Pos 301

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Selective Observation

Back 1

The tendency to focus on events or observations that fit our prior beliefs and ignore that do not.

*"facts" to prove their predisposition
*selective exposure

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Selective Perception

Back 2

The tendency to draw incorrect conclusions based on psychological factor.

*discount information counter to predisposition

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Scientific Method

Back 3

A set of standardized procedures to objectively and systematically obtain knowledge

*limits personal biases
*based on systematic observation

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Name the Scientific Process

Back 4

Question
Define Concepts
Theory (Answer/Why)
Hypotheses (Testable Predictions)
Data Collection (+Measurement)
Analysis
Conclusion (Did you reject or hypothesis or not)

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Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge

Back 5

Empirical
Non-normative
Theoretical
Transmissible
Generalizable
Cumulative

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Scientific knowledge; Empirical def

Back 6

Based on objective observation and evidence.

Should not be Normative

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Normative

Back 7

Claims about how the world should be. Avoid making these

*statement about what is desirable or undesirable; good or bad

*little way to prove or disprove a normative claim

*usually based on non-scientific means of knowledge

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Non-normative:

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Concerned with facts and objective rather than value and what people think should be

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Examples of Normative and Non-Normative

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The moon should be made of cheese (Normative/Non-Testable)
The moon is made of cheese (Non-Normative/Testable)

The role of governments is to provide protection for private property (Non-Normative)
The U.S. government protects private property (Normative)

We should not allow smoking in public places because second-hand smoke causes lung cancer (Non-Normative)
States with higher rates of lung cancer are more likely to ban smoking in public places (Non-Normative)
Each person has the right to a smoke free environment (Normative)

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Sci. Knowledge; Theoretical def

Back 10

Concerned with explanation based on general, logical propositions

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Sci knowledge; Transmissible def

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Methods used in generating knowledge are made explicit so that others can replicate the research

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Sci Knowledge; Generalizable def

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Explains many cases rather than a few

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Sci Knowledge; Cumulative def

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Individual increments in knowledge lead to a great overall understanding

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What makes a good Concept

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Descriptive: seeks description
Explanatory: seeks explanation
Characteristics =
Important (not to narrow)
Feasible (not to broad)

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Concept:

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A word, phrase, or definition that represents some phenomenon

*some fixed, some fluid
*focus on key attributes
*shared agreement
*empirical verification

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concept; some fixed, some fluid examples

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murder, cool, gender, criminal behavior

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concept; focus on key attributes ex.

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democracy =
direct policy making by citizens
representation of the people
election
free economic system
freedom of speech, religion,press
equality
political competition

Which attributes are the most familiar and coherent?
Which attributes differentiate or contrast the concept?

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concept; shared agreement ex

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a common strand

“any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting" —World Health Organization

“Conduct of a sexual or indecent nature toward another person that is accompanied by actual or threatened physical force or that induces fear, shame, or mental suffering." —American Heritage Dictionary
“The sexual penetration, however slight: of the vagina or anus of the victim by the penis of the perpetrator or any other object used by the perpetrator; of the mouth of the victim by the penis of the perpetrator; by coercion or force or threat of force against the victim or a third person" —The International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

Coercion and force are the common strand in the concept of sexual violence.

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concept; empirical verification ex

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Must provide data basically for every concept

The Concept; Party ID: an affective personal attachment to a political party that biases perceptions of party performance.

*chart of partisan bias in perception of unemployment from 1980-1988

Revisionist definition:
Party ID: A sense of personal attachment with a political party based on running tally of past party performance.

*Shows line chart comparison of Percentage of Repubs, Demos, and Indep's increase/decrease of members over the years

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Types of Concepts

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Confirmable: A concept that possesses a tangible, physical existence, and thus are directly observable.

Laten: A concept that lacks a tangible, physical existence and thus not directly observable.

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Types of Concepts; Confirmable ex.

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War casualties
Congressional floor votes

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Types of Concepts; Latent ex.

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Intelligence (ability to think and reason exists but cannot directly observe it.
Issues opinions (eg. immigration support)

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Theory

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A logical explanation of how and why concepts are related.

*Candidate attractiveness and vote choice
*Negative ads and voter turnout
*Social consensus and pro-enviro behavior

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What makes up a good theory?

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Simple - answer some question about how the world operates but simplified so you can digest or understand

Generalizable (widely applicable)

*Has a process "if this -> (than this) -> results in this

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How to develop a Theory:

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Induction
Deduction
Expand on existing theories

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Develop a Theory; Induction def

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The process of reasoning from specific observations (or events) to general principles.

You observe something (usually a pattern)
You formulate a theory based on your observations

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Develop a Theory; Induction ex.

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Do you approve or disapprove of the way (insert name) is handling his job as president

*Shows chart of presidential approval from 1946-2005
*Chart shows a spike in 2001, you predict that 9-11 caused a presidential approval rise, find data. Result was Bush's approval rose from 62% to 90%

International crisis -> short term changes in presidential popularity

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Develop a Theory; Deduction def.

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The process of reasoning from general principles to specific observations.

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Develop a Theory; Deduction ex

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1 All men are mortal (general principle)
2 I am a man
3 I am a mortal (specific observation)

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Develop a Theory; Expand on existing theories ex

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Presidential approval changes in responses to changes in the economy.

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Causality/ Causal Theory/ Causation

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We must satisfy three conditions to establish that concept X causes concept Y

1. Covariation
2. Time order/Temporal ordering
3 Non-Spurious

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Causation; Covariation def

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The degree two concepts change together
*data moves together or is v similar*

The attributes of X and Y must be associated or covary together

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Causation; time order

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A change in X precedes a change in Y in time

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Causation; Non-Spurious def

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Non-Spurious = The relationship between concept X and concept Y must not result from their mutual dependence on some other concept Z

Spurious = not being what it purports to be, false claim; Apparently but not actually valid
ex: Ice Cream and Drownings

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Hypothesis

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A specific, testable statement predicting the relationship between two or more concepts.

*implies what we will or won't observe if the theory is consistent with reality
*states a directional relationship among two or more concepts

ex. The higher/lower concept X the higher/lower concept Y

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Directional hypotheses;
Positive and Negative/Inverse Relationship

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Positive relationship: A relationship in which the values move on one variable move in the same direction as values on another variable

Negative or inverse relationship: A relationship in which values on one variable move in the opposite direction as the values on another variabl e

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The difference between theories and hypotheses

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A theory proposes how and WHY concepts are causally related

Hypothesis don't explain WHY

A hypothesis highlights a specific aspect of a theory

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Variable:

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a representation of a concept that varies

*captures measurable attributes of a concept
*must show variation in attributes of the concept
*created via measurement

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Dependent variable:

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The representation of the phenomena (concept) thought to be influenced by some other phenomena (concept)

*Represent the concept you want to explain

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Independent variable:

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The representation of the phenomena (concept) thought to influence to some other phenomena (concept)

*Represents the concept that explains variation in the dependent variable

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Research Question:

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A question that seeks to detail and characterize a phenomenon

Can be descriptive or explanatory

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Descriptive research question

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A question that seeks to detail and characterized a phenomenon

ex. How many games were won during penalty shootouts during the 2012 world cup

What percentage of Americans support the death penalty between 1951 and 2006

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Explanatory Research Question:

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Research question that seeks to explain why a phenomenon occurs

ex. Why were some World Cup games won by penalty shootouts?

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Characteristics of a good research question

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Important - not too narrow
Feasible - not too broad

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Unit of analysis:

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the entity (who, what) being studied

ex. individuals, groups, geographical units, social interactions