Political Science: Variables, Indicators, and Analysis
Variables and Indicators in Political Science
I. Types of Variables
- Qualitative
- Quantitative
II. Variable Characteristics
- Continuous
- Discrete
III. Variable Relationships
- Independent
- Dependent
- Intermediate
IV. Variable Classification
- Explanatory
- External
Indicators
Variables are sub-determinants.
Types of Relationships
Politics: Power, Authority, Public Service
Economy: Production, Distribution, Resource Management
Political Roles
Man as a Political Animal
Cosmos nucleates, Organizers, Think.
Political Forces
Individuals:
- Statesmen
- Politicians
- Opinion Leaders
Collective Groups:
- Organized:
- Political Parties
- Pressure Groups
- Churches
- Armed Forces
- Unorganized:
- Political Opinion
- Social Classes
- Youth, Women, and so on
Grade According to Choice of Organization
- Inorganic: Public Opinion
- Organic: Political Parties
Politicized Entities
- State (Not Specifically Political): Bureaucracy, Armed Forces
- Social: Lobbyists, Reporters
Opinion Poll Politics
Methodological Steps
- Sample Design
- Extraction of Sample
- Select Sample
- Questionnaire Design
- Pretest: Activity Field
- Selection of Interviewers
- Control
Supervision Criteria
- Veracity
- Consistency
- Reliability
- Readiness
- Analysis as Such
Laws of Survey
- Law of Large Numbers
- Act of Probabilistic Calculation
- From the Regularity Statistic
- From the Inertia of Large Numbers
- From the Permanence of Numbers
Random Sample Procedures
- Simple Random Sampling
- Stratified Samples
- Sample Surface Areas
- Successive Samples
- Sample Stage
- Displays of Various Grades
- Sample from Lists
Non-Random Samples
Procedures
- Random Sampling
- Erratic Sampling
- Mixed Methods
- Sample Type
Sources of Error
- Systematic (or Bias Distortion)
- Sampling (Difference between Universe and Sample)
- The Politological Interpretation
The Time Dimension in Political Study
The Past in Politics: Long History
- Man Creates a Way to View It
- Process of Civilization
- Process of Institutionalization
Elements of the Worldview
- Purposes: Religion, Ethics, Philosophy
- Means: Policies, Legal Frameworks, Economics
Types of Worldview
- Atomistic
- Holistic
The Present in Politics
Comparative Politics
- Method
- Field
Comparative Politics as Method
- Seeks to Compare Different Realities
- Compares Institutions
- Compares Functions
Conditions to be Observed
- Classification
- Conceptualization
- Generality and Relevance
- Definition
Comparative Politics as a Conceptual Field
- Entry Politics and Economy
- Entry Government and State
Conceptual Fields
- Powerful Political Authority
- Economy: Scarce Resources, Distribution of Goods and Services
Dimensions
- Politics: Dictatorship, Democracy
- Economy: Capitalism, Socialism
Explaining Uniformities
- Law of Imitation
- Law of Diffusion or Dissemination
- Law of Similar Causes
The Need for Theory in Politics
- Concepts
- Propositions
- Type and Levels
- Approximations
- Standards
- Structural
- Behavioral
Sets or Groups of Theories
- Systems
- Cultures
- Development
- Class-Conflict
The Political Construction of the Future: Scenario
- Some Basic Assumptions
- Megatrends in Today’s Society (Trend, Purpose, Stage)
- Basic Ideas for a Scenario