Taagepera, Rein <br/><br/>
Making social sciences more scientific :  the need for predictive models / 
Rein Taagepera 
 - Oxford  :  Oxford University Press,  2008 
 - xv, 254 p. :  ill. ;  25 cm 
<br/><br/>Includes bibliographical references (p. [241]-247) and index 
<br/><br/>Why social sciences are not scientific enough -- Can social science approaches find the law of gravitation? -- How to construct predictive models: simplicity and nonabsurdity -- Example of model building: electoral volatility -- Physicists multiply, social scientists add---even when it does not add up -- All hypotheses are not created equal -- Why most numbers published in social sciences are dead on arrival -- Forbidden areas and anchor points -- Geometric means and lognormal distributions -- Example of interlocking models : party sizes and cabinet duration -- Beyond constraint-based models : communication channels and growth rates -- Why we should shift to symmetric regression -- All indices are not created equal -- From descriptive to predictive approaches -- Recommendations for better regression -- Converting from descriptive analysis to predictive models -- Are electoral studies a rosetta stone for parts of social sciences? -- Beyond regression : the need for predictive models. 
<br/><br/><label>ISBN: </label>9780199534661 (hbk.) :  RM269.46 0199534667 (hbk.) 
<br/><br/><label>Subjects--Topical Terms: </label><br/>Social sciences--Research<br/>Social sciences--Fieldwork<br/>Social sciences--Methodology<br/>Sociology--Methodology<br/>Sociology--Research