PECOS4021 Research Methods

All questions must be answered. The stated percentages indicate how many points each question carries in the total evaluation.

Question 1 (25%)

1. What is meant by hypothesis generation? What is inductive hypothesis generation and deductive hypothesis generation? Illustrate your explanation with examples.
2. What do Cook and Campbell mean by external validity, and what do they mean by “to generalisations” and “across generalizations”?
3. Give an account of Cook and Campbell’s distinction between external validity and statistical validity.

d) What is meant by reliability? Give an account of the following three methods of testing reliability:

• intrasubjectivity
• intersubjectivity
• internal reliability

Question 2 (20%)

1. In comparative research, what is meant by positive, negative and irrelevant cases? Why do irrelevant cases represent a problem?

2. Mahoney and Goertz’s possibility principle contains the inclusion rule. How are the negative cases identified using the inclusion rule? Illustrate your answer with examples.

In an analysis of causes of variation in the scope of welfare states (S), three explanatory variables are applied, namely working-class mobilisation (A), Christian democratic power (K) and fragmentation (F) among the centre and right-wing parties. Table 2.1 shows the truth table constructed from the analysis.

Table 2.1 Truth table for causes of the scope of the welfare states ¹⁾

3. Give an account of what contradictions are in a truth table, and illustrate with any examples you may find in the table.

4. What is meant by limited diversity in Ragin’s qualitative comparative analysis? Are there any examples of limited diversity in the truth table above? Give reasons for your answer.
5. Taking the table as your basis, formulate an equation for the combinations that result in an extensive welfare state (S), then simplify the equation using Boolean minimisation procedures. Comment on the result.

Question 3 (5%)

Bryman makes a distinction between structured and qualitative research interviews. He further divides the qualitative research interviews into semi-structured and unstructured interviews. Give an account of the key characteristics of the three interview types (structured, semi-structured and unstructured interviews.) What distinguishes them from each other?

Question 4 (15%)

Imagine that you, as a researcher, are going to study a political decision-making process at the national level in Norway. Particular attention will be paid to the current participation by, and political significance of, organised interests. A few studies on the same topic have already been conducted, though none of them deals with the Norwegian situation. Although the study is limited to one single political decision in one country, it draws on general political science concepts/theory (such as “corporatism” and “pluralism”). Based on general literature in the field, you have formulated an expectation about which concept/theory would be most suitable for the case you are studying. You decide to supplement document studies with research interviews. What type of interview would you consider to be most suitable in this context? Discuss the question based on the three interview types given in question 3.

Question 5 (15%)

In November 2010 a large number of classified diplomatic cables from the US State Department were released through Wikileaks. Explain what is meant by the use of a textual source as a remnant [levning] and as a written account [beretning]. Then explain what each of the two approaches implies for a researcher examining the Wikileaks documents.

Question 6 (20%)

Assess briefly whether the Wikileaks document should be considered as primary or secondary sources. Then formulate two to three research questions which these sources could help address. Finally, consider to what extent sources such as these are conducive to explanations of US foreign policy behavior.