, verification and falsification
Empirical Issues: observable and factual
Table 2.1 empirical
goals: value free knowledge, information of practical use, general theory and laws, explanations and predictions of individual and institutional behaviors
Assumptions: realism. the real world has to be verified. attitudes cannot effect observation and analysis
Quantitative
Methods: everything. case studies and comparisons, experiments and field experiments, mathematical models, surveys statistics analysis of data, simulations
Objections: takes politics out of political science, formalism,
Biases: inherently favors status quo
Table 2.1 non-empirical
goals: understand behavior to interpret actions
Assumptions: social facts are “construction”
institutions are social comparisons
totally value free research is impossible
Qualitative
Methods: Qualitative, case studies and comparisons
objections: knowledge is non transmissible, findings are tainted by the investigator’s values and biases
biases: conclusions affected by political and social ideologies.
