Scope And Methods Of Political Science Midterm

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Scientific Activities

Back 1

Observing and Describing Politics

-Why do people vote the way they do?
-Analyzing Constitutions
-Currently the most commonly used activity

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Normative Activities

Back 2

-Value Judgements
-Seeking the best systems and philosophies
-Socrates: Organizations do well when we put them in the places at which they are best suited

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Instrumental Activities

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-Things we do (not because they are good themselves) byt because they lead to something good
-Instrumental activities have come to be known as public policy

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Analytical Activities (Logical Activities)

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Arriving at things by nothing but pure thought

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Fact Value Dichotomy

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Empirical v. Normative (Value Judgement)

There are fact statements about what's in the world (that require empirical evidence) and there are value statements

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Noncognitivism

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Things do not posses value judgements, we just impose value judgements upon them

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David Hume

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Empirical philosopher who came up with the fact value dichotomy

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Politics

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-Making decisions for a group

-Government, legal governments, and the state

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Functionalism

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Politics needs to be defined in terms of the functions that is serves in society

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Liberal

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government should have a large role in the economy and a small role in personal freedom issues

Front 11

Scientific Activities

Back 11

Observing and Describing Politics

-Why do people vote the way they do?
-Analyzing Constitutions
-Currently the most commonly used activity

Front 12

Normative Activities

Back 12

-Value Judgements
-Seeking the best systems and philosophies
-Socrates: Organizations do well when we put them in the places at which they are best suited

Front 13

Instrumental Activities

Back 13

-Things we do (not because they are good themselves) byt because they lead to something good
-Instrumental activities have come to be known as public policy

Front 14

Analytical Activities (Logical Activities)

Back 14

Arriving at things by nothing but pure thought

Front 15

Fact Value Dichotomy

Back 15

Empirical v. Normative (Value Judgement)

There are fact statements about what's in the world (that require empirical evidence) and there are value statements

Front 16

Noncognitivism

Back 16

Things do not posses value judgements, we just impose value judgements upon them

Front 17

David Hume

Back 17

Empirical philosopher who came up with the fact value dichotomy

Front 18

Politics

Back 18

-Making decisions for a group

-Government, legal governments, and the state

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Functionalism

Back 19

Politics needs to be defined in terms of the functions that is serves in society

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Liberal

Back 20

government should have a large role in the economy and a small role in personal freedom issues

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Conservative

Back 21

Government should have a small role in the economy and a large role in personal freedom issues

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Libertarian

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Government should have a small role in the economy and a small role in personal freedom issues

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Statist/Populist

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Government should have a large role in the economy and a large role in personal freedom issues

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Functional Model

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The workings of society are similar to the workings of an organism

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Science

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A certain method to arrive at answers to questions

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The Authoritarian Mode to Knowledge

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Parents, education, physician

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Mystical Mode to Knowledge

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-Through the supernatural
-People have to believe to gain knowledge
-Losing authority over time

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Rationalistic Mode to Knowledge

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-Arrive at knowledge through pure thought
-The use of mathematics
-Not everything can be proven through pure thought

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Scientific Mode to Knowledge

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A systematic method using observation

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Assumptions of Science

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-Nature is orderly
-We can know nature
-Knowledge is better than ignorance
-Nothing is self evident
-Knowledge arrives from experience

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The Principle of Determinism

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(The principle of universal casualty)

All things that happen in the natural world have natural causes

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Scientific Process

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Problem
Hypotheses
Research Decision
Measurement (Data)
Analysis

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Assumption of Determinism

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Humans have free will
Intentionality
Human beings also seek a future state and make decisions that will bring them to it

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Teleology

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Things happen now because of future states (not accepted by political science)

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Empirical Basis

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Any field that is going to be scientific has to be based on facts, not values

Humans behave differently in studies and therefore cannot be studied effectively

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Hawthorne Effect

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People behave differently when being studied

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Post Modernism

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Attacks social as well as hard sciences

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Scientific Method + Social Sciences

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No science can predict everything perfectly but all sciences (including social sciences) make broad generalizations

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Metaphysical Realism (Concept of Post Modernism)

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There is a point of view beyond individual perspective

Attacks Objectivity

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Relativism

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We are biased in how we perceive the world and cannot be objective about it

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Social Cleavages

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Race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.

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Culture of Critical Discourse

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A discussion that brings us closer to the truth

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Traditional Approach to Political Science

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Historical

History is past politics, politics is present history

Legalistic

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Concepts

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Universal descriptive words that allow us to generalize, compare, classify, quantify, and operationalize

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Political Participation

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The foundation of democracies and republics

Campaign Contributions, Education, Voting History, Attention to Political Media

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Instrumentalism

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The usefulness of a concept

Can it be operationalized?
Is it lucid?

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Empirical Import

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Can be tied to things in the empirical world

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Generalization

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A statement that states the relationship between two or more concepts

(Can be true or false)

Systemize knowledge and allow us to predict

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Iron Law by Oligarchy

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Rule by the elite is inveitable

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Relationships

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Contain dependent variable (y) and independent variable (x). Variables vary from case to case.

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Laws

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Generalizations for which there is so much information that we accept they are true

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Hypotheses

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Generalizations that don't have enough information to be certain about

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Reactive Methods for Testing Hypotheses

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Polls

The Experiment: randomize people into an experimental group and a control group then compare the two

Simulation

Polygraph

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Non-Reactive Methods for Testing Hypotheses

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Content Analysis

Participant Research

Analysis of Records

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Content Analysis

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A research design in which you systematically look at the content of recorded information and then test hypotheses about it

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Participant Research

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Blend into a natural environment and make systematic observations about what happens in that setting

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Probability Generalizations

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Not everyone will fall under the generalization, but probabilistic generalizations test the means of two variables

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Causality Generalizations

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A causes B

The concern is that other x factors are causing both A and B

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Aspects of a Causal Relationship

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1. Contact Conjunction
2. Proper timing sequence technology
3. No spurious relationship

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Explanations

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Explanans: the parts that do the explaining

Explanandum: the parts that need to be explained

Explanations have generalizations and initial conditions imbedded in them

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Tautology

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Something that is true because of the definition of the words

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Disposal Pattern of Explanation

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Someone who has a tendency to behave in a certain way

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Patron-Client Relationship

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A person of power helps out his subordinates who in turn help him out too

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Intentional Pattern of Explanation

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There's something I want in the future, and I'm behaving the way I am now because of that

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Rational Pattern of Explanation

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This person is rational, that is why they re doing such and such

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Rationality

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Which option maximizes benefits and minimizes costs

(Has limited utility because some things cannot be assigned costs and benefits)

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Macro Pattern of Explanation

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Large institutional law explains smaller things

Refers to a higher level of study than an individual

Also known as the "system maintaining" pattern of explanation

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Genetic Pattern of Explanation

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This is happening now because something else happened in the past

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Theory

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Different ways that a concept is used

Any related set of generalizations about a specific field

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Empirical Theory

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How does the world work

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Normative Theory

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How should we act in the world?
What is an ideal world?

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Model

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Simplifies Reality

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Research Design

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A program that guides the researcher in the provess of collecting, analyzing, and interpreting observations

Components of Research Design
-Comparison
-Manipulation

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Experimental Cycle

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Hypothesis
Research Design
Measurement of Data
Data Analysis