POS 3713 0001 Dr Pietryka Spring 2015 Review Questions Political Science Research Study Guide Exam 1 1 How do we know what we know a No real answer because this question is philosophical We need to always be willing to consider new evidence and challenge what you thought you knew to be true 2 What do political scientists do exactly What is the difference between descriptive and causal inference Which form of inference are political scientists most interested in a Political scientists develop and test theories They use the occurrences of phenomena systematize them into concepts or constructs and theorize a story that gives the data meaning and order b Descriptive inferences deal with the what questions and single variables i Example The weight of the earth and presidential approval c Causal inferences deal with the why and how and the relationship between variables i Example Why has the earth remained the same size Why doe president s approval ratings decline over their tenure in office 3 Is the social world deterministic or probabilistic Why do we care about this distinction a The human world is probabilistic not deterministic The distinction makes the difference between effect that will happen with certainty vs probabilities that may happen but are not certainties 4 What are variables What features do they have a Variables are definable quantities than can take on two or more values They have labels descriptions of what the variable is and values denominations in which the variable occurs 5 What are independent variables How are they related to dependent variables Know how to identify each in a theory or hypothesis a The value of the dependent variable depends on the value of the independent b variable Independent variables are variables that are theorized to cause variation in the dependent variable c Dependent variables are variables for which at least some of the variation is theorized to be caused by one or more independent variables 6 What are antecedent and intervening variables Know how to identify each in a theory or hypothesis a An intervening variable is one that helps explain an observed association between two variables X and Y It is a variable that intervenes between the dependent and independent variable i A variable that explains a relation or provides a causal link between other variables Example The statistical association between income and longevity needs to be explained because just having money does not make one live longer Other variables intervene between money and long life People with high incomes tend to have better medical care than those with low incomes Medical care is an intervening variable It mediates the relation between income and longevity b An antecedent variable refers to any variable that explains or partially explains a relationship between two variables X and Y by its prior impact on the two variables i An antecedent variable occurs prior to a response variable but may not cause the response 7 What is a unit of analysis Know how to identify the unit of analysis in a theory or hypothesis a The primary entity being studied the who or what being studied 8 What is covariation Why is it important for science a When two variables vary together b Political scientists cannot think in terms of covariation because they think in terms 9 What is the fallacy of affirming the consequent and how does this fallacy relate to of casual relationships i Covariation does not mean causality science a If A then B A so B This is wrong i Example If he s lying he will swear He s sweating so he s lying this is not necessarily true b Many inferences in science result from this fallacy because findings are usually based on induction rather than deduction 10 What is a theory Where do they come from How do we evaluate their merit a A theory is a tentative conjecture about the causes of some phenomenon of interest b Theories come from thinking in new ways about particular phenomena i Theories are tested through the use of hypotheses and empirical tests of ii Theories are never proven because scientists should always be willing to these hypotheses consider new evidence c If the question being answered by a theory is interesting and important the theory has potential Is it casual i ii Does it generate testable hypotheses iii How general iv How parsimonious v Is the theory novel and interesting 11 What is the difference between induction and deduction a Deduction works from the more general to the more specific i Goes from a theory that is then narrowed down into a testable hypothesis we then collect observations to test the hypothesis 1 Theory hypothesis observation confirmation b Induction moves from specific observations to broader generalizations i Looking at observations and finding patterns and regularities 1 Observation pattern tentative hypothesis theory 12 What is falsification and what role does it play in science a Falsification i Is when something is proven false b You can distinguish between a scientific and a non scientific statement by asking one self if it can be falsified If it cannot it is not science c Falsification is important because it gives political scientists an opportunity to try and disprove their theories which is important in developing strong theories 13 What are hypotheses and how do they differ from theories Why do we need hypotheses for science What are the requirements of good hypotheses a Hypothesis A theory based statement about what we would expect to observe if our theory is correct A hypothesis is a more explicit statement of a theory in terms of the expected relationship between a measure of the independent variable and a measure of the dependent variable b Theory A tentative conjecture about the causes of some phenomenon of interest c We need a hypothesis because they are testable statements that can help us find our theory either true or false d A Good Hypothesis i ii iii It is theoretically grounded It specifies the relationship between the values of two or more variables It is testable and falsifiable 14 What is a null hypothesis and how is it related to an alternative hypothesis a Null Hypothesis A theory based statement about what we would observe if there were no relationship between an independent variable and the dependent variable i The null hypothesis is typically the opposite of the alternative hypothesis ii A scientist will always prefer the null hypothesis to the alternative b The null hypothesis denoted by H0 is
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