Testing Theories in International Relations Clayton Thyne PS 235: World Politics Spring 2010

They first define their unit of analysis… Bartilow and Eom present several hypotheses. We’ll look at their first. After presenting the theory, they move to the empirical tests… They first define their unit of analysis… …and then preview the paragraphs to come.

Their next step is to define the primary independent variable… -they begin by talking about it at a conceptual level… …and then operationalize it (i.e., tell us how it’s measured). -they also include a brief justification for their approach.

Their next step is to define the dependent variable. They mention it at the conceptual level very briefly… …and then tell us how it’s measured

Their next step defines the other IVs and control variables (skipped here). Their final model includes all concepts operationalized as variables

They then briefly describe their method of testing the data.

The empirical tests show support for most hypotheses.

Thyne and Moreno begin in the same way… …they first briefly mention their expectations at a conceptual level… …and then explain their unit of analysis.

They next define their DV at a conceptual level… …and then operationalize it… …and then justify it.