Working with political science research methods answer key

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Chapter 2 The Empirical Approach to Political Science

In chapter 2 of the textbook, we describe the scientific method and argue that it underlies empirical political science research. We note that empiricism is not the only method of obtaining knowledge—there are others that lots of people fervently adhere to—and a case can be made against trying to study politics scientifically. (There are even disagreements about the definition and nature of the scientific method.) Nevertheless, this way of acquiring knowledge is so common that many social scientists take it for granted, as do many average citizens. The problem is that scientific claims are sometimes difficult to distinguish from other kinds of statements. Nor is it always clear whether and how empirical analysis can be applied to propositions stated in theoretical and practical terms. The following questions, problems, and assignments therefore offer opportunities for you to think about the application of the empirical approach. Note that not all of the questions have one “right” answer. Many, in fact, require a lot of careful thought. And it is often necessary to redefine or clarify words or phrases, to look for hidden assumptions, and to consider whether or not statements can be “translated” into scientific terms.

Exercise 2–1. Make a list of the characteristics of scientific knowledge. The list may help organize your thinking for other questions in this chapter.

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Exercise 2–2. The chapter mentions several characteristics of scientific knowledge. It also warns about confusing commonsense and casual observations with verified or potentially verifiable claims. In this exercise you will try to identify and differentiate between normative statements, which are statements that suggest how things should be, and empirical statements, which are statements that can be measured, tested, or verified through observation. For each of the following statements, decide if the statement is normative, empirical, a combination of the two, or if there is not enough information in the statement for you to decide. Write your responses in the space provided after each statement and briefly explain why you think your answer is correct.

a. The Republicans won a majority of seats in the U.S. Senate in the 2014 midterm elections.

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b. Offshore drilling should be banned in Alaska because it is immoral to risk damaging an otherwise pristine natural environment.

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c. Early voting periods should be shortened because they disproportionately favor Democratic candidates for office.

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d. Multiparty systems are better for representation than two-party systems.

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e. More people voted in the most recent election than in the previous election.

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f. Senior citizens are more likely to vote than college students.

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g. Scotland would be better off today if it had voted for independence in 2014.

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h. Freedom of religion is a fundamental right of all people.

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i. Democratic leaders always have better ideas on social policy than Republican leaders.

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j. Decriminalizing marijuana distribution and regulating sales can create a substantial source of tax revenue.1

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k. Too many people have been unable to find work.

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l. It doesn’t make any sense to vote because so many ballots are cast in an election that no single vote is going to make a difference in the outcome.

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Exercise 2–3. Below are several paragraphs drawn from an article in which the author discusses a debate over how congressional districts are drawn:

I argue that map makers ought to “pack” districts with as many like-minded partisans as possible. Trying to draw “competitive districts” effectively cracks ideologically congruent votes into separate districts, which has the effect of increasing the absolute number of voters who will be unhappy with the outcome and dissatisfied with their representative.

 One common objection to this method of districting [packing] is that it would add to the polarization in Congress by creating overwhelmingly Republican (Democratic) districts that are more likely to elect very conservative (liberal) members.

 Some states, like Arizona, have passed laws or referenda specifying that a districting plan ought to maximize the number of competitive districts. This is not particularly surprising because the common wisdom among most voters and certainly among the media is that the House of Representatives does not have enough competitive districts currently, and that an increase in the number of competitive elections or in the amount of turnover in Congress will somehow enhance representation.

 From: Thomas L. Brunell, “Rethinking Redistricting: How Drawing Uncompetitive Districts Eliminates Gerrymanders, Enhances Representation, and Improves Attitudes toward Congress,” PS: Political Science and Politics 40 (January 2006): 77–85.

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a. Identify two normative statements or claims from the preceding text that can’t be tested empirically as currently expressed.

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b. Write down three statements or claims in the preceding text that are empirical and can be tested.

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Exercise 2–4. Many people make the following claim: “You can’t predict human behavior.” In light of our discussion of the scientific approach to political science, do you find this claim to be valid? (Hint: Try breaking human behavior down into more specific traits or properties. For example, consider if people are naturally aggressive. Then think of ways that this might be empirically investigated.)

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Exercise 2–5. Chapter 2 of the textbook highlights criticisms of the empirical study of political science. List the criticisms here.

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Which of the criticisms do you find most compelling and why?

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Helpful Hints

Decoding the Ambiguity of Political Discourse As we stated earlier, political discourse is frequently ambiguous, and you have to think carefully about what words really say. Sometimes a politician’s meaning is clear. Consider President Obama’s Rose Garden speech on a proposed nuclear deal with Iran.2 In his speech, President Obama said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has been advancing its nuclear program for decades,” which was a straightforward factual statement that could be verified empirically. But he also claimed, “I made clear that we were prepared to resolve this issue diplomatically, but only if Iran came to the table in a serious way.” The word serious makes this statement a judgment, not a factual proposition. Whether something is serious or not is an opinion. In some people’s minds, Iran had been making serious attempts at diplomacy, but others thought differently. Who was right? It is hard to see how the proposition could be scientifically proven true or false.

2 “Statement by the President on the Framework to Prevent Iran from Obtaining a Nuclear Weapon,” April 2, 2015, www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/04/02/statement-president-framework-prevent-iran-obtaining-nuclear-weapon.

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Exercise 2–6. Chapter 2 in the textbook focuses on empirical research and using the scientific method. Empiricism is defined as “relying on observation to verify propositions.” In this exercise you will want to consider how you might make observations to verify propositions. For each of the following empirical statements, indicate where you might look or how you might make observations to find information to verify the statement. In the example below, you will see that while you only need to provide one answer, there are many potential verification methods.

Example: A majority of voters oppose the use of the death penalty.

Answer: “I would search for survey results on national news organization Web sites,” or “I would randomly sample students at my university and ask if they support the death penalty,” or “I would call an interest group that focuses on the death penalty and ask about support for the death penalty among voters.”

a. More voters are registered with the Democratic Party than the Republican Party in Pennsylvania.

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b. The British Parliament currently has more than twelve parties represented by members.

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c. Someone working forty hours a week and earning the minimum wage will still be below the federal poverty level for a family of two.

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d. People are not willing to pay higher taxes to address climate change.

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e. Texas has the most stringent voter identification law in the United States.

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f. Ninety percent of deaths attributed to diarrheal diseases like cholera are children five years of age or younger.

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Exercise 2–7. In order to think about the scientific components of empirical research, it is useful to compare research projects that are more scientific with projects that are less scientific. For this exercise you will select two examples of empirical research with publicly available results on the Internet.