Chapter 1 Learning Objectives and Key Concepts

Chapter One

Learning Objectives

  • Learn to distinguish between scientific and non-scientific questions.
  • Encounter and understand some of the major questions of comparative politics.
  • Learn the difference between empirical and normative arguments.
  • Learn the characteristics of good and bad concepts in social science.
  • Learn about the relationship between conceptualization and measurement.
  • Understand the use of cases and other forms of evidence in the testing of hypotheses.
  • Learn the basic features of several forms of comparative design, including the Most Similar Systems Design (MSSD) and the Most Different Systems Design (MDSD), as well as comparative checking and within-case comparison.

Key Concepts

  • Types of Questions in Comparative Politics
  • Empirical Arguments and Normative Arguments
  • Conceptualization
  • Operationalization
  • Facts and Evidence
  • Cases and Case Studies
  • Variables and Comparison
  • The Most-Similar-Systems Design
  • The Most-Different-Systems Design
  • Comparative Checking
  • Within-Case Comparison
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