Download or read book Experimental Political Science and the Study of Causality written by Rebecca B. Morton and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-08-06 with total page 607 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Increasingly, political scientists use the term 'experiment' or 'experimental' to describe their empirical research. One of the primary reasons for doing so is the advantage of experiments in establishing causal inferences. In this book, Rebecca B. Morton and Kenneth C. Williams discuss in detail how experiments and experimental reasoning with observational data can help researchers determine causality. They explore how control and random assignment mechanisms work, examining both the Rubin causal model and the formal theory approaches to causality. They also cover general topics in experimentation such as the history of experimentation in political science; internal and external validity of experimental research; types of experiments - field, laboratory, virtual, and survey - and how to choose, recruit, and motivate subjects in experiments. They investigate ethical issues in experimentation, the process of securing approval from institutional review boards for human subject research, and the use of deception in experimentation.

Download or read book Causality in Policy Studies written by Alessia Damonte and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2023-02-13 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume provides a methodological toolbox for conducting policy research. Recognizing that policy research spans various academic disciplines, each of which takes a different view on causality, the volume introduces a methodologically pluralistic approach to policy studies. Each chapter clarifies the research question that each technique can answer, the research design and data treatment that each technique requires for its results to be sound, the validity domain of its results, and the actual deployment of the technique through a replicable example. Techniques covered include quasi-experimental designs, approaches to account for selection bias and observed imbalances, directed acyclic graphs and structural equation models, Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Bayesian case study and process tracing, and Agent-Based Modelling. By working through the volume, readers will understand how to learn from different techniques, apply them consciously, and triangulate them to make better sense of findings. This volume is intended for advanced academic courses, as well as scholars and practitioners in policy-related fields, such as political science, economics, sociology, and public administration. This is an open access book.

Download or read book The Philosophy of Causality in Economics written by Mariusz Maziarz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-05-13 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Approximately one in six top economic research papers draws an explicitly causal conclusion. But what do economists mean when they conclude that A ‘causes’ B? Does ‘cause’ say that we can influence B by intervening on A, or is it only a label for the correlation of variables? Do quantitative analyses of observational data followed by such causal inferences constitute sufficient grounds for guiding economic policymaking? The Philosophy of Causality in Economics addresses these questions by analyzing the meaning of causal claims made by economists and the philosophical presuppositions underlying the research methods used. The book considers five key causal approaches: the regularity approach, probabilistic theories, counterfactual theories, mechanisms, and interventions and manipulability. Each chapter opens with a summary of literature on the relevant approach and discusses its reception among economists. The text details case studies, and goes on to examine papers which have adopted the approach in order to highlight the methods of causal inference used in contemporary economics. It analyzes the meaning of the causal claim put forward, and finally reconstructs the philosophical presuppositions accepted implicitly by economists. The strengths and limitations of each method of causal inference are also considered in the context of using the results as evidence for policymaking. This book is essential reading to those interested in literature on the philosophy of economics, as well as the philosophy of causality and economic methodology in general.

Download or read book The Fundamentals of Political Science Research written by Paul M. Kellstedt and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This textbook introduces the scientific study of politics, supplying students with the basic tools to be critical consumers and producers of scholarly research.

Download or read book Causation in International Relations written by Milja Kurki and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2008-04-03 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World political processes, such as wars and globalisation, are engendered by complex sets of causes and conditions. Although the idea of causation is fundamental to the field of International Relations, what the concept of cause means or entails has remained an unresolved and contested matter. In recent decades ferocious debates have surrounded the idea of causal analysis, some scholars even questioning the legitimacy of applying the notion of cause in the study of International Relations. This book suggests that underlying the debates on causation in the field of International Relations is a set of problematic assumptions (deterministic, mechanistic and empiricist) and that we should reclaim causal analysis from the dominant discourse of causation. Milja Kurki argues that reinterpreting the meaning, aims and methods of social scientific causal analysis opens up multi-causal and methodologically pluralist avenues for future International Relations scholarship.

Download or read book Causal Inference written by Scott Cunningham and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2021-01-26 with total page 585 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An accessible, contemporary introduction to the methods for determining cause and effect in the Social Sciences “Causation versus correlation has been the basis of arguments—economic and otherwise—since the beginning of time. Causal Inference: The Mixtape uses legit real-world examples that I found genuinely thought-provoking. It’s rare that a book prompts readers to expand their outlook; this one did for me.”—Marvin Young (Young MC) Causal inference encompasses the tools that allow social scientists to determine what causes what. In a messy world, causal inference is what helps establish the causes and effects of the actions being studied—for example, the impact (or lack thereof) of increases in the minimum wage on employment, the effects of early childhood education on incarceration later in life, or the influence on economic growth of introducing malaria nets in developing regions. Scott Cunningham introduces students and practitioners to the methods necessary to arrive at meaningful answers to the questions of causation, using a range of modeling techniques and coding instructions for both the R and the Stata programming languages.

Download or read book Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue Long Term Health and Highway Safety written by National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2016-09-12 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There are approximately 4,000 fatalities in crashes involving trucks and buses in the United States each year. Though estimates are wide-ranging, possibly 10 to 20 percent of these crashes might have involved fatigued drivers. The stresses associated with their particular jobs (irregular schedules, etc.) and the lifestyle that many truck and bus drivers lead, puts them at substantial risk for insufficient sleep and for developing short- and long-term health problems. Commercial Motor Vehicle Driver Fatigue, Long-Term Health and Highway Safety assesses the state of knowledge about the relationship of such factors as hours of driving, hours on duty, and periods of rest to the fatigue experienced by truck and bus drivers while driving and the implications for the safe operation of their vehicles. This report evaluates the relationship of these factors to drivers' health over the longer term, and identifies improvements in data and research methods that can lead to better understanding in both areas.

Download or read book Causal Inference written by Miquel A. Hernan and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2019-07-07 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The application of causal inference methods is growing exponentially in fields that deal with observational data. Written by pioneers in the field, this practical book presents an authoritative yet accessible overview of the methods and applications of causal inference. With a wide range of detailed, worked examples using real epidemiologic data as well as software for replicating the analyses, the text provides a thorough introduction to the basics of the theory for non-time-varying treatments and the generalization to complex longitudinal data.

Download or read book Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies written by Iris Geva-May and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2020-06-09 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Volume One of the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis, "Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies" includes chapters that apply or further theory and methodology in the comparative study of public policy, in general, and policy analysis, in particular. Throughout the volume the chapters engage in theory building by assessing the relevance of theoretical approaches drawn from the social sciences, as well as some which are distinctive to policy analysis. Other chapters focus on various comparative approaches based on developments and challenges in the methodology of policy analysis. Together, this collection provides a comprehensive scholastic foundation to comparative policy analysis and comparative policy studies. "Theory and Methods in Comparative Policy Analysis Studies" will be of great interest to scholars and learners of public policy and social sciences, as well as to practitioners considering what can be learned or facilitated through methodologically and theoretically sound approaches. The chapters were originally published as articles in the Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis which in the last two decades has pioneered the development of comparative public policy. The volume is part of a four-volume series, the Classics of Comparative Policy Analysis including Theories and Methods, Institutions and Governance, Regional Comparisons, and Policy Sectors. Each volume showcases a different new chapter comparing domains of study interrelated with comparative public policy: political science, public administration, governance and policy design, authored by the JCPA co-editors Giliberto Capano, Iris Geva-May, Michael Howlett, Leslie A. Pal and B. Guy Peters.

Download or read book The Book of Why written by Judea Pearl and published by Basic Books. This book was released on 2018-05-15 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Turing Award-winning computer scientist and statistician shows how understanding causality has revolutionized science and will revolutionize artificial intelligence "Correlation is not causation." This mantra, chanted by scientists for more than a century, has led to a virtual prohibition on causal talk. Today, that taboo is dead. The causal revolution, instigated by Judea Pearl and his colleagues, has cut through a century of confusion and established causality -- the study of cause and effect -- on a firm scientific basis. His work explains how we can know easy things, like whether it was rain or a sprinkler that made a sidewalk wet; and how to answer hard questions, like whether a drug cured an illness. Pearl's work enables us to know not just whether one thing causes another: it lets us explore the world that is and the worlds that could have been. It shows us the essence of human thought and key to artificial intelligence. Anyone who wants to understand either needs The Book of Why.

Download or read book Doing Research in Political Science written by Paul Pennings and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2005-11-11 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is an immensely helpful book for students starting their own research... an excellent introduction to the comparative method giving an authoritative overview over the research process - Klaus Armingeon, University of Bern Doing Research in Political Science is the book for mastering the comparative method in all the social sciences - Jan-Erik Lane, University of Geneva This book has established itself as a concise and well-readable text on comparative methods and statistics in political science I...strongly recommend it. - Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Philipps-University Marburg This thoroughly revised edition of the popular textbook offers an accessible but comprehensive introduction to comparative research methods and statistics for students of political science. Clearly organized around three parts, the text introduces the main theories and methodologies used in the discipline. Part 1 frames the comparative approach within the methodological framework of the political and social sciences. Part 2 introduces basic descriptive and inferential statistical methods as well as more advanced multivariate methods used in quantitative political analysis. Part 3 applies the methods and techniques of Parts 1 & 2 to research questions drawn from contemporary themes and issues in political science. Incorporating practice exercises, ideas for further reading and summary questions throughout, Doing Research in Political Science provides an invaluable step-by-step guide for students and researchers in political science, comparative politics and empirical political analysis.

Download or read book The SAGE Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods written by Mike Allen and published by SAGE Publications. This book was released on 2017-04-11 with total page 2013 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Communication research is evolving and changing in a world of online journals, open-access, and new ways of obtaining data and conducting experiments via the Internet. Although there are generic encyclopedias describing basic social science research methodologies in general, until now there has been no comprehensive A-to-Z reference work exploring methods specific to communication and media studies. Our entries, authored by key figures in the field, focus on special considerations when applied specifically to communication research, accompanied by engaging examples from the literature of communication, journalism, and media studies. Entries cover every step of the research process, from the creative development of research topics and questions to literature reviews, selection of best methods (whether quantitative, qualitative, or mixed) for analyzing research results and publishing research findings, whether in traditional media or via new media outlets. In addition to expected entries covering the basics of theories and methods traditionally used in communication research, other entries discuss important trends influencing the future of that research, including contemporary practical issues students will face in communication professions, the influences of globalization on research, use of new recording technologies in fieldwork, and the challenges and opportunities related to studying online multi-media environments. Email, texting, cellphone video, and blogging are shown not only as topics of research but also as means of collecting and analyzing data. Still other entries delve into considerations of accountability, copyright, confidentiality, data ownership and security, privacy, and other aspects of conducting an ethical research program. Features: 652 signed entries are contained in an authoritative work spanning four volumes available in choice of electronic or print formats. Although organized A-to-Z, front matter includes a Reader’s Guide grouping entries thematically to help students interested in a specific aspect of communication research to more easily locate directly related entries. Back matter includes a Chronology of the development of the field of communication research; a Resource Guide to classic books, journals, and associations; a Glossary introducing the terminology of the field; and a detailed Index. Entries conclude with References/Further Readings and Cross-References to related entries to guide students further in their research journeys. The Index, Reader’s Guide themes, and Cross-References combine to provide robust search-and-browse in the e-version.

Download or read book Causality in a Social World written by Guanglei Hong and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2015-06-09 with total page 443 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Causality in a Social World introduces innovative new statistical research and strategies for investigating moderated intervention effects, mediated intervention effects, and spill-over effects using experimental or quasi-experimental data. The book uses potential outcomes to define causal effects, explains and evaluates identification assumptions using application examples, and compares innovative statistical strategies with conventional analysis methods. Whilst highlighting the crucial role of good research design and the evaluation of assumptions required for identifying causal effects in the context of each application, the author demonstrates that improved statistical procedures will greatly enhance the empirical study of causal relationship theory. Applications focus on interventions designed to improve outcomes for participants who are embedded in social settings, including families, classrooms, schools, neighbourhoods, and workplaces.

Download or read book Causality written by Judea Pearl and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2009-09-14 with total page 487 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Causality offers the first comprehensive coverage of causal analysis in many sciences, including recent advances using graphical methods. Pearl presents a unified account of the probabilistic, manipulative, counterfactual and structural approaches to causation, and devises simple mathematical tools for analyzing the relationships between causal connections, statistical associations, actions and observations. The book will open the way for including causal analysis in the standard curriculum of statistics, artificial intelligence ...

Download or read book Designing Research in the Social Sciences written by Martino Maggetti and published by SAGE. This book was released on 2012-12-18 with total page 202 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This innovative research design text will help you make informed choices when carrying out your research project. Covering both qualitative and quantitative approaches, and with examples drawn from a wide range of social science disciplines, the authors explain what is at stake when choosing a research design, and discuss the trade-offs that researchers have to make when considering issues such as: - causality - categories and classification - heterogeneity - interdependence - time This book will appeal to students and researchers looking for an in-depth understanding of research design issues to help them design their projects in a thoughtful and responsible way.

Download or read book Quantum Causality written by Peter J. Riggs and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2009-06-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is no sharp dividing line between the foundations of physics and philosophy of physics. This is especially true for quantum mechanics. The debate on the interpretation of quantum mechanics has raged in both the scientific and philosophical communities since the 1920s and continues to this day. (We shall understand the unqualified term ‘quantum mechanics’ to mean the mathematical formalism, i. e. laws and rules by which empirical predictions and theoretical advances are made. ) There is a popular rendering of quantum mechanics which has been publicly endorsed by some well known physicists which says that quantum mechanics is not only 1 more weird than we imagine but is weirder than we can imagine. Although it is readily granted that quantum mechanics has produced some strange and counter-intuitive results, the case will be presented in this book that quantum mechanics is not as weird as we might have been led to believe! The prevailing theory of quantum mechanics is called Orthodox Quantum Theory (also known as the Copenhagen Interpretation). Orthodox Quantum Theory endows a special status on measurement processes by requiring an intervention of an observer or an observer’s proxy (e. g. a measuring apparatus). The placement of the observer (or proxy) is somewhat arbitrary which introduces a degree of subjectivity. Orthodox Quantum Theory only predicts probabilities for measured values of physical quantities. It is essentially an instrumental theory, i. e.

Download or read book Causal Inference in Statistics written by Judea Pearl and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2016-01-25 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: CAUSAL INFERENCE IN STATISTICS A Primer Causality is central to the understanding and use of data. Without an understanding of cause–effect relationships, we cannot use data to answer questions as basic as "Does this treatment harm or help patients?" But though hundreds of introductory texts are available on statistical methods of data analysis, until now, no beginner-level book has been written about the exploding arsenal of methods that can tease causal information from data. Causal Inference in Statistics fills that gap. Using simple examples and plain language, the book lays out how to define causal parameters; the assumptions necessary to estimate causal parameters in a variety of situations; how to express those assumptions mathematically; whether those assumptions have testable implications; how to predict the effects of interventions; and how to reason counterfactually. These are the foundational tools that any student of statistics needs to acquire in order to use statistical methods to answer causal questions of interest. This book is accessible to anyone with an interest in interpreting data, from undergraduates, professors, researchers, or to the interested layperson. Examples are drawn from a wide variety of fields, including medicine, public policy, and law; a brief introduction to probability and statistics is provided for the uninitiated; and each chapter comes with study questions to reinforce the readers understanding.