POSC 3010 Terms

Empirical Research

Research based on first-hand gathering of data through interviews or surveys

Quantitative Research

Empirical research in which the researcher explores relationships using numeric data, data that is numerical can be ‘counted‘ (e.g., responses to close-ended questions in a survey)

Qualitative Research

Empirical research in which the researcher explores relationships using textual rather than quantitative data (e.g., case study, observation, and ethnography), results are not usually considered generalizable, but are often transferable

Normative Research

Research that addresses questions about what should or ought to be; that seeks to propose or justify one value system over another

Research Design

A logical structure of inquiry that specifies the sort of test or evidence that will convincingly confirm or disconfirm a hypothesis

Confirmatory Research

A type of research that involves testing hypotheses with evidence

Exploratory Research

Research that operates as a guide to a process of discovery. It begins with a question or basic proposition, probes its plausibility against various types of data, and eventually generates a more concrete hypothesis, which can be more rigorously tested

Positivism

The view that scientific knowledge of the social world is limited to what can be observed; and that we can explain and predict social phenomena by discovering empirical regularities, formulating law-like generalizations, and establishing causal relationships

Interpretivism

The standpoint that recognizes the ‘embedded‘ nature of the researcher, and the unique personal theoretical stances upon which each person bases their actions. It rejects the assertion that human behaviour can be codified in laws by identifying underlying regularities, and that society can be studied from a detached, objective, and impartial viewpoint by the researcher

Induction

Reasoning from particular facts or observations → to a general conclusion

Deduction

A process of reasoning that begins with a broad generalization or theoretical proposition and then moves → to specific observations

Retroduction

The interaction of induction and deduction in an evolving, dynamic process of discovery and hypothesis formation

Verifiability

The claim that the criterion for establishing truth claims, and thus the goal of scientific inquiry, should be to verify statements or propositions

Falsifiability

A concept in the philosophy of science, popularized by Karl Popper, that for a proposition to be scientific, it must be logically possible to show, through observation or experiment, that it is false

Deductive-Nomological Model

An explanatory model, also known as the ‘covering law model’, which holds that explanations of individual events or actions are derived from laws that express universal empirical associations

Hypothetico-Deductive Model

An application of two operations: (1) The formation of hypotheses and (2) the deduction of consequences from them … in order to arrive at beliefs which — although they are hypothetical — are well supported, through the way their deductive consequences fit in with our experiences and with our other well-supported beliefs

Causal Mechanism

Something that links a cause to its effect; that generates some type of ‘necessary connection’ between two events (the cause and the effect)

Behaviouralism

The application of positivism and empiricism to the study and explanation of outcomes in Politics and IR; a school of thought concerned with the observable, tangible, objective facts of behaviour, rather than with subjective phenomena such as thoughts, emotions, or impulses

Methodology

The principles and procedure of inquiry used by researchers in a particular discipline

Rational Choice Theory

Explains outcomes as the result of rational choices made by individuals within a given set of material and structural circumstances

Naturalism

The view that the social and behavioural sciences should have the same structure and logical characteristics as the natural sciences; that the primary goal of the social sciences — like that of the natural sciences — is to explain and predict social phenomena by means of laws; and that only that which can be observed, at least in principle, to be investigates scientifically (contrary to ‘scientific realism’)

Empiricism

A philosophical theory of knowledge which maintains that we know of the world is limited to what can be observed. Knowledge is only that which originates in sensory experience: there is no priori knowledge, no knowledge of reality that is acquired prior to sense experience

Law

A statement of relationship (e.g., ‘A leads to B’) which is accepted as having been universally verified by observation

Logical Postitivism

An important extension of positivist thought that argues that logical reasoning and mathematics should also be treated as sources of knowledge, in addition to empiricism; that knowledge of the social world comes, not just through what can be observed (empiricism), but also through logical reasoning

Hypothesis

A tentative explanation — hunch, guess, assertion — that has not yet been tested against data collected in a concrete situation, but which it is possible to test by providing clear evidence for support or rejection

Scientific Realism

The view that scientific research is based, not only on evidence that is visible in the world, but on unobservable facts, objects, or properties that exist independently of our direct knowledge of them, and that the goal of scientific inquiry is to describe and explain both observable and unobservable aspects of the world

Individualism

The claim that the basic units of society are individuals. Social phenomena are the combined results of individual actions

Methodological Individualism

The claim that explanations of social phenomena — classes, power, nations, or other social phenomena — must be reducible to the characteristics of individuals

Holism

The claim that the whole of something is distinct from and nor directly explicable in terms of its parts. Social facts have to have social causes that are irreducible to facts about individuals

Methodology of Holism

The claim that properties of a system as a whole cannot be deduced by the properties of its components alone. The system as a whole plays a role in how the parts behave

Critical Discourse Analysis

An approach that assumes discursive power — control over discourse — is a crucial constituent of social power, and a major means of reproducing dominance and hegemony; and that seeks to expose connections between language, power, and ideology

Post-Structuralism

An approach concerned with how discourses are embedded in sets of power relations and supported by institutional and historical configurations; and, particularly, how the ‘discursive practices’ that lay claim to revealing knowledge are intertwined with the mechanisms of (political) power

Constructivism

An approach which maintains that reality does not exist as something independent of us, but is socially, and actively, constructed; it cannot be understood outside of the way humans interact

Ontology of Individualism

The basic units of society are individuals. Social phenomena are the combined result of individuals’ actions

Ontology of Holism

The whole of something is distinct from and not directly explicable in terms of its parts. Social facts have to have social causes that are irreducible to the facts about individuals

Methodology of Individualism

Explanation of phenomena — classes, power, nations, etc. — must be reducible to the characteristics of individuals

Methodology of Holism

The properties of a system as a whole cannot be deduced by the properties of its components alone. The system as a whole plays a role in how parts behave

The Questions of Ontology

What exists? What is the nature of the social world?

The Question of Epistemology

How can we know about what exists?

The Question of Methodology

What strategies can we use to gain the knowledge of what exists?

Philosophical Position of Positivism

There are no fundamental differences between the natural and social worlds, and so there should be none between the natural and social sciences (naturalism). What we know of the world is limited to what can be observed (empiricism), and laws govern the social world just as they govern the natural world; so social phenomena can therefore be explained through the discovery of laws

Philosophical Position of Scientific Realism

Reality consists, not only of observable elements, and we know these unobservable elements are “real“ because they generate observable outcomes. There are knowable, mind-independent facts, objects, or properties that cannot be directly observed but which are, nonetheless, real. Unobservable elements of social life, such as structural relations between social phenomena, are crucial to an understanding and explanation of what goes on in the world. This is precisely what makes the social world similar to the natural world

Logical Positivism’s Elaboration of Positivism’s Philosophical Position

Adds the assumption that we gain knowledge of the social world, not only through what can be observed (empiricism), but also through logical reasoning

Critical Realism’s Elaboration of Scientific Realism’s Philosophical Position

Rejects the assumption of both positivism and scientific realism, that there exists a ‘mind-independent’ reality that is separate from our perception or observation of it. Perception is a function of the human mind, so we can only acquire knowledge of the external world through critical reflection on the way we become aware of, understand, or interpret something

Philosophical Position of Interpretivism

The social world is fundamentally different from the world of natural phenomena because social phenomena are subjectively created: They are what we experience them to be and, thus, are socially or discursively constructed. Consequently, the primary goal of social science must be to achieve an understanding of human behaviour through an interpretation of meanings, beliefs, and ideas that give people reasons for acting

Scientific Research Programme (SRP)

The development of a theory which remains constant (the hardcore) in combination with its protective belt of auxiliary hypotheses, which change over time

Hard Core

Basic axioms and hypotheses that remain constant and are accepted (for a time) without question

Protective Belt

Specific falsifiable theories or auxiliary hypotheses based on the hard core that can be falsified (the theory not the hard core)

Auxiliary Hypotheses

Additional specific hypotheses generated by a theory

Heuristic

A rule or recommendation for developing a theory

Negative Heurisitc

The stipulation that the hard core of the programme not be abandoned or modified

Positive Heuristic

Instructions as to how to adjust the theories and auxiliary hypothesis in the protective belt in the face of an anomaly

Anomaly

A departure from what is expected or predicted in a specific set of circumstances

Progressive Research Programme

When adjustments to the protective belt predict hitherto unexpected facts, the research programme is theoretically progressive; it is empirically progressive if some of these predictions are corroborated

Degenerative Research Programme

When adjustments to the protective belt are made that fail to explain and corroborate new facts

Critical Theory

A variety of theoretical approaches, including constructivism, feminist theory, post-structuralism, and post-colonialism that reject positivism, and the assumption that a distinction can be drawn between facts and values

Empirical Theory

A theory that can be verified or disproved through observation or experiment

Going Native

When the researcher loses objective distance from the people that they are studying

Paradigm

A conceptual scheme about which a community of scholars agree, and which defines the objects of investigation and the ways in which they are to be investigated

Theory

A proposition which has been elaborated and/or has withstood repeated testing

Proposition

A statement which links two or more variables

Grand Theory

An attempt to construct a total theoretical system covering all aspects of social life, rather than an explanation of particular instances, societies, or phenomena

Grounded Theory

An inductive research strategy in which theory is produced through, and grounded in data

Normative Theory

Theory concerned with questions about what is right and wrong, desirable or undesirable, just or unjust in society

Association

When values of one variable (of two) vary systematically with values of the other variable

Correlation

A linear relationship between two variables

(Often quantifies the strength and direction of the linear relationship between variables)

Co-Variance

A relationship between two variables such that one varies with the other

(Often describes whether variables tend to increase or decrease together)

Causality

A relationship between two variables in which changes in one variable bring about changes in another

Operationalization

Process of turning abstract ideas into empirical indicators

Inference

The process of drawing logical conclusions on the basis of premises assumed to be true

Internal Validity

Has to do with whether or not we are confident that a causal relationship really exists between two variables

External Validity

The extent to which findings can be generalized to other similar situations

Reliability

The extent to which a measurement produces the same results on repeated trials

Research Design

A logical structure of inquiry that specifies the sort of test or evidence that will convincingly confirm or disconfirm a hypothesis

Data Collection

A wide range of evidence gathering activities that enables researchers to subject rival causal hypotheses to empirical scrutiny including (but not limited to) observation, participant observation, experimentation, interviews, archival research, research gathered from secondary historical sources, ethnography, large-scale surveys, and the creation and modification of quantitative data sets

Process Tracing

A method that entails carefully tracing the sequence of events constituting a process (e.g., institutional persistence or change) in order to identify the underlying mechanism that connects hypothesized causes and outcomes

Comparative Historical Analysis

Investigation that begins with a set of theoretical propositions and then uses multiple cases and time periods to illustrate, test, and refine them

Informed Consent

The process in which researchers communicate information about a study to potential participants. Information delivered during this process includes the purpose of the study, the risks and benefits, and that participation is voluntary and can be discontinued at any time. Respondents should be made adequately and accurately aware of the type of information you want from them, why the information is being sought, what purpose it will be put to, how they are expected to participate in the study, and how it will directly or indirectly affect them

Covert Participation

When the researcher does not reveal their identity to the informants

Content Validty

An approach for assessing the validity of a measure which is based on the extent to which the measure covers the full range of the concept, covering each of its different aspects

Validity

The extent to which our data measures the phenomenon we claim it measures. In the analysis of interview data, it refers to whether the conclusions being drawn from the data are credible, defensible, warranted, and whether they can withstand alternative explanations

Face Validity

An approach used for assessing the validity of a measure which is based on whether or not the measure intuitively seems like a good measure of the concept

Construct Validity

An approach used for assessing the validity of a measure which is based on the extent to which the measure is associated with other theoretically relevant factors

Intercoder Reliability

The degree of coding consistency between two or more coders

Selection Bias

The tendency to depend on accounts or select cases that fit with the researcher’s arguments

Replication

The practice of carrying out a similar data-collection exercise to see if the findings from the original study can be reproduced on an independent data set

Level of Measurement

How a variable is measured, and how different values of the variable relate to each other

Nominal

A variable where the values or categories of the variable cannot be ranked or the differences between the categories quantified

Ordinal

Where the values or categories of the variable can be ranked, but the differences between the categories cannot be quantified or directly compared

Interval

A variable where the values of the variable can be rank ordered, and the differences between two values are important and can be quantified and directly compared

Verification

The practice of making data available for secondary analysis so other scholars can re-analyse the data to see if they come to the same conclusions

Questionnaire Design

The way in which the survey questions are constructed and put together

Questionnaire

Pre-designed lists of closed questions designed to collect data from a large sample of respondents and to be completed by respondents themselves

Criterion Validity

An approach used for assessing the validity of a measure which is based on how well the new measure of the concept relates to existing measures of the concept, or related concepts

Double-Barrelled Question

A question that is really two questions in one

Faulty Presupposition

A survey question which assumes something that is not necessarily true

Filter

A question used in surveys to sift out respondents for whom more detailed questions may not apply and who therefore should not be asked

Recall Problems

Error in survey research to do with memory failure, where respondents cannot remember whether or not they have done something when they did it

Bandwagon Effect

Are said to occur when people say they did something (e.g., vote for a particular party), not because they did, but because they want to go along with the majority position

Telescoping

Occurs in survey research when respondents think that certain events from a long time ago happened more recently than they really did