| Description |
1 online resource (250 pages) |
| Contents |
Cover; Title; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction; The Role of the Logic of Inference in Political Science Research; The Challenge of Inference and the Advancement of Knowledge; Previewing a Few Principles Intrinsic to Meeting the Challenge of Inference; The Plan of the Book; Key Terms; SECTION I Establishing the Framework; 1 The Challenge of Inference; Three Additional Examples; Some Basic Terminology; What Is an Inference?; The Challenge of Inference; The Importance of Theory; Summarizing Common Threats to Inference; Evaluating Inferences; Key Terms |
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Appendix: A Personal Example of the Challenges of Inference2 The Research Question; What Makes for a Good Research Question?; Beginning the Research Process: What Do You Want to Know?; What Do Scholars Already Know? The Core of a Research Question: What Is the Controversy, Debate, or Puzzle?; Keeping the Big Picture in Mind: Other Factors to Consider as You Refine Your Question. How Will You Execute the Study?; Summing Up: Th e Research Question; Key Terms; 3 Linking Theory and Inference; What Is Theory? Why Are Th eories So Important and So Valuable?; What Characterizes a Good Theory? |
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Incorporating Theory into Your Study: the Literature ReviewTwo Examples of Theory Building; Taking Alternative Theories Seriously: What Do You Do When Your Theories and Hypotheses Don't Match Your Findings?; Summing Up: Theory and Inference; Key Terms; SECTION II A Menu of Approaches; 4 The Challenge of Descriptive Inference; Conceptualization; Different Types of Data; Operationalization and Measurement Error; Operationalization and Sampling Error; Making Descriptive Inferences and Presenting Data; Summing Up; Key Terms; 5 Experiments; What Is an Experiment? |
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Why Control Means Stronger InferencesTypes of Experiments; Designing the Experiment; Analyzing and Presenting Results from an Experiment; Avoiding Mistakes in Your Experiment; Natural Experiments; Conclusion; Key Terms; 6 Large-n Observational Studies; The Logic of Large-n Studies: a Means Comparison; Multivariate Linear Regression; Tools for Categorical Data: Cross-Tabulation and Logistic Regression; Reverse-Causality and Longitudinal Analysis; Conducting Your Own Large-n Study; Conclusion; Key Terms; 7 Small-n Observational Studies |
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Mimicking Experiments through a "Most Similar Systems Design"Other Approaches with Other Objectives; Tools of the Trade in Qualitative Research; Designing Small-n Research Studies; Conclusion; Key Terms; 8 Conclusion; Developing Skills in the Approach You Choose; Considering a Multi-Method (or Mixed-Method) Approach; You've Completed Your Study, So Now What?; Above All Else: Remember the Challenge of Inference; Key Terms; Index |
| Summary |
This text starts by explaining the fundamental goal of good political science research-the ability to answer interesting and important questions by generating valid inferences about political phenomena. Before the text even discusses the process of developing a research question, the authors introduce the reader to what it means to make an inference and the different challenges that social scientists face when confronting this task. Only with this ultimate goal in mind will students be able to ask appropriate questions, conduct fruitful literature reviews, select and execute the proper rese |
| Notes |
Print version record |
| Form |
Electronic book
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| Author |
Sabet, Daniel M
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|
Schaffner, Brian
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| ISBN |
9781136622397 |
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113662239X |
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