Making social sciences more scientific : the need for predictive models / Rein Taagepera.

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Taagepera, Rein
Language:English
Published: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2008.
Subjects:
Social sciences > Research.
Social sciences > Fieldwork.
Social sciences > Methodology.
Sociology > Methodology.
Sociology > Research.
Sociaal-wetenschappelijk onderzoek.
Modellen (theorie)
Voorspellingen.
Physical Description:xv, 254 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm
Format: Book
Contents:
  • Why social sciences are not scientific enough
  • Can social science approaches find the law of gravitation?
  • How to construct predictive models: simplicity and nonabsurdity
  • Example of model building: electoral volatility
  • Physicists multiply, social scientists add---even when it does not add up
  • All hypotheses are not created equal
  • Why most numbers published in social sciences are dead on arrival
  • Forbidden areas and anchor points
  • Geometric means and lognormal distributions
  • Example of interlocking models : party sizes and cabinet duration
  • Beyond constraint-based models : communication channels and growth rates
  • Why we should shift to symmetric regression
  • All indices are not created equal
  • From descriptive to predictive approaches
  • Recommendations for better regression
  • Converting from descriptive analysis to predictive models
  • Are electoral studies a rosetta stone for parts of social sciences?
  • Beyond regression : the need for predictive models.