Contents
I. Some Preliminaries;
I.1 Defining Empirical Research;
I.2Conducting Empirical Research in a World' Without Constraints ;
I.3 Conducting Empirical Research in a World With Constraints;
I.4 (Revisiting) The Goals of Empirical Research ;
Part I. Designing Research
2. Questions, Theories, Observable Implications;
2.1Research Questions;
2.2Theories and their Observable Implications ;
2.3 Rival Explanations ;
3. Measurement ;
3.1 Measuring Concepts;
3.2 Evaluating Measures and Measurement Methods ;
Part II. Collecting and Coding Data
4. Collecting Data ;
4.1 Identifying the Target Population;
4.2 Locating and Generating Data;
4.3 Deciding How Much Data to Collect;
5. Coding Data;
5.1 Developing Coding Schemes;
5.2 Assigning a Value to Each Unit Under Study ;
Part III. Analyzing Data
6. Summarizing Data ;
6.1 Variables;
6.2 An Introduction to Tools for Summarizing Variables;
6.3 Displays;
6.4 Descriptive Statistics ;
6.5 The Empirical Rule;
7. Statistical Inference;
7.1 The Logic of Statistical Inference ;
7.2 Confidence Intervals;
7.3 Hypothesis Testing;
7.4 Cross-Tabulation and Tests for Tables ;
8. Regression Analysis: The Basics;
8.1 Lines and Linear Relationships;
8.2 Ordinary Least Squares;
8.3 Simple Linear Regression and Statistical Inference;
9. Multiple Regression Analysis and Related Methods;
9.r Multiple Regression;
9.2 Model Specification;
9.3 Logistic Regression;
Part IV Communicating Data and Results;
10. General Principles for Communicating and Visualizing Data and Results;
10.1 General Principles for Communicating Data and Results;
10.2 General Principles for Visualizing Data and Results;
11. Strategies for Presenting Data and Statistical Results;
11.1 Communicating Data;
11.2 Presenting Results.