POLS1009 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Inductive Reasoning, Selection Bias, Deductive Reasoning
L2 THE COMPARITIVE METHOD
- What is the comparative method?
- What are the advantages/pitfalls of comparison?
- What are some examples?
Recall: Independent and Dependent Variables
- Dependent variable the “thing” (or the outcome) that you want to explain. It does
not change. OUTCOME of a political science study. What is the “thing” you are trying
to explain. The “thing” you are interested. E.g. Election results what are the
contributing factors to a election result.
- Independent variable the “thing(s)” that effect the thing you want to change. Does
change. See how the independent variables affects your dependent. E.g. policies that
could change the election results.
- WHY DO I CARE?
- When studying causation we are looking at variations.
Why Compare?
- "Comparison is a fundamental tool of analysis. It sharpens our power of description,
and plays a central role in concept-formation by bringing into focus suggestive
similarities and contrasts among cases. Comparison is routinely used in testing
hypotheses, and it can contrib
- ute to the inductive discovery of new hypotheses and to theory-building" (Collier
1993, p.105)
Comparative Method: Theory and/or Method?
- A method: “not just a convenient term vaguely symbolizing the focus of ones
research interests”
- One of the basic scientific methods
- Method of discovering empirical relationships among variables (testing relationships)
- Also a basic research strategy (i.e. a theory)
- If you find a relationship in one place you can test it if there is a connection and
study it.
What is “Good” Comparative Research?
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1. What exactly is to be explained and how do we recognize a need for comparison
(what are the essential features)
2. Which theoretical concepts can travel as well as measure what is intended (internal
validity) as well as explain political and social processes in general (external validity)
3. The comparative method is a means to a goal, rather than the goal (ie what’s the DV)
Comparative Method
- Inductive reasoning (qualitative)
oSupply strong evidence, but not absolute proof, of the truth of the conclusion
The balance of probabilities
- Deductive reasoning (quantitative)
oApply general rules that hold over the entirety of a closed domain
oMathematical proof
- All based on empirical observations!
Qualitative vs Quantitative Research
- Qualitative and quantitative studies are both types of observational studies.
oQuantitative research measures differences in number for variables, and usually
studies a large number of cases (Large “N”).
oQualitative research measures differences in kind for variables, and usually
studies a small number of cases (Small “N”).
Most Similar and Most Different
- JS Mill A System of Logic (1843)
- Most Similar Systems
oOutcome (dependent variable) is not the same for all observations
- Method Different Systems
oOutcome (DV) is the same for all observations
-Most similar:
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