Seminar 02

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INTRODUCTORY RESEARCH

METHODOLOGY
Seminar
Research Questions
Smoking should be discouraged
(Normative)

High taxes on cigarettes


discourage smoking
(Positive)

Increasing 2% of taxes on
cigarettes discourage smoking.
(Empirical)

There is a limit of the trade-off


between higher tax rate on
cigarettes and smoking.
(Analytical)
Reformulate Normative Statements below:
Reformulate Normative Statements below:
Reformulate Normative Questions
There are two techniques to use:
To change the frame of reference:
ü The gist is moving from a normative judgment to a question about the
normative judgements some person or persons make.
To ask empirical questions about the assumptions behind
normative judgements.
ü Most normative judgments are based at least in part on beliefs about
what is empirically true. But are these assumptions true?
Example: Would it be a good idea to legalize drugs? (Normative)
ü Do most Germans/Dutch favour legalization of drugs? (Frame)
ü Would legalization of drugs decrease the occurrence of other crimes? (Ass.)
ü How much would legalization of drugs increase the frequency of addiction? (Ass.)

Practice 1: Reformulate the following normative statements/questions

1. Should term limits be adopted for Congress?


2. Negative campaign advertising is what’s wrong with
elections today.
3. If a foreign policy decision would increase our country’s
exports, then that’s what should be done.
A possible solution to Practice 1

1. Should term limits be adopted for Congress?


A. Do most political scientists favour term limits? (FR.)
B. Would term limits increase the influence of interest groups
on congressional decision-making? (ASS.)
2. Negative campaign advertising is what’s wrong with
elections today.
A. Which party is getting better-off by using negative campaign
in the last election? (FR.)
B. Was the frequency of negative advertising greater in the
2010s than in the 1980s? (ASS.)
3. If a foreign policy decision would increase our country’s
exports, then that’s what should be done.
A. Which segment of the economy would get extra profit if the
policy decision were adopted? (FR.)
B. Is this kind of subsidiary the most effective way of increasing
exports? (ASS.)
”Research Vase:” How to narrow questions to
find ”Researchable” Questions

Top of the vase:


The broad question or topic related to
the subject matter of the research

Middle of the vase:


The potential research question that
will enable us to investigate the question

KEYWORDS HYPOTHESES

Bottom of the vase:


How the conclusion of the research help
to illuminate the broad question
at the top of the vase
Practice 2. Evaluate the following questions.
Why cannot they be considered as potential RQ?

1. How democratic is the E.U. political system?


Too general question + the lack of clarity: the term democracy is used in many
ways and each has many aspects + the EU political system is too complicated.
2. Should the U.S. give military aid to Bolivia next year?

This question is obviously normative and therefore not testable. Additionally, it


deals with only a single case, and therefore would be low in significance.

3. Do appointed judges make fairer decisions than elected


judges do?

The term fairness is a normative concept, so the whole question is not testable.
Practice 2. Evaluate the following questions.
Can they be considered as potential RQ?

4. Do the spouses of U.S. senators tend to have higher


levels of education than the spouses of U.S. repre-
sentatives?
This question is clear, easily testable, and probably original. However, it is
completely lacking in any theoretical significance or practical relevance.
5. How has Hungarian politics changed since the 2010
elections?
This question is extremely vague, and so it does not meet the criterion of
clarity. However, if we break it down, we can transform it into interesting and
relevant research questions.
6. Who shot President Kennedy?
The question is clear and specific, and its answer could conceivably have some
practical relevance. But it is not likely to be testable, and it is definitively unoriginal.
Finally, it lacks theoretical significance, as it deals with only a single event.
Practice 3. Reformulation of some questions to have a RQ

(2.) Should the U.S. give military aid to Bolivia next year?

”How effectively did the Bolivian Army used up the


military aid to improve its military capacity?"

"Does receiving military aid cause less-developed


nations to increase or decrease their spending on
health and education?"

(5.) How has Hungarian politics changed since the 2010


elections?
”Has been any change in the Hungarian election system
since 2010?"

”Does the country have the same constitution now than


before 2010?"
Which attributes make potentially good RQ?

üClarity: The RQ must be specific enough to give direction to the research, and
general enough that suggests what a possible answer would be.
üTestability: The RQ must be one that can be potentially answered by empirical
inquiry.
§ It must be an empirical question, not a normative question;
§ Whether the necessary investigation can be devised and carried out with
the resources available.
üTheoretical significance: Answering the RQ should potentially increase our
general knowledge and understanding of the topic.
üPractical Relevance: Answering the RQ should be useful in some real-life
application.
üOriginality: This does not mean that a research question must he completely
new, but it does mean that the answer should not be so well established that
there is little reason to expect a different outcome.

The most common errors when a question is framed so that


1. it begs another question; 4. it is metaphysical;
2. it presents a false dichotomy; 5. it is a tautology.
3. it asks about fictional event;
Practice 4. Which Common Error can be found in the
following RQ? Reformulate and pose a good RQ

(1.) Why do some coorporations pollute water if they are not regulated?
False Dichotomy
How do government regulations prevent corporations from polluting the water?

(2.) How do artificial sweeteners affect people?


Vague question that beg another questions:
- which sweeteners and which people we are talking about?
How does aspartame/cyclamate/saccarin affects the behaviour of kids?
How does aspartame affect women who suffer migraines?
(3.) In this review, we will see studies on how women are harassed
90% of their life and what they go through.
Tautology How many women between ages 18-30 have experienced harrasment?

(4.) What if the German army had won at Stalingrad during the WW2?
Fictional Question
Main Types of Research Questions:

Descriptive
ü ”What do we mean by…”?
ü What’s going on? Where, with whom? Who are concerned?
ü What is the context for it?
ü Whose accounts/perspectives do we have?

Explanatory
ü What helps to explain what happens? What factors highlight/underlie it?
ü What concepts and theories help to understand it?
ü What causes it?
Evaluative (explanatory with prediction)
ü How useful/effective is it?
ü Does it work? (Over what period of time?)
Strategic (explanatory with prescription)
ü What are the implications?
ü Should it affect on practice or policy priorities? How and Why?
Main Types of Research Questions:
Practice 5. Find appropriate descriptive and explanatory
questions about the different cases of social world below:

1. Trends in demography

2. Demonstrations in the streets

3. The circumstances of poverty, starvation, etc.


Main Types of Research Questions:
Practice 5. Find appropriate descriptive and explanatory
questions to the different cases of social world below:
1. Trends in demography

ü Is this country has an expansive or a constrictive population pyramid?

ü Why is there a growing/falling trend in the number of newborn babies?

2. Demonstrations in the streets

ü How long people has blocked the main streets of the city?

ü What makes this social movement? à How to explain the rise and success

of collective mobilization?

3. The circumstances of poverty, starvation, etc.

ü What are the main characteristics of poor countries?

ü How to explain economic underdevelopment?


Practice 6.: Pose correct research question related the
following topics:

1. The Economis of the UK

2. The History of Arms Races

3. The COVID and its social consequences

4. Trends in tourism

5. Education in the future

6. Generational differences at workplaces

7. Bullying

8. Recreation

9. Corporate Identity and Brand

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