What are the strengths and weaknesses of a positivist/empiricist approach to political analysis?
21-Jan-09 560011924 POL1014A 1807 What are the strengths and weaknesses of a positivist/empiricist approach to political analysis? Introduction introduction….. Positivists test their theories through direct observation. They contend that as they intend to answer empirical questions, direct observation will maintain objectivity due to them not considering reasoning and understanding behind the act. Direct observation is a quantitative method. For example if looking at voting behaviour, positivists would observe variables such as if someone votes, their age, race and class. This excludes personal motivation of an individual. From their raw results, positivists can construct correlations between the variables in order to establish a predictive model as to who will vote. This scientific method means that the political scientist’s own views and experiences will not bias the results. However, many have criticized the idea that positivist methodology is objective.
