Module 2: Theory and Causality

Mnemonic Development

1. Create a mnemonic for the five causal criteria discussed in the lecture videos. (Keep in mind that you can use the first letter (e.g. Correlation) or the first vowel (e.g. cOrrelation) to create mnemonics. Also remember a. silly can be easier to remember and b. keep it clean!) In 300-500 words, explain your mnemonic, outline the causal criteria, and explain why causality can be tricky to establish in political science research. Be sure that all terminology is used correctly. Proofread carefully.
2. Post your mnemonic and your explanation in your Learning Activity Discussion Board.
3. Provide a constructive response to at least one of your fellow group members’ posts. A constructive response is one that (a) uses supportive language to (b) identify for the author an area in which the work can be strengthened. For example, it may identify an issue where the wording is unclear or a point where terminology is used incorrectly, or suggest ideas for examples or ways to strengthen the argument, or let the author know of questions that the work raised for them. A constructive response goes beyond ‘I agree’ or ‘that is interesting’ to assist the author in improving the work. It should provide feedback that is intended to assist the author of the learning activity in improving their work.

Reminder: At the end of Module 4, you are required to select one learning activity for submission from Modules 1-4. You can use the feedback that you receive in the group forum to revise your selected learning activity prior to submission.

Causal mechanism: “a specific chain of steps, series of links or other specific accounting of how changes in the cause variable affect the outcome variable” – Powner 2014, 23

Confounding: the presence of some unobserved difference between groups that is correlated with both the outcome and the independent variable of interest, thereby making causal inference impossible.

Correlation: the measurement or observation of a common variation among multiple concepts or measures; can exist without a causal relation

Falsifiable: the idea that a hypothesis is not true by definition and is stated in such a way that empirical data could demonstrate that it is false

Hypothesis: a statement of a proposed causal relationship between two variables

Negative correlation: a relationship in which concepts move in opposite directions; an increase in one is associated with a decrease in the other

Null hypothesis: the inverse of the research hypothesis; the claim that there is no relationship between the independent and the dependent variables; empirically tested in political science research.

Positive correlation: a relationship in which both concepts move in the same direction; an increase in one is associated with an increase in the other, and a decrease in one is associated with a decrease in the other

Spurious: the relationship between the independent and dependent variables that, while initially thought to be causal, is non-causal and is the function of a third variable, which causes the variation in both variables

Temporal order: the sequencing of events based on the order in which they occur

Theory: statement(s) that attempt(s) to explain the causal relationship between two concepts

Note: Unless otherwise stated, glossary source is Berdahl, Loleen and Keith Archer. 2015. Explorations: Conducting Empirical Research in Canadian Political Science (Third Edition). Oxford University Press.