POLS 2100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Inductive Reasoning, Deductive Reasoning, Modernization Theory
10 Apr 2016
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Document Summary
Comparative politics- the study and comparison of domestic politics across countries (elections, political parties, revolutions and judicial systems: analytical concepts- assumptions and theories that guide our research, methods- ways to study and test those theories. Comparative method: a way to compare cases and draw conclusions. Scholars seek out conclusions and generalizations that could be valid in other cases. Inductive reasoning- studying a case (broad) to the final goal of generating a hypothesis. Deductive reasoning- starting with a hypothesis and then testing it on a number of cases. Modernization theory- as societies developed they would become capitalist democracies. Behavioral revolution- subject of investigation shifted away from political institutions and towards political behavior. Quantitative methodology is more likely to use deductive reasoning. Institutions- organizations or patterns of activity that are self-perpetuating and valued for their own sake. People see an institution as central to their lives, and, as a result, the institution commands and generates legitimacy.
