5.5: Summary

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Summary of Section 5.1: Conceptualization in political science

This section explored what a concept is and the process by which we create concepts. It began with the conceptualization of “regime” (going back to Aristotle). Then it drilled down into how social scientists think about concepts, i.e., dimensions and indicators of concepts. It explored dimensions and indicators of the concept “regime”. The final section discussed one method, concept mapping, that is useful for identifying concepts and, by extension, dimensions, indicators, and research questions.

Summary of Section 5.2: Operationalization

This section continued the example of conceptualizing “regime” and explored how to operationalize the concept. It walked through various considerations in data collection such as “What kind of data should I collect?”, “Why am I collecting this data?”, and “How can I collect this data?”. It concluded with some common data sources for research in the social sciences.

Summary of Section 5.3: Measurement

This section discussed types of measurement such as nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio measures. It considered criteria for the quality of measures such as precision, reliability, and validity. Finally, the chapter introduced commonly used measures of regime type and discussed each in turn.