PSC 202: Chapter 1
48 Cards in this Set
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what is epsitemology?
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the history of knowledge
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what are the three branches of epistemology?
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1. rationalism
2. empiricism
3. contructivis
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explain rationalism
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reasoning through principles and then come to conclusions. the conclusions=knowledge
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explain empiricism
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gaining knowledge by experiencing 5 senses. compile and use inductive reasoning.
*gathering information
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explain constructivis
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know has subjective elements we can construct knowledge but it may not be true. we just built up
ex. the origin of life 1. evolution 2. creation
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what is the definition of political science?
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the scientific way of studying politics
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what is politics?
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a clash of ideas, interests, values striving for dominance.
*people want to change policy and enforce their ideas
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who described politics as "who gets what when and where"
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Lasswell
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what did aristotle say about knowledge?
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knowledge is earthly . categorize data and analyze it
*experience it
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what did plato say about knowledge?
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find out what God is and mimic it
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what is formalism?
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the study of law and constitutions
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20th century endorsed what branch of knowledge?
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empiricism which uses the 5 senses to record data
chicago and herold g.
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describe behavioralism
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came after WWII
it's a way of studying politics
more philosophical
it does not just limit itself to the study of people's behavior but also tried to bring scientific objectivity
*driven by the era of Mc. Carthy *red scare*
not arguing beliefs but facts
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describe the era of eclecticism
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draws upon multiple theories
behavioralism declined because it wasnt contributing to the idea of "big questions"
and it was impossible to be objective because our values drive our opinions
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what is the scientific method?
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the identification and testing of empirical generalizations
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a political science creates a _______ which he\\she will test
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hypothesis
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define systematic
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set of procedures to follow
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empirical research is _____
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defined by data. all are able to find the same answer
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define reproducible
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one follows the same steps and if able to find the same answer OR the same mistake
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define reasoned judgement
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one removes values when doing research
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what can't the scientific method cant answer what?
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normative questions
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empirical is a statement that?
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can be confirmed or proved false through observation
TRUE OR FALSE
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what are the key steps to the scientific method?
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1. propose an explanation for variation in concept of interest
2. derive hypothesis from explanation
3. collect data
4. use data to evaluate hypothesis
5. re-asses explanation
^^^ test this and if comes out correct enough times
= theory! (need lots of evidence)
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what are the four main subfields of political enterprise today?
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1. political theory
2. comparative theory
3. american politics
4. international relations
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what defines a good research topic?
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interesting!
importatn
puzzling (you dont already know the answer)
short and direct
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what is at the core of empiricism?
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VARIABLE<333
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what is a concept?
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mental construct to represent real world phenomena
*it's the names for ideas\\things\\feelings
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are concepts concrete?
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no they are temporary things
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who came up with the first concepts?
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scholars.
ex social capital
*glue that holds people together in a country *trust* and karma
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is poverty a concept? can you measure it?
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what is poor? most people use the dollar a day
but how do you measure it across countries?
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what does acquiring knowledge require?
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labeling and describing
(you need names and meanings to form concepts)
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what is at the core of science?
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identifying the relationship between concepts
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what steps are in the measurement process?
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1. concept
2. precise definition of a concept
3. measurement strategy
4. variable
operationalization
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identify the concrete properties of a concept that varies then measure and ask questions before collecting data. then construct a variable then record and do measurement
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mhm
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define conceptual definition
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clearly describes the concept's measurable properties and specifies the units of analysis
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what is the unit of analysis?
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the thing you are studying
(person, states, etc)
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define operational definition
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describes the instrument for measuring the concept in the real world
*putting the conceptual definition into an operation
*describes the procedures used to measure
metric (length=inc)
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for religiosity which method would one use?
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survey !
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define variable
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it's the consistent
the empirical measurement of a concept
*have the units and cant take one of at least two values
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what is the variable in the question "do you think religion is important or not?"
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*important
*not important
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systematic error:
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the measurement tool that consistently mis-measures what we want it to measure
chronic distortion
*** it's a measurement bias
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random measurement:
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chaotic distortion
produces unpredictable errors
erratic
*in large population this wont matter
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reliability:
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extent to which a measurement tool measures a concept consistently
* consistent
*same measurement everytime
*no error
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validity
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extent to which a measurement tool measures the intended concept with accuracy
record holds true value
does not measure the unintended
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concept:
with the ex. of party affiliation
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system of beliefs
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conceptual definition:
with the ex. of party affiliation
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a spectrum of beliefs ranging from liberal to conservative
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operational definition:
with the ex. of party affiliation
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survey questions asking voters to place themselves ranging from 1-7 (L-C)
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variable
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a value ranging from 1-7 for each survey respondent
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PSC 202: Chapter 1