Studying Politics Scientifically

1
Studying Politics Scientifically

• What Is Political Science?
• Empirical Research

2
Political Science

• Political scientists are interested in acquiring
  knowledge about and understanding many important
  political phenomena
• Many different levels of government
• Many different actors

3
Political Science

• Political science is the application of empirical
  principles to the study of phenomena that are
  political in nature

4
Empirical Research

• Two reasons to understand how to conduct
  empirical research
• Citizens are confronted with empirical research
  daily through political news and debate
• You can use empirical research techniques to
  improve your own work

5
Empirical Research

• Empirical research on political phenomena can be
  used to
• Improve understanding of and find solutions to
  difficult problems
• Applied research
• Satisfy your intellectual curiosity about the
  nature of political phenomena
• Theoretical research

6
Empirical Research

• The empirical research process of deciding
• Which information will be used in an analysis
• Which method will be used to conduct the
  analysis
• Which statistic will be used to demonstrate the
  findings

7
Examples of Empirical Research

• Political scientists study a variety of
  questions
• Winners and losers in politics
• Who votes and who does not
• Repression of human rights
• Public support for U.S. foreign involvement
• What questions are you interested in studying?