POSC300 Midterm: Exam Study Guide
29 Aug 2016
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Research question: a question about the political world that you seek to answer through the collection and analysis of firsthand, verifiable, empirical data. Most important part define what comes next. Scientific relevance political science community deems relevant (think about resources) Units of analysis: the type of actor specified needs to be consistent throughout entire project (can be applied on the exam) Northeastern cities are more likely to have mayors, while western cities have city managers . Theory: a logically interrelated set of propositions about empirical reality all components are connected. A statement or series of related statements that organize, explain and predict phenomena. Falsifiability evidence that this is not answer to a question. Generalizability be able to generalize can"t collect data from entire population. Parsimony narrative that answers questions in simplest terms (simpler=better) Hypothesis: a specific implication deduced from a more general theory.
