POLB80H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Thesis Statement, Falsifiability, Dependent And Independent Variables
Document Summary
To learn the foundations of international relations. Then to apply ir theory to understand & interpret real-world cases. To learn to read academic articles & write academic papers. The study of international relations is the science of how these interactions work. Theory: a set of assumptions about how the world works, which simplifies the noise & allows us to see broader patters. A good theory is measured by its: Parsimony (few tools that explain a wide range of phenomena) Paradigm a family of theories, which share a common set of assumptions. What is the author trying to answer. The causal explanation answering the research question. Case studies, large-n (statistical analysis) study, formal method. One sentence criticism saying where the paper is coming from and what argument it is making. A question or problem for which there is no clear answer, around which a debate has emerged among theorists and practitioners alike.
