Theories and Methods in Political Science Sanders Essay...

In Chapter One of â€Å"Theories and Methods in Political Science†, Sanders focuses on a central question of â€Å"why do people behave in the way they do?† In behavioral analysis, it is important to focus on observable behavior. Observable behavior is crucial because it centers in on why people do what they do, not what people think internally. Any explanation of this behavior is subject to empirical testing; meaning any actual experience is worth far more than a theory. Behaviorists have considered political participation (such as voting, protests, riots, and strikes), elite political behavior (a leaders view versus a leaders actions), collective behavior (special interest groups), and international relations (state actions).1 All these groups†¦show more content†¦A good theory can be defined by three main points: one, a theory should simply make sense. It should be internally consistent, meaning that it must not make statements that â€Å"both the presence and the absence of a given set of antecedent conditions are deemed to ‘cause’ the occurrence of the phenomenon that is purportedly being explained.†3 A good theory must also relate as much as possible to any other theory with related substance. Consistency is important and a theory should not contradict other ideas about similar events, unless of course you can extend your analysis to those events as well. This is logical because theory is based on experiences or statements, leaving room for testing. There is no reason to make a claim that cannot be tested. This brings us to the last point, that theories must be able to be empirically tested against observation. A theory should be used to make predictions that may be wrong. This is why it is a theory: if you can’t test to see if it is wrong, it is a bad theory. Empirical testing is so important because it tests the legitimacy of a statement. Similar to a theory, statements can be fit in to three separate ca tegories: useful tautologies (which are definitional statements), empirical statements (statements which can be tested against observations), and neither. Those statements that fall under the category of neither are considered analytically useless.4 This makes sense because many theories may containShow MoreRelatedIs the Study of Politics Best Considered a Science or an Art?1733 Words   |  7 PagesIs the study of politics best considered a science or an art? Since its conception as a formal academic discipline, Politics has existed on the fault line between two great fields of enquiry, the sciences and the arts. During the mid 20th century, with the rise of the behavioural movement, a general trend towards the â€Å"scientification† of the study of politics could be observed. 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