05 Choosing a Design that Fits Your Question

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[q] Tool for qualitative analysis of hypotheses derived from formal models; variable focused

[a] analytic narrative

[q] Approach to (typically non-causal) research involving great quantities of automatically generated and rapidly proliferating data

[a] Big Data

[q] Between-case tool for qualitative analysis of carefully matched cases; matching on key variables associated with alternate hypotheses allows logical exclusion of these variables as causes of outcomes

[a] case control method

[q] Family of techniques for examining patterns in written, spoken, or visual corpora

[a] content analysis

[q] Formal term for a body of text we want to analyze

[a] corpus (pl: corpora)

[q] Bivariate analytical technique for nominal or ordinal level IVs and DVs; indicator of statistical significance is usually χ2

[a] cross-tabulation

[q] Property of the social world where many causal routes to a single outcome exist

[a] equifinality

[q] Form of deductive reasoning that uses game theory and similar tools to depict and analyze situations in the abstract

[a] formal model

[q] Similar to Qualitative Comparative Analysis; analyzes data using Boolean logic where elements of the sets can have degrees of membership (i.e., cases can be evaluated as having or being more or less of some characteristic)

[a] Fuzzy Set Analysis (FSA)

[q] Techniques for analysis of between approximately 30–50 cases

[a] intermediate-N designs

[q] Uses regression to analyze data with dichotomous DVs; problematic because it violates several key regression assumptions, but usually viable for student work

[a] linear probability model

[q] Common tool(s) for quantitative analysis of dichotomous DV data; test statistic is significance of coefficients though interpretation of coefficients is more complex than in regression

[a] logit and probit

[q] The study of research design and study (and creation) of new analysis techniques

[a] methodology

[q] research designs combining elements of qualitative and quantitative validation of different observable implications for the same research question

[a] mixed methods design

[q] Quantitative tool(s) for analyzing DVs with three or more ordinal categories

[a] ordered logit and probit

[q] Describes an indicator or variable that takes on three or more unordered values (i.e., is at the nominal level of measurement)

[a] polychotomous

[q] Quantitative tool(s) for analyzing DVs with three or more nominal categories

[a] polychotomous probit or multinomial logit

[q] Within-case tool for qualitative analysis of causal mechanisms

[a] process tracing

[q] Immediate and direct trigger of outcome of interest

[a] proximate cause

[q] Analytical technique for qualitative data using Boolean logic to test propositions of necessity and/or sufficiency; requires variables to be fully in or out of a set (i.e., all variables must be dichotomous)

[a] qualitative comparative analysis (QCA)

[q] Workhorse tool of quantitative analysis; requires interval-ratio level DV but IVs may be any level of analysis; test statistic is significance of coefficients

[a] regression (ordinary least squares regression, OLS)

[q] Between-case tool for analysis of qualitative data using an implicit regression model; variable focused and usually uses paired cases

[a] structured focused comparison (SFC)

[q] Characteristics of the environment that facilitate or contribute to the occurrence of some outcome of interest

[a] underlying causes

[q] Characteristic of an indicator: the indicator captures the concept of interest and nothing else

[a] validity

[q] Level of measurement: continuous or discrete quantities with consistent units attached such as years or votes; most precise level used in political science

[a] interval-ratio

[q] Level of measurement: rankable categories, where the intervals between categories may or may not be equal or precisely definable; intermediate level of measurement

[a] ordinal

[q] Level of measurement: unrankable but discrete categories, with no implied direction or magnitude; lowest precision of measurement

[a] nominal

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