The Essentials of Political Analysis

5. Revised Auflage 2015
ISBN: 978-1-5063-0583-7
Verlag: SAGE Publications Inc

Buch, Englisch, 280 Seiten, Format (B × H): 177 mm x 254 mm, Gewicht: 501 g

“Overall, this is the best political science research methods book I’ve seen.”

-William Field, Rutgers University

Building students’ analytic abilities and developing their statistical reasoning with new data, fresh exercises, and engaging examples, this accessible introduction to the essential elements of political analysis walks students through the basics—measuring concepts, describing variables, formulating and testing hypotheses, controlling for alternative explanations, and interpreting graphic displays, and nearly 50 practical exercises motivate them to use their new skills with confidence.

New to this edition:

- All examples updated with current data sources

- Treatment of visual depictions of variables and relationships and enhanced coverage of logistic regression

- A total of 48 end-of-chapter exercises, many new or completely revised

- More accessible discussion of spurious, additive, and interaction relationships

- Coverage of box plots and error bar charts

- New discussion of ways to represent probabilities in logistic regression

Autoren/Hrsg.

Pollock, Philip H.

Pollock, Philip H., III

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Internationale Beziehungen

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Introduction
What This Book Is About
Facts and Values in Perspective
The Scientific Approach
Conclusion
Chapter 1: The Definition and Measurement of Concepts
Conceptual Definitions
Operational Definitions
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 2: Measuring and Describing Variables
Measuring Variables
Describing Variables
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 3: Proposing Explanations, Framing Hypotheses, and Making Comparisons
Proposing Explanations
Framing Hypotheses
Making Comparisons
Graphing Relationships and Describing Patterns
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 4: Research Design and the Logic of Control
Experimental Designs
Controlled Comparisons
Three Scenarios
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 5: Making Controlled Comparisons
Cross-tabulation Analysis
Graphing Controlled Comparisons
An Example of Interaction
Mean Comparison Analysis
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 6: Foundations of Statistical Inference
Population Parameters and Sample Statistics
Random Sampling
The Standard Error of a Sample Mean
Inference Using the Normal Distribution
Inference Using the Student’s t-Distribution
What About Sample Proportions?
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 7: Tests of Significance and Measures of Association
Statistical Significance
Measures of Association
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 8: Correlation and Linear Regression
Correlation
Bivariate Regression
R-square
Dummy Variable Regression
Multiple Regression
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 9: Logistic Regression
The Logistic Regression Approach
Finding the Best Fit: Maximum Likelihood Estimation
Logistic Regression with Multiple Independent Variables
Working with Probabilities: MEMs and MERs
Summary
Key Terms
Exercises
Chapter 10: Thinking Empirically, Thinking Probabilistically
Thinking Empirically
Thinking Probabilistically

Über Autor(innen)

Pollock, Philip H., III
Philip H. Pollock III is a professor of political science at the University of Central Florida. He has taught courses in research methods at the undergraduate and graduate levels for more than thirty years. His main research interests are American public opinion, voting behavior, techniques of quantitative analysis, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. His recent research has been on the effectiveness of Internet-based instruction. Pollock’s research has appeared in the American Journal of Political Science, Social Science Quarterly, and the British Journal of Political Science. Recent scholarly publications include articles in Political Research Quarterly, the Journal of Political Science Education, and PS: Political Science and Politics.