Studying Mechanisms To Strengthen Causal Inferences In Quantitative Research

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Hedström
Keyword(s):  
Causal Inference ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Statistical Inference ◽  
Statistical Models ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Social Outcomes ◽  
Causal Inferences ◽  
The Social

This article emphasizes various ways by which the study of mechanisms can make quantitative research more useful for causal inference. It concentrates on three aspects of the role of mechanisms in causal and statistical inference: how an understanding of the mechanisms at work can improve statistical inference by guiding the specification of the statistical models to be estimated; how mechanisms can strengthen causal inferences by improving our understanding of why individuals do what they do; and how mechanism-based models can strengthen causal inferences by showing why, acting as they do, individuals bring about the social outcomes they do. There has been a surge of interest in mechanism-based explanations, in political science as well as in sociology. Most of this work has been vital and valuable in that it has sought to clarify the distinctiveness of the approach and to apply it empirically.

The Sociological Theory of Craftsmanship: An Empirical Test in Sport and Education

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 114-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thorolfur Thorlindsson ◽  
Vidar Halldorsson ◽  
Inga Dora Sigfusdottir
Keyword(s):  
School Performance ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Sociological Theory ◽  
Empirical Test ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Measurement Scale ◽  
The Social ◽  
Nationally Representative

The aim of this study is to test empirically the sociological theory of craftsmanship originally developed by C. Wright Mills, Torstein Veblen, and Howard Becker and later extended by Harper, Sennett, and Fine. We conduct a quantitative analysis based on a nationally representative sample of 10,783 Icelandic adolescents (50.2% girls). We developed a scale measuring craftsmanship that we use to test several hypotheses regarding the role of craftsmanship in sport and education. Our findings provide a consistent empirical support for the theory of craftsmanship. First, they indicate that elements of the craftsmanship theory that have been identified by prior qualitative research go together as predicted to form a coherent theoretical construct and a measurement scale that is both reliable and valid. The craftsmanship scale therefore offers good opportunities for quantitative research in an area that has been exclusively qualitative. Second, our findings indicate that, as predicted, the craftsmanship approach makes schoolwork more meaningful and reduces general feelings of meaninglessness. Third, the findings show, as predicted, that the craftsmanship approach influences school performance in a positive way. Fourth, we find that the positive relationship between sport participation and school performance is in part mediated by craftsmanship. Finally, the findings show that the influence of craftsmanship on school performance is in part mediated by meaninglessness. We discuss the implications of the findings in light of sociological theory, culture and the social context of education and sport.

scholarly journals Subjective Causality and Counterfactuals in the Social Sciences: Toward an Ethnographic Causality?

2019 ◽  
pp. 004912411985237
Author(s):  
Peter Abell ◽  
Ofer Engel
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Causal Inference ◽  
Statistical Inference ◽  
Observational Studies ◽  
Causal Explanation ◽  
Statistical Concept ◽  
Ethnographic Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Subjective Evidence ◽  
Subsequent Comparison

The article explores the role that subjective evidence of causality and associated counterfactuals and counterpotentials might play in the social sciences where comparative cases are scarce. This scarcity rules out statistical inference based upon frequencies and usually invites in-depth ethnographic studies. Thus, if causality is to be preserved in such situations, a conception of ethnographic causal inference is required. Ethnographic causality inverts the standard statistical concept of causal explanation in observational studies, whereby comparison and generalization, across a sample of cases, are both necessary prerequisites for any causal inference. Ethnographic causality allows, in contrast, for causal explanation prior to any subsequent comparison or generalization.

scholarly journals Networked Justice: Judges, the Diffusion of Ideas, and Legal Reform Movements in Mexico

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (4) ◽  
pp. 739-768 ◽  
Author(s):  
MATTHEW C. INGRAM
Keyword(s):  
Rule Of Law ◽  
Original Data ◽  
Reform Movements ◽  
Mixed Methods Design ◽  
Causal Inferences ◽  
The Rule Of Law ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Mexican State ◽  
The Social

AbstractExisting research shows that the ideas of judges shape their behaviour. A natural next question to ask is, where do these ideas come from? Yet, there is little empirical evidence regarding the content and distribution of these ideas and even less evidence regarding the sources of these ideas, especially how ideas transfer or diffuse among judges. In this article, a survey of judges in the Mexican state of Michoacán generates original data on the attitudes and professional ties among these legal elites, and a mixed-methods design examines the diffusion of these attitudes along these ties, sequencing quantitative network analyses and interviews with judges to strengthen causal inferences. The core finding that the social structure of judges influences the attitudes judges hold contributes a valuable analytic complement to scholarship on comparative judicial behaviour, and clarifies our understanding of the role of judicial networks in strengthening democracy and the rule of law.

The Biological Bases of Behavior and Some Implications for Political Science

1971 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 321-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter A. Corning
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Political Science ◽  
Human Behavior ◽  
Biological Evolution ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Darwinian Theory ◽  
The Social ◽  
Two Generations

In what must surely rank as one of the strangest episodes in the entirehistory of science, two generations of our immediate forebears in the social sciences managed virtually to ignore the “Darwinian” theory of biological evolution and to exclude from their purview any sustained consideration of the role of biological factors in the shaping of human behavior.

scholarly journals PENGARUH LINGKUNGAN SOSIAL TERHADAP IMAJINASI ANAK

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Andi Ahmad Gunadi
Keyword(s):  
Normal Distribution ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Quantitative Research Methods ◽  
Third Grade Students ◽  
Environment Variables ◽  
The Social ◽  
Role Of Parents ◽  
Test For Normality

The purposes of this study are: (1) to know the role of parents, teachers, peers, and society in the life of a child, 2) to know the development of imagination in children, 3) to know the social environment factor can influence the child's imagination. The formulation of the issue is whether the social environment affects the child's imagination? This research is descriptive quantitative research methods of correlation. X variable in this study is the social environment, the variable Y is Imagination. The population in this study is third grade students of State Elementary School. The result of the study is for homogeneity, comparing Fcount with Ftable the distribution Ftable, 0123<1.94 means homogeneous. To test for normality using K-S test, the social environment variables in mind that the value of quintile testers with α= 0.05 and n= 30 is 0.242, the highest value of 0.156. Ho accepted means Ha rejected due 0.156<0.242. The conclusion of the study is the normal distribution of the social environment at α= 0.05. The variable imagination of the students known that the quintile testers with α= 0.05 and n= 30 is 0.242, the highest value of 0.197. Ho accepted means Ha rejected due 0.197<0.242. The conclusion of the students imagination with normal distribution at α= 0.05. For a simple linear statistical test with product moment knowable Y=53.67+1.03X, of F=0.127 and Ftable =5.79, Fcount <Ftable is the linear regression. Finally, there is the influence of social environment on the imagination of the students.

scholarly journals The role of celebrities for the image of endorsed products

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 838-846
Author(s):  
Adriana Opris ◽  
Corina Pelau ◽  
Laura Lazar
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Celebrity Endorsement ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Impact

AbstractCelebrities are, in recent years, a popular way to draw the consumer’s attention to an advertisement. In an age with an abundance of details and advertising, the celebrities ‘ glamour has the power to increase the advertised product’s exposure and to attract the attention of the consumer. Several researches have focused on analyzing the impact of celebrity endorsement on the success of brands by pointing out the importance of the match between the celebrities’ personality and the image of the endorsed brand. Besides the positive aspects, there have been also pointed out the different disadvantages of using celebrities in advertising such as the overshadowing effect or the exaggerated costs involved. The results of our quantitative research have shown that, although there is not a high declared interest in celebrity endorsement, it has a role especially in shaping the social status of the consumer and that women are more attracted by celebrity endorsed product in comparison to men. :

scholarly journals THE “HIDDEN“ ROLE OF THE STATE IN DIFFERENT APPROACHES ON COMPETITIVENESS (THEORETICAL COMPARISON)

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-73
Author(s):  
Hristina Dobreva
Keyword(s):  
Political Science ◽  
Social Adjustment ◽  
Resource Depletion ◽  
Theoretical Comparison ◽  
Role Of The State ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
Role Of The Government

From the perspective of political science the paper is a comparative overview of some of the main approaches on competitiveness. The focus is on their strengths and weaknesses in the explanation of the role of the government. Yet the paper compares some of the more recent authors as Porter, Reich, Thurow, Ohmae and Strange. The implication is that government intervention is still needed to provide both sustainable competitiveness (Strange) (modesty as opposed to resource depletion) and social adjustment (jobs) to innovation in the long-term dynamic picture (Porter) because government is still at the basis of the welfare pyramid (Thurow). I start with the authors’ assumptions and proceed with their view on the role of the government to conclude that this role is underestimated in the social and overestimated in the business sphere.

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