The Science in Social Science 笔记摘要

1.1 Introduction

Goal: design research that will produce valid inferences about social and political life. 1.1.1 two styles of research and one logic of inference

Quantitative: numbers and statistical methods, it tends to be based on numerical measurements of specific aspects of phenomena; abstracts from particular instances to seek general description or to test causal hypotheses; seeks measurements and analyses that are easily replicable by other researchers.

Qualitative: intensive interviews or depth analysis of historical materials, discursive, concerned with a rounded account of some event.

Both can be systematic and scientific and neither is superior to the other

1.1.2 defining scientific research in the social sciences

Scientific research characteristics: (science is a social enterprise) --the goal is inference

--the procedures are public --the conclusions are uncertain --the content is the method

1.1.3 Science and complexity (social science makes sense of complex social situations)

Seek generalization; engage in counterfactual analysis

1.2 Major components of research design 1.2.1 improving research questions

discovery contains an irrational element or creative intuition research project 2 criteria:

1)important in real world; practical usefulness

2)make specific contribution to scholarly literature; long term scientific value

1.2.2 improving theory --choose theories that could be wrong

--choose one that is capable of generating as many observable implications as possible.

--be concrete in designing Parsimony: the world is assumed to be simple 1.2.3 improving data quality

--record and report the process by which the data are generated --collect data on as many of its observable implications as possible --maximize the validity of our measurements --ensure that data collection methods are reliable --all data and analyses should be replicable

1.2.4 improving the use of existing data

--use data to generate inferences that are unbiased, correct on average

--maximize the information used for descriptive or causal inference (efficient)

1.3 themes of this volume

1.3.1 using observable implications to connect theory and data

1.3.2 maximizing leverage (explain as much as possible with as little as possible) 1.3.3 reporting uncertainty

1.3.4 thinking like a social scientist: skepticism and rival pypotheses