L. Levels of Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 155-158
Author(s):  
Mauro Caprioli ◽  
Claire Dupuy
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Citizens Attitudes ◽  
Different Levels ◽  
Level Of Analysis

This chapter studies levels of analysis. Research in the social sciences may be interested in subjects located at different levels of analysis. The level of analysis indicates the position at which social and political phenomena are analysed within a gradual order of abstraction or aggregation that is constructed analytically. Its definition and boundaries vary across social science disciplines. In general, the micro level refers to the individual level and focuses on citizens’ attitudes or politicians’ and diplomats’ behaviour. Analyses at the meso level focus on groups and organizations, like political parties, social movements, and public administrations. The macro level corresponds to structures that are national, social, economic, cultural, or institutional — for example, countries and national or supranational political regimes. The explanandum (what research aims to account for), the explanans (the explanations), the unit of analysis, and data collection can be located at different levels. The chapter then considers two main errors commonly associated with aggregation and levels of analysis: ecological and atomistic fallacies.

Taking Levels of Analysis in Humor more Seriously: Comment on Romero and Arendt

2012 ◽  
Vol 110 (2) ◽  
pp. 527-534 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Sosik
Keyword(s):  
Operational Definition ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Humor Styles ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Team Cooperation ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Of Analysis

Humor is a phenomenon that can simultaneously coexist at the individual, dyadic, and group levels, making its measurement and conceptualization complex. In a recent field study, Romero and Arendt (2011) examined relationships between four humor styles (i.e., affiliative, self-enhancing, aggressive, self-defeating) and four outcomes (i.e., stress, satisfaction with co-workers, team cooperation, organizational commitment), however, the latter was apparently measured as a self-report at the individual level of analysis. Their interesting results indicated different humor styles can have either positive or negative effects on these outcome variables. However, if their operational definition—and hence their conceptualization—of humor is based on self-report by the initiator, it may be problematic to use it at the dyadic and group levels because it potentially mixes levels of analysis and may cause misalignment between data and theory. Cautions and implications for future research are discussed.

scholarly journals Getting the most out of family data with the R package fSRM

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lara Stas ◽  
Felix D. Schönbrodt ◽  
Tom Loeys
Keyword(s):  
Social Relations ◽  
R Package ◽  
Family Data ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Individual ◽  
User Friendly ◽  
Different Levels

Family research aims to explore family processes, but is often limited to the examination of unidirectional processes. As the behavior of one person has consequences that go beyond that one individual, Family functioning should be investigated in its full complexity. The Social Relations Model (SRM; Kenny & La Voie, 1984) is a conceptual and analytical model which can disentangle family data from a round-robin design at three different levels: the individual level (actor and partner effects), the dyadic level (relationship effects) and the family level (family effect). Its statistical complexity may however be a hurdle for family researchers. The user-friendly R package fSRM performs almost automatically those rather complex SRM analyses and introduces new possibilities for assessing differences between SRM-means and between SRM-variances, both within and between groups of families. Using family data on negative processes, different type of research questions are formulated and corresponding analyses with fSRM are presented.

scholarly journals For a sociological analysis of personal reflexivity

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Caetano
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Structuration Theory ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Sociological Analysis ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Empirical Analysis ◽  
Theoretical Proposal ◽  
Different Levels

The main goal of this paper is to present a theoretical proposal for the empirical analysis of personal reflexivity. Considering the challenges posed by the study of reflexivity, the contributions of different authors from sociology are discussed. A model for the analysis of the reflexive processes at the individual level is then proposed, based on the articulation between elements of critical realism and propositions fromdispositionalist theory and structuration theory. This model distinguishes internal and external dimensions of action and it is structured around different levels of analysis.

scholarly journals Young men doing business: Male bar prostitution in Berlin and Prague

Sexualities ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1389-1408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham Ellison ◽  
Ronald Weitzer
Keyword(s):  
Sex Workers ◽  
Spatial Location ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Male Sex Workers ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
The Social ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Sexual Commerce

Studies of male sex workers are often confined to the individual level rather than exploring their work environment per se or the larger ecological context in which their business activities are embedded. We know relatively little, for example, about the spatial location of erotic worksites (apart from street-level work) or the interactional dynamics of sellers and clients within such settings. This article presents an ethnographic study of bars and clubs in Prague and Berlin where male sexual commerce is transacted. We find important differences between the cities in the social organization of the bars and in participants’ demographic characteristics. The analysis links our micro-level findings to the larger forces of labour migration and sex tourism, factors that differ between the two cases.

scholarly journals The Pitfalls and Promise of Focus Groups as a Data Collection Method

2015 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cyr
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Focus Group ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Focus Groups ◽  
Research Design ◽  
Collection Method ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Individual Unit ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

Despite their long trajectory in the social sciences, few systematic works analyze how often and for what purposes focus groups appear in published works. This study fills this gap by undertaking a meta-analysis of focus group use over the last 10 years. It makes several contributions to our understanding of when and why focus groups are used in the social sciences. First, the study explains that focus groups generate data at three units of analysis, namely, the individual, the group, and the interaction. Although most researchers rely upon the individual unit of analysis, the method’s comparative advantage lies in the group and interactive units. Second, it reveals strong affinities between each unit of analysis and the primary motivation for using focus groups as a data collection method. The individual unit of analysis is appropriate for triangulation; the group unit is appropriate as a pretest; and the interactive unit is appropriate for exploration. Finally, it offers a set of guidelines that researchers should adopt when presenting focus groups as part of their research design. Researchers should, first, state the main purpose of the focus group in a research design; second, identify the primary unit of analysis exploited; and finally, list the questions used to collect data in the focus group.

scholarly journals A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE EU INTEGRATION PROCESS OF ALBANIA AND KOSOVO

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zerina Causevic ◽  
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Eu Integration ◽  
Policy Goals ◽  
Foreign Policies ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Of Analysis ◽  
The Eu

Having their populations add up to over 80% of Albanian ethnicity, Kosovo and Albania can be conceptualized as being closely intertwined namely when it comes to their foreign policies. This article will primarily focus on the foreign policies of Albania and Kosovo through the lens of their major foreign policy goals and their connections with the European Union. The path of the contemporary existence of Albania and Kosovo has been marked by various events such as the dissolution of Kosovo from Serbia. Their primary efforts include building and maintaining a democratic society that would enable the two countries to gradually flourish and establish closer ties with neighboring countries as well as Europe and the EU if successful. This research provides a comparison of the two foreign policies through a lateral method by also focusing on one of the three levels of analysis, the individual, state, and system. Within the individual level emphasis is laid on crucial individuals such as Rama, Pacolli, Cakaj, and Meta. This level of analysis and the outline of influential decisionmakers statements and actions can confirm the idea that the two countries of Kosovo and Albania can survive only in case of successful cooperation amongst each other as well as through Euro Atlantic integration namely with the European Union.

From Individual Neurons to Social Brains

2008 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matt Grove ◽  
Fiona Coward
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Stone Tools ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Individual Neuron ◽  
Evolutionary Trajectory ◽  
Unit Of Analysis ◽  
Cognitive Context ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Individual

The manufacture of stone tools is an integral part of the human evolutionary trajectory. However, very little research is directed towards the social and cognitive context of the process of manufacture. This article aims to redress this balance by using insights from contemporary neuroscience. Addressing successively more inclusive levels of analysis, we will argue that the relevant unit of analysis when examining the interface between archaeology and neuroscience is not the individual neuron, nor even necessarily the individual brain, but instead the socio-cognitive context in which brains develop and tools are manufactured and used. This context is inextricably linked to the development of unique ontogenetic scheduling, as evidenced by the fossil record of evolving hominin lineages.

Theory and Methods in the Study of Distributive Politics

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 629-639 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Albertus
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Land Reform ◽  
Complete Picture ◽  
Distributive Politics ◽  
Levels Of Analysis ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Voter Preferences ◽  
Level Data ◽  
Collection Strategies ◽  
Different Levels

While many scholars have moved toward using individual-level data to test theories of distributive politics, no studies have ever explicitly examined differences between individual and aggregate analyses of a distributive program. By leveraging nationwide individual-level data on both revealed voter preferences and the actual receipt of particularistic benefits through a contemporary Venezuelan land reform initiative, this article demonstrates that scholars can most effectively test and refine individual-level theories of distributive politics by combining both individual- and macro-level data. There are at least two advantages to doing so. First, comparing and contrasting findings from data at different levels of analysis can enable researchers to paint a more complete picture of distributive targeting. Second, when distributive benefits can be impacted or redirected by subnational politicians, as is common with many distributive programs, individual-level data alone can generate mistaken inferences that are an artifact of competing targeting attempts at different levels of government instead of initial targeting strategies. I demonstrate both of these points and discuss practical and simple recommendations regarding data collection strategies for the purposes of effectively testing theories of distributive politics.

Utilizing the Technology-Organization-Environment Framework to Examine the Adoption Decision in a Healthcare Context

2019 ◽  
pp. 401-423 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen Carraher Wolverton ◽  
Patricia A. Lanier
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Healthcare Industry ◽  
It Adoption ◽  
Environmental Pressures ◽  
Adoption Decision ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Level Information ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Of Analysis

For several decades the information systems field has studied the individual-level information technology (IT) adoption decision. With the mounting pressure to invest in updated technologies and governmental pressure to implement electronic medical records (EMR), the healthcare industry has searched for factors which influence the adoption decision. However, the adoption rate of ERM has been low due to resistance. In this study, the authors examine why traditional models of adoption which focus on the perceptions of the individual towards the innovation (or a micro-level of analysis) have been inadequate to explain ERM adoption issues. Thus, they examine the broader context within which the adoption/non-adoption decision takes place (or a macro-level of analysis), which incorporates the environmental pressures playing a role in the adoption decision. In this study, the authors adopt the technology-organization-environment framework to examine the context of a physician's decision about whether or not to adopt electronic medical record (or EMR) technology.

To Adopt or Not to Adopt

2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 57-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colleen Schwarz ◽  
Andrew Schwarz
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Adoption Decision ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Institutional Pressure ◽  
State Study ◽  
Multiple State ◽  
Micro Level ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Level Of Analysis

For several decades the information systems field has studied the individual-level decision to adopt Information Technology (IT) with the primary goal of making it easier for organizations to derive value out of IT by increasing their effective and efficient use of the deployed IT. While the topic of non-adoption has been discussed within the literature, the focus in previous work has been upon the perceptions of the individual towards the innovation (or a micro-level of analysis), neglecting the broader context within which the adoption/non-adoption decision takes place (or a macro-level of analysis). However, what about situations in which there is institutional pressure influencing an adoption decision? This paper posits that institutional pressure external to an organization may alter the directionality and outcome of the decision. This study adopts the Technology-Organization-Environment framework to examine the context of a physician's decision about whether or not to adopt Electronic Medical Record (or EMR) technology. It reports on a multiple state study within the United States that examines the technology, organization, and environmental factors that discriminate between adopters and non-adopters.

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