2.5: Student Resources

Key Terms

• Applied research is "research that attempts to explain social phenomena with immediate public policy implications."
• Case is a "spatially delimited phenomenon (a unit) observed at a single point in time, or over some period of time."
• Case study is an intensive look into a single case, often with the intent that the single case will help researchers to better understand a particular variable of interest.
• Causal case studies are case studies "organized around a central hypothesis about how X affects Y."
• Causal mechanism "explains how and why a hypothesized cause, in a given context, contributes to a particular outcome."
• Causal relationship is a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables.
• Correlation is a relationship between two variables.
• Comparative case study is a study that compares two or more cases.
• Deductive reasoning occurs when researchers start with a broad theory and then test it with specific observations.
• Dependent variable, also called "outcome variable," is the assumed effect.
• Descriptive case studies are case studies "not organized around a central, overarching causal hypothesis or theory."
• Empirical research is analysis based on experiment, experience or observation.
• Experiments are "laboratory studies in which investigators retain control over the recruitment, assignment to random conditions, treatment, and measurement of subjects."
• Falsifiability, a term coined by Karl Popper, is the ability for a statement to be logically contradicted through empirical testing. 
• Field experiment is an experiment that takes place in a real-world setting instead of in a laboratory.
• Hypothesis is a specific and testable prediction about the relationship between variables.
• Independent variable, also called "explanatory variable," is the presumed cause.
• Inductive reasoning occurs when researchers make specific observations and attempt to form a hypothesis (and eventually a broader theory).
• Inference is a process of drawing a conclusion about an unobserved phenomenon, based on observed (empirical) information.
• Literature review is a survey and synthesis of existing scholarly research that discusses existing knowledge and remaining limitations related to the question of interest.
• Most Different Systems Design (MDSD) is a research design in which the cases selected for comparison are different from each other, but the outcomes are similar.
• Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) is a research design in which the cases selected for comparison are similar to each other, but the outcomes differ.
• Natural experiment is an observational study that occurs when random assignment of a "treatment" occurs naturally or due to some factor other than a researcher.
• Non-falsifiable refers to a research question or claim that cannot be proven false.
• Observational study is a type of research in which researchers do not control a treatment (as in an experiment), but simply observe outcomes. 
• Science is the systematic and organized approach to any area of inquiry that utilizes scientific methods to acquire and build a body of knowledge, and political scientists use the scientific method to gain knowledge. 
• Scientific method is a process by which knowledge is acquired through a sequence of steps, which generally include the following components: question, observation, hypothesis, testing of the hypothesis, analysis of the outcomes, and reporting of the findings.
• Subnational case study is when subnational governments, such provincial governments, regional governments, and other local governments often referred to as municipalities, are the cases that are compared.
• Theory is a statement that explains how the world works based on repeated experiences and observations.
• Variable is a factor that can vary vary (i.e., take on different values).

Summary

Section 2.1: The Scientific Method and Comparative Politics

Comparative politics is a social science that follows the scientific method as a way to advance knowledge in the field. The scientific method follows a sequence of steps: asking a research question, conducting background research, developing hypotheses, testing hypotheses, analyzing results, and reporting findings. Each step is critical to exercising sound methodological practices to answer clear and substantive research questions.

Section 2.2: Four Approaches to Research

There are four basic approaches used in empirical research: experimental methods, statistical methods, comparative methods, and case study methods. Experimental methods rely on randomization of a treatment, which allows researchers to make causal inferences. There are laboratory, field, and natural experiments (though natural experiments are technically observational studies). Statistical methods are the use of mathematical techniques to analyze collected data, and researchers use them to discern correlations, or relationships, between variables. Comparative methods involve "the analysis of a small number of cases, entailing at least two observations." Case studies are an intensive look into a single case, often with the intent that the single case may help a researcher better understand a particular variable of interest. There are also comparative case studies and subnational case studies.

Section 2.3: Case Selection

Case selection is an important part of any research design. Deciding how many cases to include--and which cases to include--determines the appropriate research analysis methods. In many facets of comparative politics, researchers rarely reach the number of cases needed for large-N analysis. If the focus is on one case, or a few cases, case selection will depend on the type of case study: descriptive or causal. When considering one case, descriptive case studies are "not organized around a central, overarching causal hypothesis or theory" while causal case studies are "organized around a central hypothesis about how X affects Y" (Gerring, 2017). When considering more than one case (a comparative case study), case selection may follow a Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) and Most Different Systems Design (MDSD). In MSSD, the cases selected for comparison are similar to each other, but the outcomes differ. In MDSD, the cases selected are different from each other, but result in the same outcome.

Review Questions

1. The scientific method involves following steps. Which of these steps comes first?
   1. conduct an experiment
   2. form Hypotheses
   3. ask a question
   4. communicate findings
2. What is an inference?
   1. a process to acquire knowledge through a sequence of steps
   2. an educated guess
   3. a process of drawing a conclusion about an unobserved phenomenon based on observed information
   4. the ability for a statement to be proven true or false
3. Who coined the term "falsifiable"?
   1. Plato
   2. Karl Popper
   3. John Locke
   4. Sidney Verba
4. Consider this question: Is chocolate ice cream better than vanilla ice cream? Why is this question NOT falsifiable?
   1. it is not specific enough
   2. it is too technical
   3. it is subjective
   4. it IS falsifiable
5. When might using a comparative case study be ideal?
   1. when using a large sample size of data from a number of countries
   2. when comparing many countries at once
   3. when considering a small number of countries
   4. when a researcher wants to make a sweeping statement about many countries

Answers: 1.c, 2.c, 3.b, 4.c., 5.c

Critical Thinking

1. Provide two examples relevant to comparative politics of an inductive versus deductive approach to hypothesis formation. 
2. Construct a list of three falsifiable questions that could serve as the basis for political science research. What are the challenges in devising questions that are falsifiable?
3. Of the four approaches to research described in this chapter, which do you find most appealing? Why? What challenges might you face in your choice of research approach?

Suggestions for Further Study

Websites

• CIA World Factbook
• Our World in Data
• World Development Indicators

Journals

• Achen, Chris. (2005). “Let’s Put Garbage Can Regressions and Garbage Can Probits Where They Belong.” Conflict Management and Peace Science, 22(4), 327-339.
• Geddes, Barbara. (1990). “How the Cases you Choose Affect the Answers you Get: Selection Bias in Comparative Politics,” Political Analysis, 2, 131-50.
• Kalleberg, Arthur L., “The Logic of Comparison: A Methodological Note on the Comparative Study of Political Systems,” World Politics, 19 (October 1966), p. 72

Books

• Brady, Henry & Collier, David, eds. (2000). Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Berkeley, CA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
• Franco, J., Lee, C., Vue, K., Bozonelos, D., Omae, M., and Cauchon S. (2020). Introduction to Political Science Research Methods. First Edition. PDF Version ISBN: 978-1-7351980-0-2
• King, Gary, Keohane, Robert, & Verba, Sidney. (1994). Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press.