2.5: Student Resources

Key Terms/Glossary

• Applied research - defined as “research that attempts to explain social phenomena with immediate public policy implications.''
• Assumptions - statements that are taken to be true, or statements that are accepted as true, without proof.
• Case - is defined as a “spatially delimited phenomenon (a unit) observed at a single point in time, or over some period of time."
• Case study - an intensive look into that single case, often with the intent that this single case may help us better understand a particular variable of interest.
• Causal case studies - case studies “organized around a central hypothesis about how X affects Y”.
• Causal mechanism - defined as “portable concepts that explain how and why a hypothesized cause, in a given context, contributes to a particular outcome.”
• Causal question - involves discerning cause and effect, also referred to as a causal relationship.
• Comparative case study - defined as a study that is structured on the comparison of two or more cases.
• Deductive reasoning - occurs when political scientists make an inference and then test its truth using evidence and observations.
• Dependent variables (outcome variables) - the assumed effect, their values will (presumably) depend on the changes in the independent variables.
• Descriptive case studies - case studies “not organized around a central, overarching causal hypothesis or theory”.
• Empirical Analysis - is defined as being based on experiment, experience or observation.
• Experiment - defined as “laboratory studies in which investigators retain control over the recruitment, assignment to random conditions, treatment, and measurement of subjects.”
• Falsifiability - is a word coined by Karl Popper, a philosopher of science, and is defined as the ability for a statement to be logically contradicted through empirical testing.
• Hard sciences - such as chemistry, mathematics, and physics, work to advance scientific understanding in the natural or physical sciences.
• Hypothesis - a specific and testable prediction of what you think will happen.
• Independent variables (explanatory variables) - the cause, and these variables are independent of other variables under consideration in a study.
• Inductive reasoning - occurs when scientists look at specific situations and attempt to form a hypothesis.
• Inference - is a process of drawing a conclusion about an unobserved phenomenon, based on observed (empirical) information.
• Large-N research - when the number of observations or cases is large enough where we would need mathematical, usually statistical, techniques to discover and interpret any correlations or causations.
• Literature review - a section of your research paper or research process which collects key sources and previous research on your research question and discusses the findings in synthesis with each other.
• Most Different Systems Design (MDSD) - the cases selected for comparison are different from each other, but outcomes are similar in results.
• Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) - the cases selected for comparison are similar to each other, but outcomes differ in results.
• Non-falsifiable - a question cannot be proven true or false under present circumstances, particularly when such questions are subjective.
• Science - is defined as the systematic and organized approach to any area of inquiry, and utilizes scientific methods to acquire and build a body of knowledge, political science, as well as comparative politics as a subfield of political science, embody the essence of the scientific method and possess deep foundations for the scientific tools and theory formation which align with their areas of inquiry.
• Scientific method - 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.
• Social sciences - which are the fields of inquiry that scientifically study human society and relationships.
• Soft sciences - like psychology, sociology, anthropology and political science, work to advance scientific understanding of human behavior, institutions, society, government, decision making, and power.
• Subnational case study research - when subnational governments, such provincial governments, regional governments, and other local governments often referred to as municipalities, are the cases that are compared.
• Theory - a statement that explains how the world works based on experiences and observation.
• Variable - is a factor or object that can vary or change.

Summary

Section #2.1: What Makes the Study of Comparative Politics a Science?

Comparative politics is a social science which follows the scientific method as a way to advance knowledge in the field. To this end, the 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. Each of these steps is critical to exercising sound methodological practices to answer clear and substantive research questions.

Section #2.2: The Scientific Method and Comparative Politics

There are four basic approaches used in empirical research: the experimental method, the statistical method, case study methods, and the comparative method. Experimental methods are the result of experimental designs, and the methods involve standardization, randomization, between-subject versus within-subject design and experimental bias. Statistical methods are the use of mathematical techniques to analyze collected data, usually in numerical form, such as interval or ratio-scale. Statistical methods are great for discerning correlations, or relationships between variables. Advanced mathematical techniques have been developed that permit understanding of complex relationships. Comparative methods involve “the analysis of a small number of cases, entailing at least two observations”. As such, the comparative method involves more than a case study, or single-N research, but less than a statistical analysis, or large-N study. Case studies are one of major techniques used by comparativists to study phenomena, and cases provide for in-depth traditional research.

Section #2.3: What is a Case Study?

Case studies are one of major techniques used by comparativists to study various phenomena. A case study is an intensive look into a single case, often with the intent that this single case may help us better understand a particular variable of interest. The case study could consist of a single observation within the country, with each observation having several dimensions. There are also comparative case studies, when a scholar compares across an increasing number of cases, shifting the analysis from a single example to other cases in other countries. Finally, there are subnational case studies, where the area of interest involves subnational governments, such as provincial governments, regional governments or local governments. Overall, the option for using case studies as a means of research has been vital to theory development in the field of political science.

Section #2.4: Case Selection (Or, How to Use Cases in Your Comparative Analysis)

Case selection is a critical aspect of research design and relies on questions over how many cases, and which cases, to include in a study, to help determine the outcome of results. Some studies will have a large-N, where the number of observations or cases is large enough where we would need mathematical, usually statistical, techniques to discover and interpret any correlations or causations. For case selection, randomization is important to ensure bias is reduced. Case selection can be driven by a number of factors in comparative politics, including the interest of the researcher(s), as well as the type of case study being pursued. To this end, there are two types of case studies: descriptive and causal. 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.” A final method of considering which cases to select comes from John Stuart Mill’s approaches of Most Similar System Design (MSSD) and Most Different System Design (MDSD). In a Most Similar Systems Design Design, the cases selected for comparison are similar to each other, but the outcomes differ in result. Conversely, in a Most Different System Design, the cases selected are different from each other, but result in the same outcome.

Review Questions

1. The scientific method involves following certain steps. Which of these steps would come first?
   1. Conduct an experiment
   2. Form Hypotheses
   3. Ask a question
   4. Communicate findings
2. An inference is:
   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. “Is Chocolate ice cream better than Vanilla ice cream?” Why is this question not falsifiable?
   1. It’s not specific enough.
   2. It’s too technical.
   3. It’s subjective.
   4. It’s falsifiable.
5. Using a case study may be ideal if:
   1. Using a large sample size of data from a number of countries
   2. Comparing many countries at once
   3. Considering a small number of countries
   4. You want to make a sweeping statement about many countries

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

Critical Thinking

1. Provide some examples of an inductive versus a deductive approach to hypothesis formation. Try to use examples conducive to political science and comparative politics specifically.
2. Construct a list of no less than five falsifiable questions you could use for political science research. What are the challenges in devising questions which are falsifiable?
3. Of the four approaches to research, which one do you find most appealing? What makes it most appealing? What challenges do you think you would 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.

Contributors

2022 version: Dino Bozonelos, Ph.D., Masahiro Omae, Ph.D. and Julia Wendt, Ph.D.