Scope and Methods of Political Science Midterm

Classical randomized experiments

1. establish 2 groups 2. randomization of subjects into the groups 3. administration of the experimental treatment 4. measurement of the change in the dependent variable 5. researcher controls the environment of the experiment

scientific method

1. question 2. theory 3. hypothesis 4. test 5.evaluation

four characteristics of science

1. the goal is inference 2. the procedures are public 3. the conclusions are uncertain 4. the content is method

Major subfields of Political Science

American Politics, comparative politics, international relations, political theory

Empirical methodologies in political science

Experimental research/methods, qualitative research/methods, quantitative research/methods

Types of research design

Experimental studies, observational studies

models and concepts and variables (moving from concepts to variables and types of variables)

Measurement: clarity dimensional thinking strategies accuracy reliability validity Types of Measurement: nominal ordinal interval ratio

Political Science

Political science is an academic discipline that deals with the study of political processes, institiutions, and behavior

Areas of study in Political science

Public administration, Public policy, political economy, Political behavior

Qualitative research/methods

Qualitative Research is primarily exploratory research. It is used to gain an understanding of underlying reasons, opinions, and motivations. It provides insights into the problem or helps to develop ideas or hypotheses for potential quantitative research.

Quantitative research/methods

Quantitative methods emphasize objective measurements and the statistical, mathematical, or numerical analysis of data collected through polls, questionnaires, and surveys, or by manipulating pre-existing statistical data using computational techniques.

Longitudinal designs

The subject is constant, but the time varies. Looking at the same subject over different periods in time.

Cross sectional designs

Time is constant, but the subject varies. Looking at different cases in the same period of time.

Randomized field experiments

a field experiment adopts the logic of randomization and variable manipulation to naturally occurring situations and units---good because it applies experimental research to natural world

model building (process and significance)and causal inference

a model is a simplified and abstract representation of reality that is expressed verbally, or mathematically to show how variables or parts of a system are connected, causal inference is finding out if changes in outcomes (dependent variable) are based on variance of certain factors (independent variables).

Public policy

a specific course of action taken by government to achieve a public goal

Format of an empirical research paper

abstract introduction background literature review theory and hypotheses data and methods analysis and findings discussion conclusion

Scientific inquiry format fro empirical research

abstract introduction background literature review theory and hypotheses data and methods analysis and findings discussion conclusion

science conclusions are uncertain

by definition inference is an imperfect process

Experimental studies

classical randomized experiments Randomized field experiments Natural experiments

Literature review

comprehensive focused accurate evaluative and critical comparative concise

Natural experiments

data used are obtained from naturally occurring phenomena good because applies to real world and compliments observational studies

Public administration

how government works

Research design objectives of research design, causal inferences

one of primary objective of the research design is to determine causality

Research design factors affecting the design

research design is a plan that shows how a researcher intends to study an empirical question factors affecting are purpose feasibility and practicality

Science

science is a method of inquiry

Political Science as a science

science, four characteristics of science, scientific method

content of science is the method

scientific research goes by rules of inference for validity

Goal is inference

scientific research is designed to make descriptive or explanatory inferences on the basis of empirical information about the world

science procedures are public

scientific research uses explicit codified and public methods to generate and analyze data whose reliability can be assessed

Small-N designs

small N designs examine one or a few cases of a phenomenon in considerable detail, if there is more than one phenomenon, then it is a comparative case study design

Hypotheses (features)

statement that indicates show a researcher logically thinks the phenomena of interests are related, a good hypothesis is empirical general plausible specific corresponds to the data testable

Political economy

study of how a country manages its affairs by using its political, economic, and legal systems

Political behavior

study of part of political science, that attempts to quantify and explain the influences that define a person's political views, ideology, and levels of political participation.

Political Theory

study of philosophical thought about politics from ancient Greece to the present

International Relations

study of the interactions between nations, international organizations, and other international entities (overlaps with American politics in USD foreign policy)

Content analysis

systematic procedure by which records are transformed into qualitative data

Data (collection and types)

the hypothesis should correspond to the data

Experimental research/methods

the researcher controls exposure to the test factor or independent variable, the assignment of subjects to groups, and the measurement of responses

Comparative Politics

the study of domestic politics across different countries

American Politics

the study of political processes, institutions and political behavior in the USA

Observational studies

these studies are those that observe causal sequences or covariations. examples: small -N designs, cross-sectional designs, longitudinal designs,

Developing a well formulated research question

this is first task, you develop question, propose or predict what you think answer will be

sampling

using observations drawn from a specific population