Political Science Research Methods

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The principal goal of this textbook is to provide clear and elementary descriptions of the major statistical techniques used in political and social science research. The book is built on two basic assumptions. First, that it is possible to explain social science statistics in a simple and straightforward manner so that students with a minimal background in math can understand even fairly advanced techniques, such as multiple and logistic regression. Second, that undergraduate and even graduate students have less trouble in understanding specific techniques than in interpreting what statistical results mean substantively. Consequently, the book stresses the interpretation of research findings.br/br/In essence, the book argues that political science research is like piecing a jigsaw puzzle together. Pieces of information — statistical and non-statistical — must be assembled and interpreted both logically and creatively.br/br/The text is organized in a unique manner, using the various techniques being discussed to analyze the current state of the United States as it seemingly stands at a crossroads in both its political orientations and socioeconomic nature. To make the statistical interpretation more meaningful and easier to understand, the results throughout the book are integrated by their focus upon two central questions related to the theme of America at a Crossroads: Are Americans conservative or liberal in their political beliefs? How do economic and social outcomes in America compare to those in other developed democracies?boldContents:/boldbulletlistbulletlistbulletResearch as Puzzle Solving/bulletbulletIntroducing Our Data/bullet/bulletlist/bulletbulletboldDesigning Research Projects:/boldbulletlistbulletThe Logic of Inquiry and Research Design/bulletbulletApproaches to the Study of Politics/bulletbulletThe Relationship of Qualitative Approaches to Quantitative Analysis/bullet/bulletlist/bulletbulletboldThe Foundations for Statistical Analysis:/boldbulletlistbulletSome More Complex Issues in Interpreting Data/bulletbulletSummary Statistics for an Entire Distribution: Moving Beyond Data Arrays and Graphs/bulletbulletAn Introduction to Inferential Statistics/bullet/bulletlist/bulletbulletboldDiscovering Relationships for Nominal and Ordinal Data:/boldbulletlistbulletCrosstabulation: Why Do Americans Vote Democratic or Republican?/bulletbulletMultivariate Tables: More Nuanced Explanations for Conservative Attitudes and Behavior/bullet/bulletlist/bulletbulletboldDiscovering Relationships for Interval Data:/boldbulletlistbulletRegression Analysis: International Patterns and Benchmarks for American Performance/bulletbulletMultiple Regression and Path Analysis: More Complex Models of the Policy Process/bulletbulletLogistic Regression: Developing More Complete Models of Partisanship/bullet/bulletlist/bulletbulletboldConclusion:/boldbulletlistbulletThe Joy and Challenge of the Jigsaw Puzzles in Political Research/bullet/bulletlist/bullet/bulletlistbr/boldReadership:/bold Undergraduates or graduate-level students of political science and/or social sciences interested in its statistical research methods.br/

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Increase the probability of success! Buy Political Science Research Methods, Sixth Edition and Working with Political Science Research Methods, Second Edition together and save. Specify ISBN 978-0-87289-772-4 when ordering. Don't let an introduction to research methods be your students' least favorite (and most intimidating) political science course. Relevant, timely, insightful, comprehensive, and always mindful of their student audience, the authors have revamped their popular text so that the sixth edition is friendlier and more intuitive than ever-the perfect gateway to understanding not just the how but also the why behind research into politics. Covering the discipline's major methods, the authors lead students step-by-step through the logic of research design. Building block chapters on hypothesis formation and testing, variables, and measurement are right up front; the introduction to research design, sampling, and literature reviews now come with more explanation as to why a researcher would pursue different kinds of methods; the stats chapters begin with a common-sense primer that walks students through foundational ideas and practices. Throughout the text, updated examples of contemporary research problems keep readers engaged. Each chapter has bolded key terms that are also listed in a glossary at the end of each chapter and the end of the text. Helpful hints feature boxes give students nuts-and-bolts reminders they can refer to when they conduct their own research or assess the work of others. NEW TO THIS EDITION New examples of political science research in Chapter 1, including a case on judicial decision making and current research into public opinion on the war in Iraq. Expanded discussion of theory in Chapter 2, showing how competing paradigms can be applied to the same topic of study. Substantially updated discussion of survey research including coverage of Internet polling and a fuller description of interviewing. Computational formulas and calculations are now featured in How It's Done boxes allowing students to separate lengthy calculations from substantive discussion of the meaning or interpretation of statistical results. Greater coverage of newer developments in applied statistics, including exploratory data analysis and descriptive and inferential statistics for counts and functions of counts. In general, less emphasis on computation, and more on interpretation. Reorganized statistics chapters for better comprehension with regression analysis and logistic regression in their own chapters. A new overview of statistical analysis, including discussion of data preparation, description, modeling, inference, interpretation, and the communication of results.

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Pagina's: 400, Editie: Eerste editie, Paperback, Sage Pubns