POLI 399 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Gie
24 Oct 2016
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Poli 399 variables and hypotheses september 30, A (cid:448)a(cid:396)ia(cid:271)le is a (cid:272)o(cid:374)(cid:272)ept"s e(cid:373)pi(cid:396)i(cid:272)al counterpart. It is the thing that we can see and we can link it to our abstract (aka. concept). If we want to test our theory empirically we have to figure out a way to link our abstract to the tangible stuff that can prove it (variables). It is any property that varies (ex: takes on different values) Empirical research operates on two levels: the abstract, the observational/empirical evidence. The real challenge of political research is linking these two together. Variables bring us closer, but they do not bring us all the way to observation. This is because they allow us to take an abstract and general statement and translate it into a statement for precise, empirical use. Variables with a lot of values or variants are what we strive for, you need to have movement.
