POWER POINT PRESENTATION

EMPIRICAL STUDY – "SCIENCE"

What "is" in empirical sense

Note that "reality" and what "truly is" is part of the philosophical debate. Empirical = see, touch, feel, count, etc.

Machiavelli and not end is good for politics but what is actually happening and how to make things happen

EMPIRICAL STUDY – "SCIENCE"

Method = important for consistent, redundant studies and "proven" results

--historical method – rule of primary and secondary sources, cross-documents of evidence, chronological order of events

--quantitative statistical [count and probability]

--qualitative observation and analysis [observing campaign up close over time/ focus groups/ living amidst studied groups and careful documentation of observations

--institutional analysis and comparison of rules, laws, constitutions, voting procedures [e.g., within national systems, between national systems]

EMPIRICAL STUDY – "SCIENCE"

Caveats:

never really "prove" but probability of event

useful for action albeit not last word and doesn’t deal with why [philosophical reasoning]

cause-effect never know absolutely but useful to reach high level of probability

fact-value distinction fuzzier than usually realized but need to converse with sense of "fact of the matter"

EMPIRICAL STUDY – "SCIENCE"

Basic Process:

concepts defined ["operationally" when possible]

concepts linked into general statements which are theories [abstract understanding of that which is being studied]

concepts placed in hypotheses for testing

then one or more of the various methods of study applied. For quantitative theory statistical testing and analysis to determine strengths of relationships

[cont.]

EMPIRICAL STUDY – "SCIENCE"

after testing is analysis

remember: analysis is often quantitative but that there are historical, and other types of analysis of empirical data [e.g. causes for WWII done statistically and also historically and sometimes a combination]

reason, logic !! Numbers needs logical connections!! Lining up events chronologically needs logical connections!!

questioning of results and further hypotheses, theories, ideas for examination – It never stops!!!