Political Science Research Methods,9781568028743

Political Science Research Methods

by
Edition: 5th
ISBN13: 9781568028743
ISBN10: 1568028741
Format: Paperback
Pub. Date: 2004-08-09
Publisher(s): Cq Pr
List Price: $79.95

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Author Biography

H. T. Reynolds is professor emeritus of political science at the University of Delaware.

Table of Contents

Tables, Figures, and Helpful Hints
xiii
Preface xix
Introduction
1(25)
Research on Winners and Losers in Politics
4(3)
Who Votes, Who Doesn't
7(3)
Repression of Human Rights
10(1)
A Look into Judicial Decision Making
11(3)
Influencing Bureaucracies
14(1)
Effects of Campaign Advertising on Voters
15(4)
Research on Public Support for U.S. Foreign Involvement
19(4)
Conclusion
23(2)
Terms Introduced
25(1)
Studying Politics Scientifically
26(23)
Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge
27(8)
Acquiring Scientific Knowledge: Induction and Deduction
35(3)
Is Political Science Really ``Science''?
38(2)
A Brief History of Political Science as a Discipline
40(4)
Traditional Political Science
40(1)
Modern Political Science
41(3)
Conclusion
44(3)
Terms Introduced
47(1)
Suggested Readings
48(1)
Research Design
49(54)
Causal Inferences and Controlled Experiments
50(9)
Causal versus Spurious Relationships
50(3)
Randomized Controlled Experiment
53(5)
Randomization and the Assignment of Subjects
58(1)
Interpreting and Generalizing the Results of an Experiment
59(5)
Other Versions of Experimental Designs
64(10)
Simple Post-test Design
64(2)
Time Series Design
66(1)
Multigroup Design
67(1)
Field Experiments
68(6)
Causal Inference in Nonexperimental Designs
74(14)
Nonexperimental Time Series Design
75(5)
Cross-sectional Design
80(3)
Panel Studies
83(1)
Case Study Design
84(4)
Alternative Research Strategies
88(8)
Formal Modeling
88(5)
Simulation
93(3)
Conclusion
96(4)
Terms Introduced
100(2)
Suggested Readings
102(1)
The Building Blocks of Social Scientific Research: Hypotheses, Concepts, and Variables
103(27)
Specifying the Research Question
103(4)
Proposing Explanations
107(6)
Formulating Hypotheses
113(10)
Characteristics of Good Hypotheses
113(6)
Specifying Units of Analysis
119(4)
Defining Concepts
123(5)
Conclusion
128(1)
Terms Introduced
129(1)
Suggested Readings
129(1)
Conducting a Literature Review
130(23)
Selecting a Research Topic
130(1)
Why Conduct a Literature Review?
131(4)
How to Conduct a Literature Review
135(2)
Using the Internet to Conduct a Literature Review
137(14)
Surfing the Net
142(3)
Tips on Conducting an Effective Electronic Literature Review
145(2)
Ensuring a Reliable Internet Literature Review
147(1)
Looking for Research Data Online
148(3)
Conclusion
151(1)
Terms Introduced
152(1)
Suggested Readings
152(1)
The Building Blocks of Social Scientific Research: Measurement
153(32)
Devising Measurement Strategies
154(1)
Examples of Political Measurement
155(3)
The Accuracy of Measurement
158(10)
Reliability
158(3)
Validity
161(5)
Problems with Reliability and Validity in Political Science Measurement
166(2)
The Precision of Measurements
168(4)
Multi-item Measures
172(9)
Indexes
172(3)
Scales
175(5)
Factor Analysis
180(1)
Conclusion
181(1)
Terms Introduced
182(1)
Suggested Readings
183(2)
Making Empirical Observations: Direct and Indirect Observation
185(21)
Types of Data and Collection Techniques
185(3)
Observation
188(2)
Direct Observation
190(6)
Indirect Observation
196(3)
Physical Trace Measures
196(2)
Validity Problems with Indirect Observation
198(1)
Ethical Issues in Observation
199(3)
Conclusion
202(2)
Terms Introduced
204(1)
Suggested Readings
205(1)
Document Analysis: Using the Written Record
206(32)
Types of Written Records
207(15)
The Episodic Record
207(4)
The Running Record
211(7)
The Running Record and Episodic Record Compared
218(1)
The Uniform Crime Report
219(3)
Content Analysis
222(8)
Content Analysis Procedures
223(3)
News Coverage of Presidential Campaigns
226(4)
Advantages and Disadvantages of the Written Record
230(4)
Conclusion
234(2)
Terms Introduced
236(1)
Suggested Readings
237(1)
Sampling
238(32)
Population or Sample?
239(1)
The Basics of Sampling
240(3)
Types of Samples
243(11)
Simple Random Samples
244(3)
Systematic Samples
247(1)
Stratified Samples
248(3)
Cluster Samples
251(2)
Nonprobability Samples
253(1)
Samples and Statistical Inference
254(11)
Sampling Distribution
255(7)
The Margin of Error and Sample Size
262(3)
Conclusion
265(3)
Terms Introduced
268(1)
Suggested Readings
269(1)
Elite Interviewing and Survey Research
270(35)
Elite Interviewing
271(4)
Survey Research
275(22)
Question Wording
276(4)
Question Type
280(4)
Question Order
284(2)
Questionnaire Design
286(1)
Mailed Questionnaires and Telephone and Personal Interviews
287(10)
Validity and Inference
297(1)
Conclusion
298(5)
Terms Introduced
303(1)
Suggested Readings
304(1)
Univariate Data Analysis and Descriptive Statistics
305(34)
The Data Matrix
306(3)
Empirical Frequency Distributions
309(12)
Descriptive Statistics
321(8)
Descriptive Statistics for Nominal-Level Variables
322(1)
Descriptive Statistics for Ordinal-Level Measures
323(1)
Descriptive Statistics for Interval- and Ratio-Level Measures
324(5)
The Normal Distribution
329(3)
The Normal Distribution and Statistical Inference
332(3)
Conclusion
335(2)
Terms Introduced
337(1)
Suggested Readings
338(1)
Measuring Relationships and Testing Hypotheses: Bivariate Data Analysis
339(64)
Crosstabulation Analysis
341(25)
Strength of Relationships
345(2)
Direction of Relationships
347(2)
Table Setup and Interpretation
349(1)
Statistical Independence
350(2)
Measures of Association
352(8)
Testing for Statistical Significance
360(6)
Difference-of-Means Test and Analysis of Variance
366(6)
Regression Analysis
372(26)
The Regression Model
374(3)
Interpretation of Parameters
377(3)
Measuring the Fit of a Regression Line
380(4)
Testing for Significance
384(6)
A Substantive Example
390(2)
Correlation Analysis
392(4)
Other Issues
396(2)
Conclusion
398(2)
Terms Introduced
400(2)
Suggested Readings
402(1)
Searching for Complete Explanations and Causal Knowledge: Multivariate Analysis
403(49)
Multivariate Analysis of Categorical Data
405(10)
Two-Way Analysis of Variance
415(2)
Multiple Regression
417(12)
Interpretation of Parameters
419(5)
Estimation and Calculation of a Regression Equation
424(1)
Standardized Regression Coefficients
424(2)
Measuring the Goodness of Fit
426(1)
Test of Significance
427(2)
Logistic Regression
429(19)
Estimating the Model's Coefficients
436(1)
Measures of Fit
437(2)
Testing Hypotheses
439(2)
An Alternative Interpretation of Logistic Regression Coefficients
441(3)
A Substantive Example
444(4)
Conclusion
448(2)
Terms Introduced
450(1)
Suggested Readings
451(1)
The Research Report: An Annotated Example
452(25)
Female Representation in State Legislatures
453(22)
Conclusion
475(2)
Appendix 477(8)
Glossary 485(14)
Index 499

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