Way of knowing Description

Informal Occurs when we make observations without any

observation/ systematic process for observing or assessing
Common sense accuracy of what we observed.

Selective Occurs when we see only those patterns that we

DIFFEREN observation/ want to see or when we assume that only the
Premature Closure patterns we have experienced directly exist.
T WAYS OF
KNOWING Overgeneralization
Occurs when we assume that broad patterns
exist even when our observations have been
limited.

Authority/ A socially defined source of knowledge that

Tradition/Halo might shape our beliefs about what is true and
effect what is not true.

Research
An organized, logical way of learning and
Methods/The
knowing about our social world.11/20/2022
Scientific Approach 1
  Research is more than
THE collection of methods and
SCIENTIFIC process of creating
knowledge; it is a process of
APPROACH producing new knowledge
about the social world that
uses a scientific approach

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 Science- system of producing knowledge
and the knowledge produced from that
system
 Natural Sciences vs. Soft Sciences
 Social Theory- system of interconnected
SCIENTIFIC abstractions or ideas that condense or
organized knowledge about the social
APPROACH world.
The Scientific Community-collection of
people and a set of norms, behaviours, and
attitudes that bind them together to sustain
the scientific ethos

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 1. Universalism (scientific
merit)
NORMS OF 2. Organized Skepticism
(critical)
THE 3. Disinterestedness
SCIENTIFIC (neutral, impartial,
receptive)
COMMUNIT 4. Communalism (shared,
Y public act/property)
5. Honesty

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 Ontology understanding of what “is,”
PHILOSOPHI what can be known about what is. It
CAL refers to one’s analytic philosophy of
PERSPECTIV the nature of reality. Some take the
ES OF position that reality is in the eye of the
KNOWLEDGE beholder and that our job is to
understand others’ view of reality.
Others feel that, while people may
differ in their perception of reality,
there is only one true reality.

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 PHILOSOPHI Epistemology deals with
questions of how we know “what
CAL is”. There are several ways to
PERSPECTIV uncover knowledge. We might
ES OF interview people to understand
KNOWLEDGE public opinion about some topic,
or perhaps we will observe them
in their natural environment.

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 1. Normative Analysis
This type of political analysis asks
TWO questions of a valuational kind, and
seeks to identify what is good or better
MAJOR with a view to recommending what we
ought to want. It is prescriptive in
APPROACH nature
ES OF It will ask, for instance, whether,
when, and why we ought to value
ANALYSIS freedom, or democracy or equality
and why should we obey the state

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 2. Empirical Analysis:
Empirical analysis seeks to identify observable
phenomena in the real world with a view to
TWO MAJOR establishing what is, rather than what ought to
APPROACHE be. Based on empiricism- a doctrine that the
only source of real knowledge is experience
S OF gained through observation and experiment.
ANALYSIS  Empirical analysis, of course, is the basis of the
natural sciences, and many so-called positivist
political analysts seek to bring to bear what they
see as the impartial and value free methods of
the natural sciences to the study of political
phenomena.
 An approach which holds that science
must limit itself to those things that
are observable, thereby insisting upon
a clear separation between fact and
value.
POSITIVIS At the extreme, positivism—in the
form of the doctrine known as logical
M positivism—holds that only those
statements that can be investigated by
observation, and those that can be
examined semantically, are
worthwhile. Normative questions are
regarded as more or less meaningless.
 In deductive approaches, theory is deduced
from first principles before being tested
The deductive method is associated with so-
called rational choice theories of politics
Deductive  In general, the rational choice theory’s
and Inductive assumption is that political actors are
essentially rational, utility maximizers who will
Approaches follow the path of action most likely to benefit
them. (“free-riding and rent-seeking
individuals”)
This approach has been used in so-called
‘game theory’ where individual behavior is
applied to situations.

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 In inductive approaches, theory follows
observation and generalization.
A classic version of inductivism is an
approach known as behaviouralism.
 Behaviouralism stresses the importation
Inductive of the scientific method in the study of
social phenomena.
Approach and  It assumes that political behavior exhibits
Behavioralism regularities over time and capable of being
measured in a precise way which allow law-
like statements to be generated inductively.
 uses rigorous statistical techniques in the
analysis of political data
 1) Quantitative – the goal of this
research is scientific objectivity, and
the focus is on data that can be
TWO MAIN measured numerically
TYPES OF
2)Qualitative – the goal of this research
RESEARCH is to provide interpretive description
(words) rather than statistics, and to
analyze underlying meanings and
patterns of social relationships

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 • QUANTITATIVE • QUALITATIVE
Parts are the equal  Whole is greater
the whole
than the parts
QUALITATI  Test Theory
 Develops Theory
 Instruments
VE VS. Communication/
 Basic Elements of
QUANTITAT Analysis: Numbers Observation
IVE  Report Statistical  Basic Elements of
Analysis Analysis: Words
 Generalization  Report in-depth
 Researcher: Separate analysis
 Subjects  Uniqueness
 Context Free  Researcher: Part
 Participants
 Context Dependent
 1. Choose a Topic/Problem:
a. Identify the research problem
b. Review of relevant literatures
THE
c. Develop framework (theories and concepts)
RESEARCH 2. Focus the Project: Formulate research
PROCESS objectives/questions and hypotheses
3. Design the Study: population, sampling
procedure, data collection instrument and
procedure
4. Collect Data
5. Analyze and Interpret Data
6. Communicate the findings
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