POLSCI 1AB3 Lecture 1: Lecture 1.1 Science of Politics
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The type of experimental method used in the natural sciences simply cannot be replicated for many of the questions that we have in the social sciences. A statement that one or more variable(s) (independent variable(s)) will cause a particular outcome (dependent variable) However, there is a problem with testing the hypothesis. We cannot simply isolate and combine social variables (unlike the case for chemistry or physics) The variables we are interested in always exist in a larger social context that contains many many other simultaneously coexisting variables. Any one of the alternative variables, or perhaps some combination of the alternative variables, could be responsible for the outcome you are interested in understanding. So if we are interested in developing a science of politics: How do we test our hypotheses: some options using single cases, a) most likely, b) least likely case. One model for conducting a scientific political science: