PO217 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Scientific Method, Antipositivism, Falsifiability
Document Summary
The defining characteristics of the scientific method. Limitations and critiques of the scientific method. It is prescriptive; it states how the world should/ought to be. One thing that makes political science complicated because people have freedom of expression and opinion. We draw from the natural science to help us understand the social sciences and identify the other complications. The way we see the world is based on our differences in experience. There are a lot of disagreements of political terms between the social and natural sciences. Requires that every knowledge claim be based upon systematic observation. What is intersubjectivity" and why is it so important. This can be done prior to collecting the actual data. Not only would you need to write out the steps, this is when you teach another how this process will work. Scientific method is simply a more sophisticated version of the way we go about making sense of the world around us:
