POLS 390 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Statistical Hypothesis Testing, Null Hypothesis, Falsifiability
Document Summary
Basic nomenclature and logic of social science research. Constructs describe properties that the units of analysis may have. Variables describe or quantify constructs; operationalize for measurement, analysis. The property/result/behavior we are interested in: the dependent variable. The properties/behaviors that influence the variable of interest are independent variables: variation in the variable of interest depends on one or more independent variables. Control variables help us focus on the effects of various independent variables. What is the population: city government. What is the unit of analysis: cities. What is the population: louisville neighborhoods. What is the unit of analysis: neighborhoods. What are some of the constructs: types of crimes, safety, the intensity of crime. Seems to me the rich are more highly educated. Looks like younger cities are more efficient than older cities. It seems like high crime is concentrated in a relative louisville neighborhood. What is a hypothesis: a proposed relationship between or among two or more variables.
