Term | Definition |
Unit of Analysis | The Entity (Person, Organization, Jurisdiction, Country) we want to Describe |
Systematic | A consistant distortion of an empirical Measurement |
Random | A Haphazard, Chaotic Distortion of an Empirical Measurement |
Reliability | Extent is a consistant measure of Concept. Reliable measure gives same reading every time |
Validity | Extent it records the true value of the concept. Valid Measure provide clear link |
Testretest Reliability | The variation in results when the same individual repeats the same test over again. |
Interitem Reliability | Assesses the degree of consistency among the items in a scale |
Face Validity | A measure that appears to measure exactly that which it is meant to measure. |
Construct Validity | The relationship between the measure of a construct/concept and measures of other constructs |
Units of Observation | The unit upon which one collects or analyses data |
Variables | A logical set of Attributes or characteristics |
Observation | Recording nature to formulate and test Hypothesis |
Ecological Fallacy | Cant Assume from the aggregate that there was no change ion the individual level |
Individual Fallacy | A sweeping generalization about a single variable |
Theory | Conjecture about the causes of a phenomena |
Hypothesis | What we expect to observe based on theory |
Null Hypothesis | What we expect to observe based on theory |
Independent Variable | The Concept that causes the dependent variable |
Dependent Variable | The concept that you are trying to explain. |
Generality/Generalizability | A concept that applies to a general/wide class of phenomena |
Parsimony | The very unrealism of a model is what makes it useful |
Deduction | An inference where the conclusion is of no greater generality than the premise |
Inductive theory | Takes an observation and gets broader as it moves up into theory and inference. |
Assumption | Something taken for granted, Hypothesis, postulate, guess, conjecture, theory. |
Deterministic | A philosophical position that says everything happens, and while under these conditions, it is the only possible outcome. |
Probabilistic | Combining probability and deductive reasoning to exploit a structure. |
Logical Causal Mechanism | Theory Describes how X causes Y. Not only about ultimate prediction of X and Y |
Endogeneity | A correlation between the parameter and the error term. |
Covariation Between X and Y | When the two variables adjust together but are not directly related |
Eliminating Confounding Variables | Third variable problem |
The 4 causal Hurdles | Causal Mechanism
Endogeneity or reverse causality |
Multivariable | Observation and analysis of more than one statistical outcome variable at a time. |
Controlling for Variables | A method to reduce confounding variations of a third variable that may also affect the dependent variable |
Confounding Variables | An extraneous variable that correlates to both the IV and the DV |
Selection Effects | The distortion of statistical analysis, resulting from the method of collecting data |
Research Design | How political Scientists test theories and Hypotheses |
Obervational Design | Researcher observe naturally occurring X & Y |
Experimental Design | Researcher Randomly Assigns value of X, Observes Y |
Random Assignment | Two treatment groups. |
Classical Experiment | - Pick IV & DV,
- Pick Sample,
- Randomly assign sample into treatment groups.
- Pretest Whole sample on DV
- Present IV
- Compare two sets of DV measure |
Conditioning | Watch out a pretest can poison the well |
Solomon Four Group Design | A research design where two groups are at the status Quo and two groups are at the variable and on of each is pretested |
Internal Validity | How well a research design tested a causal relationship |
External Validity | Confidence that a causal relationship Identified in our cases that can be generalized |
Drawbacks of Experimental Design | Often Difficult to compare relative power of X and Y, In relation to other X's |
Population vs. Sample | An observational Study observe cases without attempting to impose a treatment |
Cross Sectional Designs | A method involve observation of all of a population, or a representative subset, at one specific point in time |
Time Series Designs | An epidemiological design in which a single population group of defined size is studied over a period during which preventive or therapeutic interventions take place, with measurements of factors and variables of interest at specified time intervals. |
Measurement | Assigning a number or numerical value to a variable to plac it in a qualitative or quantitative research study |
Reliablity | Extent is a consistent measure of concept. Same readings everytime. |
Content Validity | The extent to which a measure represents all facets of a given social construct. |
Measurement Bias | Results from poorly measuring the outcomes you are measuring. |
Operationalization | The process of clarifying a fuzzy set of data to make it more useful to a study. |
Culturalists | One that emphasizes the importance of culture when determining the cause of behavior |
Differences Between Qualitative and Quantitative Research | Quantitative research is more of a numerical base, while qualitative it how far those numbers go. |
Selecting on the IV | Selecting Cases according to the values of the independent variable that they take on |
Selecting on the DV | Selecting the data according to the results that they yield. |
Most similar systems | Compares very similar cases that only different in the dependent variable |
Most different systems | Compares very different cases that all have the same dependent variable |
Method of Agreement | If two or more instances of the phenomenon under investigation have only one circumstance in common, the circumstance in which alone all the instances agree, is the cause (or effect) of the given phenomenon. |
Method of Difference | When two scenarios differ in one variable only but gain different results |
Selection Bias | A statistical Bias where there is an error in choosing the induvidual or group involved in a study |
Most likely case studies | The case that is most likely used to disprove a theory |
Least Likely case Studies | |
Method of Comparison | |