Research Catalog

Making social sciences more scientific the need for predictive models

Title: Making social sciences more scientific [electronic resource] : the need for predictive models / Rein Taagepera.
Author: Taagepera, Rein.
Publication: Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2008.

Available Online

Details

Description

1 online resource (xv, 254 p.) : ill.

Uniform Title

Making social sciences more scientific (Online)

Alternative Title

Making social sciences more scientific (Online)

Subject

Bibliography (note)

Includes bibliographical references (p. [241]-247) and index.

Access (note)

Access restricted to authorized users.

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.

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