PO217- Chapter 4 Research Foundations; Theory, Concepts, and Measures PDF

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Notes on PO217 from the E-Textbook during the fall Semester of year 2021, covering the foundations and theory of political research...

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PO217 - Chapter 4 Research Foundations; Theory, Concepts, and Measures -

Theory: a simplified explanation of the world A theory is a useful way to condense knowledge; it argues that there is a relationship between concepts; states the way, how, and why they are related Concept: abstract ideas that represent qualities in the world From this you can make a prediction; hypothesis: prediction of relationship between two variables based on theory; real world observations; gather empirical evidence

Theory and Political Science -

Theory is a form of argument; argues that particular concepts are related in a particular way and why that is the case Theory-oriented research: also known as basic research: research that aims to broaden our understanding of political life; typically inform politics and political debate Political scientists strive for a simple theory They tend to create general theories that extend beyond a single event

The Role of Research in Developing, Testing, and Refining Theory -

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Theories emerge when someone observes something interesting that requires explanation Theory-building research: research that seeks to obtain real-world observations sufficient to develop a simple, generalizable, and testable explanation of the variation of interest; also referred to as inductive research or exploratory research. It may be qualitative or quantitative in nature qualitative research has a particular strength for theory development, given its emphasis on in-depth, context-specific information Theory-testing research: research that deliberately sets out to test the hypothesis established by theory; also referred to as deductive research Quantitative research has a strength for theory testing If the results show that evidence supports the theory; we should have greater confidence If the results show that evidence supports the theory but points to some nuances; we should refine or modify the theory

The Importance of Theory to Political Science -

Theories are the arguments that political scientists make about why the political world is the way it is Theories are not meant to be proved but rather to guide us to improved understanding of cause-and-effect relationships between concepts

Concepts -

Enables us to organize and classify phenomena Political science considers the relationships among numerous concepts Causal Mechanism: a plausible explanation of why the concepts are related Concepts serve many purposes; They allow us to classify and communicate phenomena They enable us to make comparisons through categorization Typology: the classification of cases based on their characteristics; aristotle's typology of regimes is well known - Continuum: a continuous series or event whose parts are indistinguishable from each other - Concepts have both a label and a conceptual definition - Conceptual definition: explicit description of the concept in question; sometimes referred to as the nominal definition - It is difficult to create a conceptual definition because things change all the time - Unidimensional concept: a concept with only one underlying dimension - Multidimensional concept: concept that comprises different elements or dimensions, each of which must be captured in the definition and measurement - Conceptualization: the process of choosing the conceptual definition for a study; important for three reasons 1) Ones choice of conceptual definition will determine the extent to which the work is accepted within academic discourse 2) To avoid misunderstandings, researchers should clearly define their concepts and use their own terminology consistently 3) Conceptual definitions are linked to the measures used in a study - Operational definition: a concrete, measurable version of the concept - Operationalization: the process of moving from abstract concepts (conceptual definitions) to concrete measures (operational definitions)

Sources of Conceptual Definitions -

Starting point to creating a definition is reviewing existing literature Inductive reasoning: a type of reasoning that bases conclusions on the presence of empirical evidence - Concepts should be defined to best capture the essence of the quality that is being examined - Two cautionary flags should be raised when starting research 1) Check the literature thoroughly for examples of other other research that has used conceptual definitions similar to those in your study 2) If you are truly the first researcher ever to define a concept in a particular way, search the literature carefully, highlight the differences between your definition and those in earlier studies, and explain why your definition is superior to the others

Research Clarity and Concepts -

When reading research, look for clear conceptual definitions, and consider whether you find the rationale for these conceptualization choices compelling When doing your own research, understand that people may have a different understanding of the concepts

Measurement: Linking Theory to Empirical Study -

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Theories are arguments that a certain understanding of the political world is accurate, and we seek to use empirical evidence to support our argument that this understanding is accurate In the theory-building stage, we define our concepts and the expected relationships between them In the theory-testing stage we aim to use empirical evidence to test hypotheses Measure: a tool by which we obtain observable evidence about our concept of interest Qualitative approaches are often used in theory-building research, with concepts emerging during or after the research Quantitative approaches are often used in theory-testing research, with concepts defined before the research process

Measures in Qualitative Research -

Researcher seeks to discover themes Themes: recurring patterns of importance to the topic found in the data Measures are the tools researchers use to collect the data in order to observe themes Researchers identify themes during and sometimes after

Measures in Quantitative Research -

The concepts are known prior to research, and the researchers must collect observable, real-world evidence about the concepts the process of moving from abstract concepts to concrete measures to obtain information about concepts is known as operationalization (moving a concept to a variable) Variable: the observable characteristics of phenomena that can take on more than one value; specific and concrete measurements of a concept Indicator: the means by which we assign each individual case to the different values of the variable Variable can take on different values The indicator allows us to measure the variable Concepts are multidimensional, using multiple variables and indicators Index: a single measure of the concept or variable in question

Hypotheses and Causality -

Hypothesis statement that variables are related speaks to correlation, a state in which two entities change in conjunction with the other Hypothesis statement that relates to how the variables are related speaks to casualty, which is the idea that one event has an effect on another Correlation speaks to presence of a relationship Hypothesis will specify an expected relationship and clarify which variable is the cause and which is the effect The causal mechanism often includes a series of events, and as it is often difficult to measure and test, it must be plausible

Casuality -

Independent variable: causes the change Dependent variable: changes as a result of the other variable

Causality Criterion 1: Correlation -

researchers must demonstrate that the two concepts are correlated—that is, a change in one corresponds with a change in the other positive correlation: when the direction of change is the same for each variable negative correlation: occurs when the direction of change is inverse

Casualty Criterion 2: Temporal Order -

Temporal Order: the time sequence of events Prior conditions: the nature or status of a situation before the inclusion of an independent effect

Casualty Criterion 3: Absence of Confounding Variables -

A relationship can be spurious Spurious: the relationship between two variables can be accounted for by a third variable Confounding Variables: factors that are correlated with both the independent and the dependent variables; also referred to as confounds, confounders, and third variables

Causality Criterion 4: Plausible Causal Mechanism -

Must have a strong causal argument must also have a plausible causal mechanism a causal mechanism is key to theory, and often involves a sequence or series of events the most plausible causal mechanisms are those that are parsimonious and direct

Causality Criterion 5: Consistency -

replication is key to the amount of confidence we should allot to claims of causality...