For purposes of this course we are interested in several things in analyzing journal articles or writings taken from books. The following format should be followed to provide a logical progression of ideas and ensure that all the items are included in the discussion.
Length of Analysis: Three pages double- spaced should be sufficient. More than three pages is doing too much. Two pages may be too short to cover all items sufficiently.
Articles are written with different basic orientations as to method of study. Some are quantitative with clearly stated hypotheses and then data presentation and the summary of findings and conclusions. Others are written to explain and present ideas on particular theories [e.g., an article explaining what is meant by culture variables and arguing for the role of such variables in understanding political systems] or, for example, to present ideas using a variety of types of evidence ranging from historical events to case studies [looking at one particular case such as Sweden and welfare system change or the process of passing a particular piece of legislation such as a civil rights bill]. Some studies use multiple methods. Varied methods of asking the questions guiding the study and seeking answers and understanding are used. The essential item is to understand what methods are being used, whatever they are.
TEN QUESTIONS TO EXPLORE AND ANSWER
The format below is built around the ten questions and is to be used to analyze the article in its various parts in order that you can present the ideas and information from the article in a comprehensive, meaningful fashion.
1. Subject: What is the general subject of the article (presidency, legislative behavior, political culture, elections, etc.)?
2. General theory: What is the general theory relating to the study?
To be considered an educated person you need to develop the ability to see the relationship between particular items of information and particular ideas and the broader theories to which they are related.
THEORY MEANS TO STATE A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GENERAL IDEAS
What is the general theory to which this study will contribute? The study may involve only nationalism and electoral choices but the broader theory is the relationship of political culture to election results. Even broader is the relationship of political culture to political behavior. The line of idea development moves from the more particular to the more general or vice versa. This is usually set out in the review of literature that proves the background for the study. To distinguish the broader theory from the particular is a bit difficult sometimes and is not clearly stated, but you should try to decide what this broader theory is to which the particular study contributes. You can think of theory as involving various steps of theory building or relationships:
1. First level --Very Broad: " relationship of political culture to political behavior"
2. Second level --Broad but a step below the most general: "relationship of political culture to election results" -- this is similar to the first level but steps down from all political behavior to only election results.
3. Third level -- More narrow than the first two levels: "relationship of nationalism to election results" -- now you have moved from the general notion of "culture" to the more narrow notion of "nationalism" [an aspect of culture] and from the general notion of political behavior to the more narrow notion of elections [electoral behavior]
4. Fourth level may be from "nationalism" to Mexican nationalism" and from "elections" to "Mexican elections" or may stay with "nationalism" and narrow down on "elections" to "elections in developing countries."
How many levels of theory are involved are seldom spelled out and you will need to decide on how you might indicate the various levels of theory building/understanding involved in the basic idea and conclusion of the article. PLEASE NOTE THAT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO INDICATE SEVERAL LEVELS OF THEORY in your report. The above is to indicate how different theories come to be from a very general theory. Your report may focus on one theory or two or several It may refer to several but only concern itself with one or two. Your task is to locate whatever theories are being discussed and studied.
3. Specific theory: What is the specific theory (theories)? A specific theory is any theory that narrows down variables being related in a theoretical fashion. Thus the move from the general theory of "Political culture influences Political Outputs" to a more narrow theory of "Religion affects Political Outputs" indicates a specific theory.
4. Hypotheses: What are the specific hypotheses and variables under study?
HYPOTHESES SEEK TO FRAME RELATIONSHIPS IN SUCH A MANNER THAT THEY CAN BE SHOWN TO BE ACCURATE OR NOT USING VARIOUS TYPES OF DATA ACCORDING TO THE PARTICULAR STUDY. They are essentially specific theories, as described above, but have the quality of being narrowed down to the point of being able to be studied. Thus the specific theory of "Religion leads to Political Outputs" can be studied with the hypothesis that membership in the Evangelical religion in Venezuela influenced the election of Chaves." This can be studied to see if true or false and then the answer related back to the more general theory about religion and political outputs.
Some studies will use quantitative data such as numbers of voters and election results. Some studies use historical events and an analysis of these events. Some studies use descriptive analyses of particular parts of politics such as bureaucratic procedures in the Department of Defense or the details of a particular health program such as Medicare. Some will use case studies of several countries or of one country. More techniques are available and used than indicated here, but the essential point is to note in your analysis what types of relationships are being studied, what data are deemed by the author as appropriate and whether the conclusion(s) is (are) that the relationship(s) holds(hold) true.
NOTE: Sometimes specific hypotheses are not indicated but the study is oriented to describing some aspect of politics such as how the health care system in Germany works compared to that in Britain. In such a case note the relevant questions used to indicate what is a fruitful comparison of the two systems.
5. Variables and Operational definitions: How are the relevant variables defined?
VARIABLES ARE THINGS THAT VARY
Thus, for example, nationalism is more or less for some persons or, another example, elections refer to voting for one party or the other hence the party variable varies between the two parties.
AN OPERATIONAL DEFINITION need not be a quantitative term but is a definition that allows for common understanding of what is intended and being studied. Thus "nationalism" may be operationalized as (1) love of country and then (2) further operationalized as the result of an opinion scale, hence quantitative and measurable; or (3) it may be defined as membership in an ethnic group such as "the nation of Islam".
Usually there is involvement of both qualitative [not oriented to quantitative amounts such as numbers of persons answering a particular way on a survey] and quantitative reasoning [using quantitative amounts such as number of persons answering a certain way on a survey in relationship to how a number of them voted in the election] in arriving at definitions. Thus, in this example it is qualitative reasoning that leads to an understanding of what one means by the linguistic symbol "nationalism" [i.e., lobe of country] and then quantitative reasoning that arrives at a way to measure it for comparison to other variables. Even saying one is or is not a member of "the nation of Islam" involves a quantitative measurement for comparison purposes after arriving at a qualitative conclusion as to what constitutes "nationalism."
6. Data: (a) What data are (note that "data" is a plural noun for the singular "datum") being used and (b) how?
You do not need to discuss this in great detail but simply indicate whether polls, memoirs, news articles, historical events, election results, etc. are being used. You need only list what types of data are used and how.
The term data is used broadly here to refer to the study of historical events, newspaper article analyses, election results, interviews, surveys, observations of behavior, collections of writings (e.g., on nationalism to see what is perceived as nationalism in a country or autobiographies to study personal motivations for political activity), items of legislation, court opinions (not simply what was concluded but the reasoning behind the conclusions constitute data), etc. It is important to note from where the data come. For example is it world-wide, country-specific, regional? Is it limited to specific groups of persons, to specific courts, to specific types of legislative institutions, etc.?
7. Key Items of Information: What are the specific results from the analysis?
You need not describe all results but should indicate the key items of information provided by the author.
An item of information is basically what one would normally call a "fact" such as Günter Grass published a book reviving concern for the victimization of the Germans. This is a key item of information in an article discussing Germany's historical memories. You need usually only locate a half-dozen or so of the key "facts" presented [election results, pol results, historical events, court decisions, legislative statues, etc. to make clear what information is used for the arguments and conclusions.
8. Arguments: What is the argument/line of reasoning presented by the author to establish the conclusion(s)?
Arguments often [but not always] involve "if-then" statements with the keys to good reasoning being the logic and reasonableness of the connections being established and the evidence to show that what comprises the "then" part of the reasoning is supported persuasively by evidence of some sort. Thus one might see a comment that if Grass published such an article is shows that the cultural elites of Germany are taking a new path in their reasoning.
The argument takes an item of information or several items and then indicates how they are important to the argument. Thus the fact of Grass publishing a book on German victimization becomes part of an argument when the author indicates that this shows how the cultural elites were beginning to change the cultural approach to the German-centered memory [defined as one looking as the victimization of the Germans at the end of WWII].
Whatever the form of the argument, note what the reasoning is and the support provided for it, whatever it might be. Generally ask yourself how the author has sought to be persuasive of the conclusions to which she arrived.
Some studies basically describe rather than present an argument such as a description of the process for providing healthcare for the elderly through Medicare and the legislative process that produced the legislation.
9. Conclusion(s): What is concluded about the hypotheses and theories from the results, or in summing up the argument if no clear theory being discussed, or, if strictly a descriptive study, what the basic conclusions are about what is being described.
10. Further Questions: What questions can you raise for further exploration of the ideas involved in this study?
What other questions come to mind that might lead to fruitful political study but not necessarily about this particular topic? (For example, the study may involve nationalism as a variable and you wonder if the technique for defining and studying nationalism might be used in another study involving different variables. The study may have used observation such as observing whether or not voters came to the polls with national flags or other national symbols in evidence, and you wonder if the use if a variant of such observation might be helpful in differentiating among different student protesters according to dress -- some more "radically" dressed than others.)
Sometimes the author(s) will point to strengths and weaknesses. If they do, you should still see if you can add to them. For example you might raise questions of gender bias or ethics not raised by the author. One of the aspects of gender studies is to point out how assumptions about men and women are often very subtly made in studies. Likewise the meaning of specific terms to different racial groups could be significant. Questions of ethics as to the methodology being used are sometimes relevant. Value implications of the studies are often worth noting.
Terms to keep in mind:
Theory: General and Narrow
Hypotheses
Variables
Operationalized Definitions
Data: Qualitative and Quantitative
Arguments