Political Analysis: Theory and Methods Review

These flashcards cover key concepts in political analysis, research design, and qualitative and quantitative methods.

Scientific Research

A systematic process of asking questions and answering them through evidence, moving beyond personal beliefs to objective proof.

Descriptive Research

Research that answers 'What?' questions, focusing on describing phenomena, such as voter turnout.

Explanatory Research

Research that addresses 'Why?' questions, seeking to explain reasons behind observed trends.

Agency

The ability of an individual or group to make choices and take action within a certain context.

Structure

The context or 'rules of the game' that constrain or enable choices made by actors.

Ontology

The study of the nature of reality; questions what exists.

Epistemology

The study of knowledge; asks how we acquire valid knowledge about reality.

Positivism

A belief that politics can be studied like natural sciences, focusing on universal laws and quantitative data.

Interpretivism

The idea that politics cannot be objective because the researcher is part of the social world; it seeks to understand meanings behind actions.

Nominal Measurement

A level of measurement that categorizes without order (e.g., religion, gender).

Ordinal Measurement

A level of measurement that categorizes with a clear order (e.g., social class: low, mid, high).

Interval/Ratio Measurement

A level of measurement that provides exact distances between values (e.g., age, income, GDP).

Research Design

The logical plan connecting research questions to data collection methods.

Hypothesis

A tentative, testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables.

Deductive Reasoning

A top-down approach starting with a theory, developing a hypothesis, and collecting data to test it.

Inductive Reasoning

A bottom-up approach starting with data observation, looking for patterns, and developing a theory.

Annotated Bibliography

A list of citations to books, articles, and documents, with brief descriptive and evaluative paragraphs for each.

Literature Review

A synthesis of existing research that identifies gaps and shows understanding of the state of the art in a field.

Qualitative Methods

Research methods focused on understanding depth, meaning, and context of social phenomena.

Quantitative Methods

Research methods that prioritize breadth, patterns, and generalization based on measurable data.

Mixed Methods

An intentional combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques in a single study.

Triangulation

Using different methods to check if they lead to the same conclusion, enhancing the validity of research.

Synthesis

The process of combining ideas from different authors to create a coherent understanding of a topic.

Normative Theory

Theory focused on values and judgments about what ought to be in political contexts.