Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Political Perception Studies Paper presented to the ECPR General conference, Glasgow, (September , ) Elena Shestopal, PhD, professor Lomonosov Moscow State university, Department of Political science Head of the Chair of Sociology and Psychology of Politics e-mail address: shestop@blogger.com Size: KB Quantitative Methods (Political Science), Political communication, Social Media, Frames. A MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE IVORIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM: The Case for a Parliamentary Regime in Côte d'Ivoire. This paper has two purposes Conduct your own quantitative analysis of a political issue that you are interested in. 1. Required Texts uses data to explore an issue in current politics or in political science research. A paper which will be handed in for a grade. 3. Grades Attendance and participation 10%
Qualitative vs Quantitative Research - Political Science - iResearchNet
For decades, there has been a raging debate among scholars regarding the differences between and advantages of qualitative and quantitative methods. In fact, this has probably been one of the largest and longest methodological debates in all of social science research.
Although it is not necessarily critical to determine which—if either—of these approaches can be described as the better one, political science quantitative research paper, it is imperative to have a thorough understanding of these methods in order to be able to conduct sound political science research. After all, for a study to be of value to scholars and other individuals interested in the topic, it is necessary for one to choose the correct research approach, ask suitable questions, use appropriate research methods and statistical analyses, correctly deduce or induce inferences, and have suitable general goals driving the research.
The questions under consideration and the answers obtained by any particular study will depend on whether the study uses quantitative or qualitative approaches. The purpose of this article is to differentiate between these two types of research.
First, the literature available on this topic is briefly summarized, focusing specifically on how qualitative and quantitative research is defined, as well as the different assumptions on which these types of research are based. Next, a summary of the similarities and differences in each stage of the research process is provided, political science quantitative research paper. Then, the different methods that these two types of approaches use are discussed.
Next, since this is a book examining political science in the 21st century, current and future research directions are examined.
In particular, the use of what are called mixed methods approaches is discussed. The article ends with a brief summary and conclusion of the information that has been presented. Finally, suggested books and articles for further reading are provided, including some material for individuals interested in conducting advanced statistical studies, which are beyond the scope of this article.
The following section introduces the definitions and assumptions of quantitative and qualitative research. First, however, it is political science quantitative research paper briefly discussing two types of political analysis in order to understand the political science quantitative research paper of quantitative and qualitative methods.
Political scientists distinguish between empirical analysis—obtaining and dealing with knowledge and information—and normative analysis— determining how to use that knowledge. Normative analysis relies on the development of subjective goals and values to apply what has been learned to reality. Empirical analysis, however, focuses on using common terms to explain and describe political reality and can be either quantitative or qualitative in nature.
If something is empirical, it is verifiable through observations or experiments. Empirical analysis is the focus of this article. As a first step, it is necessary to define these two methods of research and examine their goals. Quantitative research can be defined as a process of inquiry examining an identified problem that is based on testing a theory measured by numbers and analyzed with statistical techniques. Thus, quantitative research involves the analysis of numerical data.
The econometric refinements and statistical alternatives referred to by the authors are beyond the scope of this article but include logit and probit models, time-series analysis, and a variety of techniques to circumvent problems that can occur in regression analysis, such as heteroskedasticity and autocorrelation.
Essentially, quantitative methods have played a major role in improving on commonly used research tools within the structure of regression models that are frequently used in the field of political political science quantitative research paper. The goal of quantitative research is to examine particular instances or aspects of phenomena to determine if predictive generalizations of a theory hold true or to test causal hypotheses.
As a result, there are several key assumptions underlying quantitative research methods, which are briefly outlined here. These include the following:. Qualitative research can be defined as a process of inquiry that builds a complex and holistic picture of a particular phenomenon of interest by using a natural setting.
Thus, qualitative research involves the analysis of words, pictures, videos, or objects in the context in which they occur. The goal of qualitative research is to understand social issues from multiple perspectives to have a comprehensive understanding of a particular event, person, or group. As with quantitative research, there are several key assumptions underlying qualitative research methods:. The following section examines how political science quantitative research paper and qualitative methods are similar to and different from each other throughout the research process, beginning with the creation of a research question and up to the reporting of the results.
Although examining quantitative and qualitative methods as two separate categories is necessary for the sake of clarification throughout this section, it is important to realize that these two methods are not mutually exclusive, a topic that will be discussed in more detail shortly.
This is important to keep in mind while reading this article. The first step in conducting sound political science research is selecting a research question. An appropriate research question should fulfill either a scientific need or a societal need by helping to provide an answer to an important problem. Both quantitative and qualitative forms of research begin by creating a research question that is intended to produce knowledge of the empirical world.
In terms of the research questions, the main difference between quantitative and qualitative methods typically exists in the type of questions that are being posed.
A theory is a potential explanation for political science quantitative research paper and is composed of a set of logically related propositions and assumptions. Theorizing is the political science quantitative research paper process of stating these conceptual explanations for events that take place in the real world by proclaiming relationships among the concepts.
Theories are created to help people understand phenomena. There are several characteristics that make a theory particularly useful in explaining observations.
Theories should be a testable, b logically sound, c communicable, d general, and e parsimonious. Theorizing is a critical phase of the research process for quantitative and qualitative researchers. However, quantitative researchers are more likely than qualitative researchers to focus on testing performed theories.
Quantitative researchers base their studies on a theory that relates to their subject in an political science quantitative research paper to develop generalizations that contribute to theory. Thus, in quantitative research, theorizing occurs prior to the collection of data, political science quantitative research paper.
Qualitative researchers, on the other hand, political science quantitative research paper, are more likely than quantitative researchers to elaborate on theories while making observations of a particular phenomenon. Many qualitative researchers argue that, as a result of this, their theories are far more grounded in reality than are those of quantitative researchers. However, quantitative researchers argue that the formulation of theory during the observation-making process can easily lead to the creation of a theory designed around those specific observations.
As a result, these theories would be polluted and not testable. Furthermore, if a theory is based on observation of one particular group, the usefulness of the theory is quite limited. Simply defined, a research design is the plan of a study. It organizes observations in a manner that establishes a logical basis for causal inference. Essentially, the research design can be viewed as the blueprint for a study. There are three main types of research designs in political science: exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory.
Exploratory research attempts to discover which factors should be included when theorizing about and researching a particular subject. Descriptive research attempts to measure some aspect of reality for its own sake and not for the purpose of developing or testing some theory.
Explanatory research uses observations of reality to test hypotheses and help develop an understanding of patterns of behavior in the context of a specific theory. Regardless of the purpose of a study, every research design should have the same basic elements, which are outlined by Manheim et al.
Although both quantitative and qualitative researchers produce research designs for their studies, quantitative researchers are much more likely than their counterparts to base their designs on the logic of experiments. For instance, quantitative researchers often emphasize control groups, pretests, and other elements that provide them with the opportunity to hold some factor s constant in their attempt to make causal inferences.
Qualitative research designs, on the other hand, typically focus more on who or what is being observed, where the observation will take place, how observations will be conducted, and how the data will be recorded, political science quantitative research paper.
For qualitative researchers, more emphasis is placed on viewing people and events as they naturally occur, political science quantitative research paper, while for quantitative researchers there is a greater focus on establishing cause-and-effect relationships. A sample is a small group of cases drawn from and used to represent a larger population under consideration.
A representative sample is a sample in which each major attribute of the larger population occurs in approximately the same proportion or frequency political science quantitative research paper in the larger population.
When a sample is representative, the conclusions drawn from it are generalizable to the entire population. In quantitative studies, sampling is based on the logic of probability to produce statistical representativeness. Additionally, in quantitative research, sampling is done before the data are collected. Qualitative researchers, on the other hand, usually create their sample once their study is already in progress.
After observing, learning about, and gaining understanding from an initial case, qualitative researchers are then able to determine what they will observe next. Additionally, whereas generalizability is a chief concern for quantitative researchers, this is not the case for qualitative researchers, who are far more concerned with finding the specific information that they are looking for from their sample.
Since this method is very time-consuming, qualitative findings are often based on fewer cases than quantitative findings. Data are observations or information about reality political science quantitative research paper represent attributes of variables and result from the research process. Although data collection is an integral part of both types of research methods, data are composed of words in qualitative research and numbers in quantitative research, which results in a data collection process that differs significantly for quantitative and qualitative research, political science quantitative research paper.
Furthermore, the data collection process is different: Although quantitative researchers have the ability to administer a previously prepared questionnaire or watch an experiment unfold behind blind glass, qualitative researchers are engaged—sometimes for long periods of time—with the people or groups under study.
Qualitative researchers, on the other hand, tend to take a more fluid approach to their studies. This holds true for the analysis of data, as well. Whereas in quantitative studies, the data analysis methods are planned out in advance and then occur after the data are political science quantitative research paper, data analysis typically takes place at the same time as data collection in qualitative studies.
To make appropriate future observations, analyses must often begin after studying one to several initial cases. As a result, quantitative researchers are not usually afforded the opportunity to modify their methods of data collection during a project, while qualitative researchers can do so at any point in a project after conducting the initial data analysis.
Additionally, although qualitative data are more subjective and sometimes difficult to interpret, quantitative data are easily coded into numerical formats. As a result, it is much easier to enter quantitative data into computer programs, such as Excel and SPSS, than it is to enter qualitative data. Furthermore, there are a number of programs that analyze the statistical data, such as SPSS and Stata. Although programs do exist for the interpretation of qualitative data, they are not used nearly as extensively as those used for quantitative data analysis.
Finally, whereas quantitative researchers have a variety of means to test the statistical significance and validity of the data that they are analyzing, this is not the case for qualitative researchers.
Instead, qualitative researchers must do their best to present a clear, accurate, and convincing analysis of their data. As a result, a topic of much debate between quantitative and qualitative researchers is the validity and reliability of political science quantitative research paper produced in studies. Validity is the extent to which measures correspond to the concepts they are intended to reflect. Reliability is the consistency with which a measuring instrument allows assignment of values to cases when repeated over time.
Although a measure can be reliable without being valid, it cannot be valid without being reliable. Additionally, since one of the main points of conducting quantitative research is to study causal relationships, part of the process involves manipulating various factors that could potentially influence a phenomenon of interest while at the same time controlling for other variables that could affect the outcome. For instance, if a researcher were examining if gender played a role in whether a person received a job, it would be important to control for other variables, such as education or previous work experience, since these factors may also determine why an individual would receive an employment offer.
In quantitative analysis, empirical relationships and associations are typically examined by using general linear models, nonlinear models, or factor analysis to understand important information about the relationship between variables, such as the direction of a relationship, political science quantitative research paper. However, despite the results that may be produced by these models, it is important to note that a major tenet of quantitative research is that correlation does not imply causation.
In other words, a spurious relationship is always a possible result of the data analysis. When presenting the results of a study, qualitative researchers often have an arduous task in front of them. Since their reports typically rely on the interpretation of observations, it is necessary for them to be very careful in the selection of what stories, quotations, pictures, and so on, they will share in order to avoid bias.
Overview of Quantitative Research Methods
, time: 22:05Quantitative Methods (Political Science) Research Papers - blogger.com
Conduct your own quantitative analysis of a political issue that you are interested in. 1. Required Texts uses data to explore an issue in current politics or in political science research. A paper which will be handed in for a grade. 3. Grades Attendance and participation 10% Quantitative Methods (Political Science), Political communication, Social Media, Frames. A MATHEMATICAL MODEL OF THE IVORIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM: The Case for a Parliamentary Regime in Côte d'Ivoire. This paper has two purposes Quantitative T echnique in P olitical Science Research," Endarc h: Journal of Blac k Political Research: V ol. Iss. 2, Article 5. Available at: h=p://blogger.com
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