Summary with essential concepts from research methods. It is based on lectures, tutorials, and mock exams. It provides “How to answer” so that you know how to answer to specific questions that could come up in the exam.
Week 1
Induction vs. Deduction
- Induction means you first observe reality, after which you try to order the results and
based on this you describe a pattern (formulate a theory)
- Deduction means you first think about patterns in reality (‘theorize’) after which you
check (do research) whether the theory makes sense in reality (in the empirical world).
Design for Research
- Cross-Sectional Design: In a cross-sectional study, data is collected at a single point in
time from different individuals or groups
o Benefits: high reliability and external validity
- Downsides: lower internal validity
- Longitudinal Design: Longitudinal studies involve collecting data from the same
individuals or groups over an extended period
o Benefits: internal validity better than cross sectional
o Downsides: lower reliability and external validity than cross-sectional design
- Experimental Design: Experimental designs involve manipulating one or more
variables to assess their causal effects on another variable
o Benefits: high internal validity
o Downsides: lower reliability and external validity
Confidence Interval vs. Point Estimate
The reason for calculating a confidence interval rather than a point estimate is because we
want to know the estimate of the likely range in which we can be reasonably sure that the true
population will lie.
, Confidence Intervals: Means vs. Proportions
Level of measurement:
- Ordinal and Interval à Mean
- Nominal à Proportion
Confidence Interval: How to Answer
Given a 95% confidence interval (i.e., 0.2115; 0,2543), what does this mean?
This means that that interval contains the true population value 95% of the times. That is, we
can be 95% confident that, i.e. the percentage of the Dutch population that would vote to leave
the EU, lies between 21.15% and 25.43%.
Is it more or less precise than the 99% confidence interval? Why?
The 95% confidence interval is more precise than the 99% percent one, since the 99%
confidence interval is wider than the 95% one. This means that the 99% interval includes more
values that would be excluded if we were only 95% confident in the values we found.
Note: there’s an exchange between certainty and precision
- The more certain (i.e., 99%), the less precise (i.e., 95%)
Week 2
Regression Equation
𝑦! = 𝑏" + 𝑏# 𝑥!
Regression Coefficient: How to Answer
Give a substantive interpretation of the regression coefficient of, i.e., age (0.006), and its
significance.
This value represents the increase (or decrease) in y for every increase of 1 unit in x.
- Interpretation of the Coefficient:
The coefficient of 0.006 suggests that for every one-year increase in age, there is a
corresponding increase of 0.006 in the predicted value of the self-identified political
position on the scale from 0 to 10.
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