2 Methods of Political Analysis Free Online FlashCards

What makes a political research question empirically useful?

A focused empirical question identifies the outcome, a possible explanation, and the people, places, or period being studied; it must be answerable with evidence.

How do a theory and a hypothesis differ?

A theory proposes an explanation; a hypothesis states a clear expectation that observations could support or count against.

What is conceptualization in political research?

Conceptualization clarifies what a concept means in a particular study.

What does operationalization specify?

Operationalization specifies how a concept will be observed or measured.

What is a dependent variable?

The dependent variable is the outcome a study seeks to explain.

What is a study’s unit of analysis?

The unit of analysis is the kind of entity being studied, such as voters, elections, parties, districts, or countries.

What does validity assess?

Validity is the extent to which a measure captures the concept it is intended to measure.

What makes a comparison informative?

Researchers should define cases and outcomes consistently and explain why those cases were selected.

What can qualitative evidence clarify that quantitative evidence often summarizes?

Quantitative evidence summarizes patterns across many observations; qualitative evidence can clarify meanings, sequences, and how political processes unfold.

How does a causal claim differ from an association?

Association means factors vary together; a causal claim says a change in one factor produces a change in another.

What makes a factor a confounder?

A confounder is a factor related to both the proposed cause and the outcome, offering a possible alternative explanation.

Why can random assignment strengthen causal inference?

Random assignment can make treatment and comparison groups similar on average, supporting causal inference.