Invisible
College 2003-2004
Goals
and description:
This course aims to explore the strengths and
limitations of quantitative and qualitative empirical analysis. At the same
time it serves as a starting point for advanced topics in quantitative and
qualitative research methods. The course will help students to learn the basic
skills for becoming not only a consumer but also a competent producer of
basic empirical researches.
We will begin by discussing basic concepts for
understanding the logic of quantitative and qualitative methods in social
sciences. We will continue by covering basic quantitative and qualitative
methods needed for producing high-quality analysis both for social scientists
in general, and political scientists and policy analysts in particular. As
well, in the second part we will employ a statistical program – SPSS – in order
to have a better understanding of the methods, to be able to replicate analyses
and to conduct your own studies.
The students will be encouraged to read different
academic texts in order to get acquainted with the hard and weak points of
quantitative empirical analysis. The texts could be photocopied from the
“Applied political analysis” reader from the IC academic year 2002-2003. The
list of the texts will be provided at the beginning of the first class.
Students are highly encouraged to use articles from the electronic journals
database – JSTOR. For those interested in a more in-depth insight, further
readings are available from lecturer’s personal collections.
Requirements:
The students are required to:
A). produce a final paper using the covered empirical quantitative methods (40% of the final grade).
B). to actively contribute to the discussions in the class and show computer statistical program competence (20%)
C). to pass three mid-term quizzes (15 minutes each), on short-answer format. One quiz (15% from the final grade) will consist on qualitative methods and two quizzes (30% from the final grade) on quantitative ones.
Note: In order to graduate the course the students should obtain a minimum of: 60% from A, 50% from B and 60% from C. The deadline for submitting the paper will be announced at the beginning of the course.
You
are kindly asked to buy for yourself the books that are in Romanian (King, Keohane and Verba 2000; Rotariu, Badescu et all.1999; and Bulai 2000).
These books are a minimum investment in a social scientist’s training and could
still be found in bookshops.
Topics
and Readings:
1. Introduction meeting
2. Basic methodological concepts. Hypotheses, concepts,
variables
Mandatory readings:
King, Gary, Robert Keohane and Sidney Verba. 2000. Fundamentele
Cercetarii Sociale
[Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research
(Princeton: Princeton UP, 1994] Chapters. 1-3. Bucharest: Polirom.
Rotariu, Traian, Gabriel Badescu et all. 1999.
Metode Statistice
Aplicate in Stiintele Sociale. Iasi: Polirom. Chapter 2.
Further readings:
Discussion in ASPR vol. 89, no. 2.
Hoover, Kenneth R. 1992. The
Elements of Social Scientific Thinking. Fifth
Edition. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Chapter 4.
63-87.
3. Qualitative methods I: long interview
Mandatory reading:
McCracken, Grant. 1988. “The Long
Interview”. Qualitative Research Methods Series.
Vol.13. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. 11-48.
4. Qualitative methods II: focus group
Mandatory reading:
Bulai, Alfred. 2000. Focus-Grup. Bucharest: Paideia. 17-117. You are kindly asked to buy for yourself this book (the only one in Romanian, that addresses this issue) since it still could be found in bookshops at a very reasonable price.
Further reading:
Krueger, Richard A. 1994. Focus
Groups. Second Edition. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications.
5. Levels of measurement. Introduction to SPSS. (first
quiz from classes 3 and 4)
Mandatory readings:
Rotariu, Traian, Gabriel Badescu et all. 1999.
Metode Statistice
Aplicate in Stiintele Sociale. Iasi: Polirom. 23-29.
Rotariu, Traian
and Petru Ilut. 1997. Ancheta
Sociologica si Sondajul de Opinie. Iasi: Polirom. 20-33.
6. Univariate analysis (SPSS)
Mandatory readings:
Rotariu, Traian, Gabriel Badescu et all. 1999.
Metode Statistice
Aplicate in Stiintele Sociale. Iasi: Polirom. Chapter 3.
Lewis-Beck, Michael S. 1995. “Data
Analysis. An Introduction”. Quantitative
applications in the social sciences. Vol.103. Thousand Oaks:
Sage Publications. 1-18.
7. Bivariate analysis (SPSS). (second quiz from classes 2; 5 and
6)
Mandatory readings:
Hamilton, Lawrence C. 1992. Regression
with Graphics. Belmont, CA: Duxbury Press. 29-59.
Rotariu, Traian, Gabriel Badescu et all. 1999.
Metode Statistice
Aplicate in Stiintele Sociale. Iasi: Polirom. 119-185.
Further reading:
Lewis-Beck, Michael S. 1995. “Data
Analysis. An Introduction”. Quantitative
applications in the social sciences. Vol.103. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications. 19-53.
8. Multivariate analysis. Logistic Regresion
(SPSS)
Mandatory reading:
Pampel, Fred C. 2000. “Logistic
Regression. A Primer”. Quantitative applications in the social sciences. Vol 103.
Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. 1-39.
Further reading:
Tabachnick, Barbara G and Linda S. Fidell. 1996. Using
Multivariate Statistics. Third Edition. New York:
HarperCollins. 575-609.
9. Data reduction. (SPSS)
Mandatory reading:
Rotariu, Traian, Gabriel Badescu et all. 1999.
Metode Statistice
Aplicate in Stiintele Sociale. Iasi: Polirom. 262-265.
10. Final paper research project to be discussed.
Exercises: using SPSS for dealing with empirical research data.
11. Graphical representation in political science for univariate and bivariate data
(SPSS) (third quiz from classes 7 to 9)
Mandatory reading:
Jacoby, William. 1997. “Statistical Graphics for Univariate and Bivariate Data”. Quantitative applications in the social sciences. Vol 117. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications. 1-90.