Introduction to Political Science
Research
Lectures
Lecture 1, February 7
Political research can be used:
- To advise policy, based on scientific research
- To make sense of political phenomena
- To nuance and contextualize
- To problematize
,IPres will teach you to:
1. How to conduct research yourself
2. Judge the quality of scientific research of others
Research methods:
Tools of scientist
Which method did you use in Research project 1?
- Surveys
- Interviews
- Focus groups
- Participant observation
- Text Analysis
- Experiments
- Historical research
Social science easy?
Findings on the USA Soldiers (Lazarsfeld, 1949)
- Better educated men showed more psycho-neurotic symptoms than those with less
education. (The mental instability of the intellectual as compared to the more
impassive psychology of the-man-in-the-street has often been commented on)
- Men from rural backgrounds were usually in better spirits during Army life than
soldiers from city backgrounds. (After all, they are more accustomed to hardships)
- Southern soldiers were better able to stand the climate in the hot South Sea Islands
than Northern soldiers (of course, Southerners are more accustomed to hot weather)
All not true!
Social science ≠ common sense!
“Since every kind of human reaction is conceivable, it is of great importance to know which
reactions actually occur most frequently, and under what conditions; only then will a more
advanced social science develop” (Lazarsfeld, 1949)
Social science versus natural science (Lazarsfeld, 1949)
“That bodies fall to the ground, that things are hot or cold, that iron becomes rusty, are all
immediately obvious.”
But: understanding why people do what they do, not so much
“The world of social events is much less ‘visible’ than the realm of nature.”
Scientific versus political/public statements
,Scientific debate: stricter rules of the game
- All scientific statements require a reference in the text: (Easton, 1965)
- Which indicated where you base the statement on
What does scientific mean?
- Providing knowledge on (regularities in) the world
- Through systemic and transparent inquiry
- Quality and trustworthiness of findings established by scientific methods
- Each scientific method: specific rules and quality criteria
Learning objective IPres: the rules of scientific methods
- Scientists use and build on the findings of others
- Therefore, crucial that those findings are trustworthy
- Research methods are scientific ‘rules of the game’
o Researchers: guidance
o Reader: assess quality & trustworthiness
Political Sciences’ central aims:
1. Constructing and testing theories to understand or/and explain political phenomena
2. Problem driven, focused on answering relevant questions, puzzles
o Scientific relevance
o Societal relevance
Examples of research objects:
- Citizens (people)
- Policy (formation, change)
- Political parties, governments, states (actor’s behavior)
- Political theories (theoretical assessments)
Example: Project on Political Trust (Eefje Steenvoorden)
1. Constructing a theory on what the dimensions of political trust are
2. Answering question what political trust means
o Scientific relevance: offers better measures to explain trust and examine the
consequences of trust
o Societal relevance: provides ways to increase political trust
Research object
- Citizens
Empirical versus Normative Research
What’s the difference?
Empirical
- What is out there?
- Analyzes events & phenomena that we observe in the world
All research that analyzes data!
, Normative research
- What ought to be?
- Analyzes which conditions should be preferred over others
Political theoretical research (Lecture 11)
Data collection: Political Science = multi-method
- Surveys
o Questionnaire with closed answers -> numerical data per observation
- Interviews
o One-on-one conservation -> audio + text (transcript)
- Participant observation
o Researcher in the field, joining a group for longer time -> (audio +) memo’s
and text
- Text
o Documents (parliamentary debates)
- Experiments
o Groups of people exposed to different conditions
- Historical research (not in IPres)
- Process tracing (not in IPres)
Research question -> choice of method: Boris Johnson
- Surveys
o Does party gate effect vote intention? -> Would you vote for Johnson in
election today? (yes/no)
- Interviews
o How do people compare party gate to their own lockdown experience?
- Focus groups
o How do people interpret and discuss the party gate news? (Group interview)
- Participant observation
o How do people interpret and discuss the party gate news? (Work in a pub)
- Texts
o How do different media frame party gate?
- Experiments
o Groups of people exposed to different media coverage of party gate
Data analysis in Political Science
Quantitively
- Statistical analysis
Qualitative
- Discursive, non-automated analysis of information (conservations, behavior,
documents); a limited number of cases
Research
Lectures
Lecture 1, February 7
Political research can be used:
- To advise policy, based on scientific research
- To make sense of political phenomena
- To nuance and contextualize
- To problematize
,IPres will teach you to:
1. How to conduct research yourself
2. Judge the quality of scientific research of others
Research methods:
Tools of scientist
Which method did you use in Research project 1?
- Surveys
- Interviews
- Focus groups
- Participant observation
- Text Analysis
- Experiments
- Historical research
Social science easy?
Findings on the USA Soldiers (Lazarsfeld, 1949)
- Better educated men showed more psycho-neurotic symptoms than those with less
education. (The mental instability of the intellectual as compared to the more
impassive psychology of the-man-in-the-street has often been commented on)
- Men from rural backgrounds were usually in better spirits during Army life than
soldiers from city backgrounds. (After all, they are more accustomed to hardships)
- Southern soldiers were better able to stand the climate in the hot South Sea Islands
than Northern soldiers (of course, Southerners are more accustomed to hot weather)
All not true!
Social science ≠ common sense!
“Since every kind of human reaction is conceivable, it is of great importance to know which
reactions actually occur most frequently, and under what conditions; only then will a more
advanced social science develop” (Lazarsfeld, 1949)
Social science versus natural science (Lazarsfeld, 1949)
“That bodies fall to the ground, that things are hot or cold, that iron becomes rusty, are all
immediately obvious.”
But: understanding why people do what they do, not so much
“The world of social events is much less ‘visible’ than the realm of nature.”
Scientific versus political/public statements
,Scientific debate: stricter rules of the game
- All scientific statements require a reference in the text: (Easton, 1965)
- Which indicated where you base the statement on
What does scientific mean?
- Providing knowledge on (regularities in) the world
- Through systemic and transparent inquiry
- Quality and trustworthiness of findings established by scientific methods
- Each scientific method: specific rules and quality criteria
Learning objective IPres: the rules of scientific methods
- Scientists use and build on the findings of others
- Therefore, crucial that those findings are trustworthy
- Research methods are scientific ‘rules of the game’
o Researchers: guidance
o Reader: assess quality & trustworthiness
Political Sciences’ central aims:
1. Constructing and testing theories to understand or/and explain political phenomena
2. Problem driven, focused on answering relevant questions, puzzles
o Scientific relevance
o Societal relevance
Examples of research objects:
- Citizens (people)
- Policy (formation, change)
- Political parties, governments, states (actor’s behavior)
- Political theories (theoretical assessments)
Example: Project on Political Trust (Eefje Steenvoorden)
1. Constructing a theory on what the dimensions of political trust are
2. Answering question what political trust means
o Scientific relevance: offers better measures to explain trust and examine the
consequences of trust
o Societal relevance: provides ways to increase political trust
Research object
- Citizens
Empirical versus Normative Research
What’s the difference?
Empirical
- What is out there?
- Analyzes events & phenomena that we observe in the world
All research that analyzes data!
, Normative research
- What ought to be?
- Analyzes which conditions should be preferred over others
Political theoretical research (Lecture 11)
Data collection: Political Science = multi-method
- Surveys
o Questionnaire with closed answers -> numerical data per observation
- Interviews
o One-on-one conservation -> audio + text (transcript)
- Participant observation
o Researcher in the field, joining a group for longer time -> (audio +) memo’s
and text
- Text
o Documents (parliamentary debates)
- Experiments
o Groups of people exposed to different conditions
- Historical research (not in IPres)
- Process tracing (not in IPres)
Research question -> choice of method: Boris Johnson
- Surveys
o Does party gate effect vote intention? -> Would you vote for Johnson in
election today? (yes/no)
- Interviews
o How do people compare party gate to their own lockdown experience?
- Focus groups
o How do people interpret and discuss the party gate news? (Group interview)
- Participant observation
o How do people interpret and discuss the party gate news? (Work in a pub)
- Texts
o How do different media frame party gate?
- Experiments
o Groups of people exposed to different media coverage of party gate
Data analysis in Political Science
Quantitively
- Statistical analysis
Qualitative
- Discursive, non-automated analysis of information (conservations, behavior,
documents); a limited number of cases
