Comparative Analysis & Case Selection: Research Designs & Methods in Political Science, Study notes of Systems Design

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2: Comparative analysis and case selection

Tina FREYBURG

[Introduction to Qualitative Methods]

Roadmap

Part I - RESEARCH DESIGN  Causal thinking and research designs  Comparative analysis and case selection Part II - DATA COLLECTION  (Semi-)Structured Interviews  Observational research and ethical questions  Observational research and ethical questions Part III - DATA ANALYSIS AND CAUSAL INFERENCE  Case studies and process-tracing  Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)  The mixed-methods approach

I -- The Parable of the Elephant

... and the Blind Men

The Parable of the Elephant …

Six blind men go to observe an elephant. One feels the side and thinks the elephant is like a wall. One feels the tusk and thinks the elephant is a like a spear. One touches the squirming trunk and thinks the elephant is like a snake. One feels the knee and thinks the elephant is like a tree. One touches the ear, and thinks the elephant is like a fan. One grasps the tail and thinks it is like a rope. They argue long and loud and though each was partly in the right, all were in the wrong.

Theory

Research Questions

Concepts

New theory

Data analysis Data collection

Case Selection

Designing political science research

learning what’s already known

developing the theoretical argument

Attitudes toward ….

 UK EU-membership

 Democratic rules and procedures

 Capitalism

 Trade unions

 Political Islam

 Development aid

 Military interventions

 Women wearing headscarves

Your project

Bowling for Columbine & Comparative Method

 What is the basic argument being put forth by Moore? That is, what is his thesis?  What sort of comparisons does Moore use to support his thesis?  Are the comparisons useful? how so?  What type of evidence underlies his comparisons? Is the evidence sufficient, reliable, and valid?

Question: Why are there so many murders in America and not in the rest of the world?

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Testing arguments about gun violence

Possible causes of America’s high rate of gun violence

 Violent video games and entertainment  Anti-social rock music and/or Marilyn Manson  Too many guns  Too much poverty  Too much ethnic/racial diversity  History of violence in the United States

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Testing arguments about gun violence

Possible causes of America’s high rate of gun violence

 Violent video games and entertainment  Anti-social rock music and/or Marilyn Manson  Too many guns  Too much poverty  Too much ethnic/racial diversity  History of violence in the United States

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Testing arguments about gun violence

Possible causes of America’s high rate of gun violence

 Violent video games and entertainment  Anti-social rock music and/or Marilyn Manson  Too many guns  … Through comparative checking, many possible causes of gun violence can be eliminated or problematized

WHY do we compare?

general purpose comparing to control

comparing to understand

comparing to explain basic strategy or purpose

comparative checking

interpretation analytical Induction

logic or approach to comparative analysis

researcher uses a range of cases as a way to “test” a specific claim, hypothesis, or theory.

researcher is primarily interested in a single case and uses different cases or general theories as a way to learn more about the case he/she is studying.

researcher uses cases as a way to build a stronger theoretical explanation. cases are used in a “step-by-step” manner, with each case contributing to the development of a general theory. Timothy Lim (2010): Doing Comparative Politics

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Political Science as Science

How Do You Know If You’re Right? Short answer: We have to be able to “test” the argument in some manner

 In the natural sciences, this testing is often (though not always) done through experimentation (or the experimental method ), that is, the creation of carefully controlled conditions in which certain variables can controlled for in order to isolate others  In the social sciences, “testing” is often done indirectly through comparative analysis or the comparative method

Comparative approaches

many

high

Level of abstraction

scope

low one

1. Single unit case
   3. Many units of analysis
2. A few units of analysis

Single Case Studies

The study of a single case is considered comparative if it uses or develops concepts applicable to other cases, and/or seeks to make larger inferences.

Ideal to examine “deviant cases,” to generate hypotheses, to develop new classifications. Inferences based upon one case are less secure.