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Comparative Politics > Comparative Politics - Week 1 (Comparative Research Methods) > Flashcards

Comparative Politics - Week 1 (Comparative Research Methods) Flashcards

1
Q

what does comparative politics deal with

A

empirical questions and interactions within political systems

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2
Q

what does comparative politics focus on

A

internal political structures, actors and processes, and analysing them empirically by describing, explaining and predicting their variety across political systems

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3
Q

what are the three focal points of comparative politics

A

intra-national
political systems
comparison across systems or over time

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4
Q

what does the scientific method refer to

A

a standardised set of techniques for building scientific knowledge

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5
Q

what is scientific knowledge

A

a generalised body of laws and theories that explain a phenomenon or behaviour of interest that are acquired using the scientific method

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6
Q

what four characteristics should the scientific method satisfy

A

replicability
precision
falsifiability
parsimony

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7
Q

what is precision

A

concepts which are hard to measure, must be defined with such precision that others can use those definitions to measure those concepts and test that theory

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8
Q

what is falsifiability

A

a theory must be stated in such a way that can be reasonably tested and disproven

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9
Q

what is parsimony

A

when there are multiple explanations of a phenomenon, scientists must always accept the simplest explanation

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10
Q

what is a theory

A

a set of systematically interrelated concepts and propositions intended to explain and predict a phenomenon or behaviour of interest, within certain boundary conditions and assumptions

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11
Q

what is the importance of observations in reference to theories

A

a theory is only as good as the observations it is built on

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12
Q

what is a hypothesis

A

an empirical formulation of propositions, stated as a relationship between variables

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13
Q

what is a concept

A

a generalizable property or characteristic associated with an object, event, or person

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14
Q

what is a construct

A

an abstract concept that is specifically chosen/created to explain a given phenomenon

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15
Q

what is an operational definition?

A

a concept/construct in terms of how it will be empirically measured

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16
Q

what is a varialbe

A

an attribute of a concept that can take on different values

17
Q

what is a variable

A

an attribute of a concept that can take on different values

18
Q

what is a dependent variable

A

a variable that explains another variable

19
Q

what is an independent variable

A

a variable that explains another variable (the potential cause of change in another variable)

20
Q

what is a control variable

A

an independent variable that is not the focus of a study, included to account for confounding relationships

21
Q

what is inductive research

A

used to infer concepts and patterns from observed data to create theory

22
Q

what are deductive methods

A

a social phenomenon is observed -> a theory is developed to explain why it occurred -> a theory is tested through research and the theory is either accepted, rejected, or revised

23
Q

what are inductive methods

A

a social phenomenon is observed -> data is collected on the possible reasons why it occurs and trends in the data are examined -> a theory is developed from this data to explain the social phenomenon

24
Q

where is explanatory research used

A
  • to scope out the magnitude or extent of a particular phenomenon, problem or behaviour
  • to generate some initial ideas about that phenomenon
  • to test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study regarding that phenomenon
25
Q

what are the issues with the scientific method

A
  • it is very linear (implies that science is once and done)
  • not intuitive (makes the process intimidating)
  • facts vs process
  • focused on experiment
26
Q

what is the cycle of scientific thinking

A

prediction -> testing/checking -> observations -> questions -> model (hypothesis) explanation -> answers

27
Q

what is a case

A

a unit of observation to be compared e.g. countries, regions, parliaments, parties, individuals, etc..

28
Q

what is the use of Small N Comparison

A

aims to provide more detailed understanding

29
Q

what are the limitations of Small N comparison

A
  • it is too complex (requires in-depth knowledge and familiarity with the cases)
  • generalisations cannot be tested rigorously
30
Q

what are the limitations of large N comparison

A
  • quantifiability - certain things are difficult and/or controversial to quantify
  • Correlation does not imply causation

Comparative Politics (24 decks)

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