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Research Methods in Political Science Lecture Notes (Video Lectures 1-13) - GRADE 7,0 R198,45
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Research Methods in Political Science Lecture Notes (Video Lectures 1-13) - GRADE 7,0

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  • Course
  • Research Methods In Political Science (6442HRM)
  • Institution
  • Universiteit Leiden (UL)

Notes on the lectures from the course (2022) Research Methods in Political Science. INCLUDES video lectures 1-13 (Total: 38 pages).

Last document update: 2 year ago

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Document information

  • October 4, 2022
  • October 27, 2022
  • 38
  • 2022/2023
  • Class notes
  • Dr. michael f. meffert
  • All classes

Subjects

  • research methods
  • research
  • analysis
  • political science
  • philosophy
  • research design
  • theories
  • causality
  • threats to validity
  • external validity
  • internal validity
  • data
  • measurement
  • data collection
  • interviews
  • s

Written for

  • Universiteit Leiden (UL)
  • International Relations And Organizations
  • Research Methods In Political Science (6442HRM)
All documents for this subject (8)

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Notes on the lectures from the course (2022) Research Methods in Political Science. INCLUDES video
lectures 1-13 (Total: 38 pages).
1


Research Methods in Political Science Lecture Notes (Video Lectures
1-13)


Table of Contents

Video Lecture 1: Introduction to Research Methods 2

Video Lecture 2: Philosophy of Social Science 3

Video Lecture 3: Research Design Questions & Theories 7

Video Lecture 4: Research Design Causality & Overview 9

Video Lecture 5: Research Ethics & Threats to Validity 11

Video Lecture 6: Data & Measurement 14

Video Lecture 7: Data Collection - Comparative & Historical Research & Case Selection 17

Video Lecture 8: Data Collection - Surveys & Sampling 21

Video Lecture 9: Data Collection - Interviews & Focus Groups 25

Video Lecture 10: Data Collection - Experiments 26

Video Lecture 11: Data Collection - Ethnography & Participant Observation 29

Video Lecture 12: Data Collection - Textual/Content Analysis & Big Data 31

Video Lecture 13: (Mostly Quantitative) Data Analysis - Data Management &
Visualisation 34

, 2


Video Lecture 1: Introduction to Research Methods
Scientific Research
Goal = develop a better understanding of events, decisions, actions via groups or individuals.
➔ Achieve this through the:
◆ Use of existing theories (explanation/predictions)
◆ Application to new cases/evidence.
➔ Method = test the theory + collect evidence/data (qualitative/quantitative).
➔ Analysis = any collected evidence must be analysed (description & theory/hypothesis
testing).




Research Methods (Naive Science vs. Scientific Method)
Naive Science (Common Sense Method): Ad hoc explanations that tend to fail due to biased inquiry
(selected explanations/illogical reasoning, inaccurate trust) through:
● Personal experience
● Intuition
● Sources of authority
● Appeals to tradition, custom, faith
● Magic, superstition, mysticism

Scientific Method: Rationale comprehension of the world to establish a logic picture, following:
● A systematic process (step-by-step).
● Falsifiable theories.
○ Theory: Simplifiable model of reality.
● Replication (research can/should be repeated → ensures that findings are reliable).
● Reflective/self-critical approach.
● Cumulative/self-correcting process.
● Cyclical process (research answers questions, but brings forward new ones).

Research Design as a Process
Research design = wheel of science.

, 3




Why are research methods useful?
1. Transitions from intuition/anecdotes → systematic evidence.
2. Questions = problem-driven.
3. Provides tools for transparency/replicability similar across all social sciences.
4. Encourages methodological pluralism/diversity.
5. Works as constraints (follow rules/procedures) vs. opportunities (BUT following these rules
offer the opportunity to draw meaningful conclusions).

HOWEVER, scientific methods are NOT always easy (e.g., Global Warming).

Theory & Practice: Need for Healthy Scepticism
Replication Crisis: Doubts about the outcome of scientific studies have increased, leading to
increased replication issues with finding similar outcomes.
➔ Scientists are too eager to publish results without efficiently scrutinising their research.



Video Lecture 2: Philosophy of Social Science
Key Questions
Unlike the natural sciences, explaining natural phenomena + choosing the right methodology in the
social sciences is less clear.
➔ Ontology = basic assumptions about the nature of the social world (objective/subjective
reality?).
➔ Epistemology = refers to what can be known about social phenomena.
➔ Methodology = how knowledge can be obtained.

Positivism

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