Transcript Powerpoint notes for “application in IR”

What is Theory and Why is
Theory Important?
Clayton Thyne
PS 235: World Politics
Spring 2010
Note: This is best viewed as a slide show (otherwise the animations will be screwed
up). Hit F5 now to proceed.
Theory begins with a very clear statement. Trade openness  more trade  cover for drug
smuggling  opportunity for drug smugglers  more drug trade
So, our IV (trade openness)  DV (more drug trade), but note the many theoretical links used to
make this connection.
Also note how the cites are used – they don’t explain what each study finds individually – they all
just support the idea that legal trade  drug trade
This argument is supported w/ two mare paragraphs, and then they state a clear hypothesis
• The Morey/Kadera paper uses formal
modeling to set up their theory.
• This is too complicated to teach at this level,
though I want you to at least be exposed to it.
• It takes some basic math to understand what
they’re doing, so give it a try if you’re good at
math.
Thyne/Moreno
begin by setting
up the puzzle
Their goal is to
argue that
democracy 
preservation of
university
funding (a bad
thing)
Their theory
explains many
reasons why
states fail to
move money
from university
to primary
education
So, the 1st part of their theory identified (1) protests and (2) political clout as reasons that
money goes to university instead of primary…
They continue to build by identifying other barriers, including (3) university students…
…and then (4) teacher unions (in the next paragraph)
This all leads to their 1st hypothesis
About the hypothesis
• A hypothesis is a testable statement of a
specific relationship between the IV and DV. It
is a logical deduction from your theory.
• A hypothesis should be…
– Testable/falsifiable
– Simple
– Takes a clear side (if…, then…)