Chapter 4 Research Design
Three Purposes of Research Exploration Description Explanation
Purpose of Exploratory Studies Satisfy researcher’s curiosity and desire for better understanding. Test the feasibility of undertaking a more extensive study. Develop methods to be employed in a subsequent study.
Purpose of Descriptive Studies Observe and describe situations and events Answer questions of what, where, when, and how Examples: US Census, American Housing Survey, Unified Crime Reports
Purpose of Explanatory Studies Answer questions of why? Test hypotheses and theories.
Explaining a Political Phenomenon Identifying causality Not an easy thing to do Multiple factors likely to influence an event or behavior Approach my depend on approach Idiographic nomothetic
Criteria for Nomothetic Causality A statistical correlation between the two variables. The cause takes place before the effect. There is no third variable that can explain away the observed correlation as spurious.
Remember Research can determine some causes, but it cannot determine complete causation. Exceptions do not disprove a causal relationship. Causal relationships can be true even if they don’t apply in a majority of cases.
Necessary & Sufficient Causes Necessary cause - a condition that must be present for the effect to follow. Sufficient cause - condition that if present, guarantees the effect in question. Causes that are both necessary and sufficient are the most satisfying outcome in research. Note – this is language used in the sciences, it is hard to find a necessary or sufficient cause in political science
Units of Analysis What is a “Unit of Analysis”? What or whom to study: Individuals Groups Organizations Social artifacts
Units of Analysis and Faulty Reasoning Ecological fallacy – assuming something learned about an ecological unit says something about the individuals in the unit. Reductionism – Reducing something to a simple explanation when in reality it is complex.
Time Dimension Cross-Sectional Studies Longitudinal Studies Trend Cohort Panel
Example
How to Design a Research Project Define the purpose of your project. Specify exact meanings for the concepts you want to study. Choose a research method. Decide how to measure the results.
How to Design a Research Project Decide whom or what to study. Collect empirical data.* Process the data.* Analyze the data.* Report your findings.* * We will not be collecting or analyzing data for the research paper, only identifying data sources and measures.
Elements of a Research Proposal Problem or objective Literature review Subjects for study Measurement How do you measure: Corruption Equality Effectiveness
Elements of a Research Proposal Data-collection methods Analysis Schedule Budget For you research project imagine you have a limited budget