Lecture 1: Introduction to Research Methods
1. What is the goal of scientific research in political science
2. What is the role of theories in political science
3. What is the role of method in political science
4. What is data
5. What is the analysis in political science
a. What forms of analysis are there
6. What makes a good theory [3]
7. Define Naive Science - MAIPT
a. What are the examples of naive science [5]
b. Why is naive science inadequate in political science/ tend to fail
8. What is the goal of the Scientific Method
a. What are the characteristics of the scientific method [6]
9. What are the steps in the wheel of science [7]
10. Does the wheel of science have a clear sequence of events
11. What is at the core of the wheel of science
12. To summarize why do we use Research Methods [3]
13. What is methodological pluralism and diversity
14. How can research methods be seen as a constraint and an opportunity
, 15. What does Global Warming teach us about Scientific Research
16. Why is Healthy Skepticism Good [2]
Lecture 2: Philosophy of Social Science
2.1 Positivism, Scientific Realism & Interpretivism
1. What are the three fundamental scientific approaches used in the social
sciences [3]
2. Which of the three approaches are the most contrasting
3. What is ontology
4. What is Epistemology
5. What is Methodology
6. Describe the positivist approach in social science
7. Who is Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
a. What terms did he coin [2]
8. How does Auguste Comte define positivism
9. How does Auguste Comte define sociology
10. What are the different positions of positivism [3]
11. What are the basic tenets of classical positivism [4] - NELO
a. How are laws made in the classical positivist approach [2]
,12. What is the distinction between classical and logical positivism - empiricism
is not the only source of knowledge, so is logical reasoning - thus deduction
13. What are the basic tenets of logical positivism [3] DRV
i.
14. What is the criticism of logical positivism from Karl Popper [2]
a. Why did Popper reject the idea of induction [2]
i. What is the swan example
ii. What should be the goal instead
b. Why did he reject the idea of verifiability to establish truth claims
i. What should be the goal instead
15. Who is Carl Gustav Hempel 1905-97 - last important name associated with
positivism -
16. What is the deductive-nomological model
, 17. What is the hypothetico-deductive model
18. What is the distinction between the deductive-nomological model and the
hypothetico-deductive model
19. What do all forms of positivism agree on - there is an objective reality out
there & we can measure based on observation
20.What are the approaches that challenge positivism [2]
a. What are the similarities between scientific realism & positivism [2]
b. What is the key difference between scientific realism & positivism [4]
i. Do they use deductive or inductive reasoning
ii. What are causal mechanisms that cannot be directly observed
but have real consequences [3] - Tilly + eg for each
iii. What is the distinction between individualism and holism in
determining causal mechanisms - also how does it relate to
scientific realism
iv. What is Coleman’s Bathtub (1986) - how does it relate to
scientific realism
c. Why is interpretivism fundamentally different from positivism
i. To interpretivists; why is the social world different from other
natural world [2]
1. What is the goal of scientific research in political science
2. What is the role of theories in political science
3. What is the role of method in political science
4. What is data
5. What is the analysis in political science
a. What forms of analysis are there
6. What makes a good theory [3]
7. Define Naive Science - MAIPT
a. What are the examples of naive science [5]
b. Why is naive science inadequate in political science/ tend to fail
8. What is the goal of the Scientific Method
a. What are the characteristics of the scientific method [6]
9. What are the steps in the wheel of science [7]
10. Does the wheel of science have a clear sequence of events
11. What is at the core of the wheel of science
12. To summarize why do we use Research Methods [3]
13. What is methodological pluralism and diversity
14. How can research methods be seen as a constraint and an opportunity
, 15. What does Global Warming teach us about Scientific Research
16. Why is Healthy Skepticism Good [2]
Lecture 2: Philosophy of Social Science
2.1 Positivism, Scientific Realism & Interpretivism
1. What are the three fundamental scientific approaches used in the social
sciences [3]
2. Which of the three approaches are the most contrasting
3. What is ontology
4. What is Epistemology
5. What is Methodology
6. Describe the positivist approach in social science
7. Who is Auguste Comte (1798-1857)
a. What terms did he coin [2]
8. How does Auguste Comte define positivism
9. How does Auguste Comte define sociology
10. What are the different positions of positivism [3]
11. What are the basic tenets of classical positivism [4] - NELO
a. How are laws made in the classical positivist approach [2]
,12. What is the distinction between classical and logical positivism - empiricism
is not the only source of knowledge, so is logical reasoning - thus deduction
13. What are the basic tenets of logical positivism [3] DRV
i.
14. What is the criticism of logical positivism from Karl Popper [2]
a. Why did Popper reject the idea of induction [2]
i. What is the swan example
ii. What should be the goal instead
b. Why did he reject the idea of verifiability to establish truth claims
i. What should be the goal instead
15. Who is Carl Gustav Hempel 1905-97 - last important name associated with
positivism -
16. What is the deductive-nomological model
, 17. What is the hypothetico-deductive model
18. What is the distinction between the deductive-nomological model and the
hypothetico-deductive model
19. What do all forms of positivism agree on - there is an objective reality out
there & we can measure based on observation
20.What are the approaches that challenge positivism [2]
a. What are the similarities between scientific realism & positivism [2]
b. What is the key difference between scientific realism & positivism [4]
i. Do they use deductive or inductive reasoning
ii. What are causal mechanisms that cannot be directly observed
but have real consequences [3] - Tilly + eg for each
iii. What is the distinction between individualism and holism in
determining causal mechanisms - also how does it relate to
scientific realism
iv. What is Coleman’s Bathtub (1986) - how does it relate to
scientific realism
c. Why is interpretivism fundamentally different from positivism
i. To interpretivists; why is the social world different from other
natural world [2]
