Research Methods Midterm

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epirical research

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research based on actual "objective" observation

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applied research

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research designed to produce knowledge useful in altering a real-world condition or situation

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pure, theoretical, or recreational rsearch

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reserach designed to satisfy one's intellectual curiosity

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normative knowledge

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knowledge that is evaluative, value-ladden, and concerned with prescribing what ought to be

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nonnormative knowledge

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concerned with factual or objective determinations

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What are the characteristics of scientific knowledge? (there are 5)

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1) scientific knowledge calls for empirical verification
2)scientific knowledge must be transmissible, scientific discoveries must be made explicit so that others can analyze and replicate findings
3) It is general - applicable to many rather than to a few cases
4)is explanatory (a conclusion can be derived logically from a set of general propositions and specific initial conditions)
5) is provisional (subject to revision and change)

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inductive reasoning

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process of reasoning from a specific observation to general principle or theory *Observation precedes theory*

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deductive reasoning

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process pf proceeding from general theory to specific observations *Theory precedes observation*

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Five basic characteristics of a classical randomized experiment

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1) Establish and experimental group and a control group
2)Randomly assign individuals to the groups. This guarantees that both groups are essentially identical
3)Researcher controls the administration of treatement
4)Researcher establishes and measures the dependent variable both before and after the stimulus is given
5)Time, location, and other physical aspects of an experiment are under the researchers direction

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precision matching

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the matching of pairs of subjects with one of the pair assigned to the experimental group and the other to the control group. Method of randomization

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internal validity

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research procedure demonstrated a true cause-and-effect relationship that was not created by spurious factors

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Threats to internal validity (8)

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1)history
2)maturation
3)testing
4)selection baises
5)statistical regression
6)experimental mortality
7)instrument decay
8)demand characteristics

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(Threat to internal validity)
What is selecion bias? Provide an example

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bias in the assignment of subjects to experimental and control groups
Ex. when selecting volunteers for groups, not random sample

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(Threat to internal validity)
What is statistical regression?

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a change in the dependent variable due to the temporary nature of extreme values

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(threat to internal validity)
What is demand characteristics?

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aspects of the research situation that cause participants to guess the purpose or rationale of the study and adjust their behavior or opinions accordingly.

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external validity

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extent to which th results of an experiement can be generalized across populations, times, and settings

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What are field experiments?

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quasi-experimental design applied in a natural setting. There is no random assignment of participants to groups.

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Idiographic explanations

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very detailed explanations of a certain event

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Nomothetic explanation

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general explanation of a phenomenon. Goal is parsimonious, to explain as much as possible with as little as possible

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4 types of variables

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independent variable, dependent variable, antecedent variable, interveining variable

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variable

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logical groupings of attributes. The variable gender is made up of the attributes male and female.

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theory

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a systematic explanations for the observations that relate to a particular aspect of life: juvenile delinquency, for example, or perhaps social stratification or political revolution

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Three major aspects of the social science enterprise

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theory, data collection, and data analysis

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intervening variable

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a variable that occurs closer in time to the dependent variable and is itself affected by other independent variables

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antecendent variable

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a variable that occurs prior to all other variables and that may have an affect on other independent variables

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hypothesis

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an explicit statement that indicates how a researcher thinks the phenomena of interest are related

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5 Characteristics of a good hypothesis

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1) should be empirical (not normative)
2)should be general (apply to many cases rather than a few)
3)should be plausible
4)should be specific (specify expected relationship between the variables)
5) should be stated in a manner that corresponds to the way in which the researcher intends to test it

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units of analysis

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types of political actors: individuals, states, counties, countries, regions

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ecological inference

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the use of aggregate data to study the behavior of individuals

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ecological fallacy

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arises when an aggregate-level phenomenon is used to make inferences at the individual level when there is no such relationship

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conception

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an individual's immediate mental associations with a term

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conceptualization

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the process of coming to an agreement about the meaning of a term

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concept

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the result of the process of conceptualization; an abstract mutual understanding of a term

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indicators

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a sign of the presence or absence (and often the level) of the concept we're studying

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4 levels of measurement

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nominal
ordinal
internval
ratio

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(level of measurement)
nominal

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numbers assigned to variables such as major, religion, sex, regime type

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(level of measurement)
ordinal

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are about order, variables with characteristics that can be logically placed in order.
Ex. level of religionisty, income by brakets, cannot measure distance between

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(level of measurement)
interval

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the difference between one variable and the next is the same.
Ex. IQ scores, temperature, calendar years

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(level of measurement)
ratio

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0 means the absence of the concept, able to make comparissons
Ex. age 0 is not alive, 0 degree Kelvin is absence of energy

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reliability

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extent to which a measure yields the same result on repeated trials

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validity

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the correspondence between a measure and the concept it is supposed to measure

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face validity

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does it make sense?

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content validity

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does it cover the full range of dimensions we were interested in? meanings

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criterion/predictive validity

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can the test predict outcomes?

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construct validity

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researcher examines the empirical relationships between a measurement and other concepts to which it should be related. Does this measurement have relationships with other concepts that one would expect it to have?