Introduction to Political Research

1. Introduction to Political Research

2. What is Social Research?

3. It Is NOT… • Authority • Overestimate expertise • May not all agree • Not knowledgeable • Tradition • Common Sense • Media Myth • Personal Experience • Overgeneralize • Selective observation • Premature closure • Halo effect • NO MAGAZINES!

4. Social Research IS… • Theory • Principles • Outlooks • Ideas (METHODOLOGY) • Along with a collection of specific practices, techniques and strategies • Empirical • Based on observation or experience • Falsifiable

5. The Old Reliable Scientific Method… • Scientific Method is utilized not only in hard science research, but in social research, too. • Academic Journals vs. Magazine Articles • Difference?

6. Academic Journals vs. Magazines • Academic Journal • Difficult to get published • Peer Reviewed • Very Little Money • Publishing enhances professional status/career prospects • Magazines • NOT peer reviewed • Money attached for reporters to publish • Even credible magazines such as Time, Newsweek, and U.S. News and World Report fall into this category

7. The Research Process • Select Topic • Focus Your Research • Design Your Study • Collect Data • Analyze Data • Interpret Data • Inform Community

8. Types of Research • Basic Research • Refute or support theories • These theories explain the social world and are already established • Applied Research • Address a specific concern or problem • Evaluations • Action Research • Social Impact Assessment • Examples???

9. What is the Purpose of Research • EXPLORE • DESCRIBE • EXPLAIN

10. Exploratory Research • What lies did Bill Clinton tell about the Lewinsky Scandal? • What led up to the uncovering of the Lewinsky affair in 1998?

11. Descriptive Research • What type of relationship ultimately led to the impeachment of Bill Clinton? • What were the circumstances surrounding the trial?

12. Explanatory Research • What were the ramifications of the Clinton impeachment? • Did the impeachment set a precedent? • In retrospect, should Clinton have been impeached?

13. Time Dimension in Research • Cross-Sectional Research -one fixed point in time • Longitudinal Research -a moving picture, more at one time (time series) -panel study, cohort study, case study Which is better?

14. Data Collection • Quantitative Data Collection -experiments, surveys, content analyses, existing statistics • Qualitative Data Collection -field research, historical-comparative research Which is better?

15. The Scientific Method • The scientific method: • Findings are based on objective, systematic observation and verified through public inspection of methods and results. • The ultimate goal is to use verifiable results to construct causal theories that explain why phenomena behave the way they do.

16. The Scientific Method What are the most important components of the scientific method? Empirical verification Falsifiability Non-normative research Transmissible Empirical generalization Explanatory Prediction Probabilistic explanation Parsimony

17. The Scientific Method • The method uses a common structure: • Research question • A question that asks why or how a political phenomena behaves • Theory • A body of statements that synthesize knowledge of and explain phenomena • Hypotheses • The terms to be tested through the collection and analysis of empirical data • Empirical analysis • Confirms or refutes hypotheses and theory and answers research questions

18. The Scientific Method • Many different approaches to scientific work • Two groups of techniques: • Deductive • Arguments are proven to be true through the use of several logical statements in which a conclusion is true because the underlying premises are true. • Inductive • One draws an inference from a set of propositions and observations.

19. Is Political Science a Science? • There are two general objections to classifying political science as a science: • Practical objections • Philosophical objections

20. Is Political Science a Science? • Practical objections: • Political behavior is extremely complex. • People can intentionally mislead researchers. • Measurement is often subjective. • Data can be difficult or impossible to attain.

21. Is Political Science a Science? • Philosophical objections: • The reasoning behind political behavior cannot be measured objectively. • The “facts” of political phenomena are constructed or conditioned by the observer’s perceptions, experiences, and opinions.

22. Political Science Discipline • The discipline has changed over time. • Traditional approach: • Period between 1930 and 1960—primarily described the practice of government • Empirical approach: • Followed early survey work in the 1950s—led to the widespread application of statistical methods—explanatory research

23. Political Science Discipline • The discipline has changed over time. • Normative pushback: • In response to empiricism—focused on questions of morality and policy issues that are relevant to real- world political discussions • Debate between empirical and normative research has cooled since the 1980s

24. Social Theory • Social Theory is carefully constructed and debated and organizes knowledge into a compact, manageable framework. • Seeks more than to pass blame, but rather, to explain. • Explains recurring patterns • Explains for aggregates • State a probability, chance, or tendency for events to occur

25. Theory • Theory is broken down into concepts • An idea expressed as a symbol or in words • Examples… • Gender roles • Sexism • Urban Sprawl

26. Concept Clusters • In research, concept clusters help to group together like topics. • Example: In developing a study to determine why certain people obtain higher education, concepts like “race,” “income,” “social environment,” etc. are utilized.

27. Concepts: Concrete vs. Abstract • Concrete Concepts can be felt and are often times tangible. (casting a ballot) • Abstract Concepts are not tangible and often more complex. (size)

28. Theory • 1. Direction of Reasoning • 2. Social Reality • 3. Forms of Explanation • 4. Overall Framework (Assumptions)

29. Theoretical Approaches • Deductive Approach • General to a specific case • Theory to Empirical Findings • Problems? • Inductive Approach • Empirical Patterns to a Theory • Could be referred to as grounded theory • Problems?

30. Grounded Theory • Building a theory from “the ground up” • Inductive Approach--More Qualitative in Nature • Tries to make sense of evidence

31. Ranges of Theory • Empirical Generalization -summarizes a pattern of behavior -least abstract, very narrow range -”More men then women pick engineering as a college major” • Middle-Range Theory -more abstract as it builds an explanation • Theoretical Frameworks (Paradigms) -very abstract; develop ways for looking at the social world

32. Levels of Theory • Micro-Level Theory -small slices of time, space, numbers ex. A particular election, a select group • Meso-Level Theory -intermediate level; ex. A movement • Macro-Level Theory -larger aggregates; ex. An entire society

33. Prediction and Explanation • Every time I call my mother, the Chicago Cubs win their game that day. • Can this possibly be an acceptable explanation for the Cubs winning?

34. Causal Explanations • 1. Temporal Order: Cause Before Effect -Does the call cause the Cubs to win or does the fact that the Cubs won cause me to call my mother? • 2. Association: A patterned way or an appearance of a pattern.

35. Causal Explanation • 3. Elimination of other Alternatives: Also known as “spuriousness.” Perhaps I only call my mom on days when I know the Cubs have a weak opponent (only the Reds) or are playing well (which is never). • Control Variables are utilized to help eliminate spuriousness.

36. Positive-Negative • Positive relationship: higher value on cause variable leads to higher value on effect variable • Negative relationship: higher value on cause variable leads to lower value on effect variable, and vice versa

37. Positive and Negative Relationships • Positive: The more you study for Political Research, the more points you will earn on the exam. • Negative: The more you party, the less points you will earn on your Political Research exam.

38. Structural Explanations • A sequence of phrases or parts that comprises the whole • Example: Various social networks combining to form a whole • Used in network, sequence, and functional theory

39. Interpretive Explanations • Just as it sounds… • Interpretive explanations seek to understand different attributes and characteristics of the social environment. • Overall, interpretive explanations seek to “get a feel” for what occurs and why it occurs.

40. Major Approaches • 1. Positivist Approach • 2. Interpretive Approach • 3. Critical Approach • 4. Thank Goodness we are almost through with Theory.

41. Positivist Approach • Hard Facts • A very “natural sciences” approach • Logical • Nomothetic • Replication (REMEMBER) is essential.

42. Interpretive Approach • Human social life is “qualitatively” different than the natural science/hard facts approach. • Ideas, beliefs, perceptions should be taken into account. • Ideographic—specific description

43. Critical Approach • Puts “knowledge into action.” • Research is not value free; an agenda or a political or moral obligation often exists.

44. Common Pitfalls • 1) Begging the Question • 2) Circular Argument • 3) Post Hoc Explanation

45. Review