SSCI S-100b Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in the Social Sciences: Government and History Joe Bond Class 5 February 27, 2012.

SSCI S-100b Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in the Social Sciences:

Government and History

Joe Bond

Class 5

February 27, 2012

• Literature Review• Research Process• Research Methods• Content Analysis• Discuss Readings• 5th In-Class Writing Assignment

Readings

1. Facilitator articles 2. Trochim, skim the Sampling, Measurement,

Design chapters 3. Creswell, chapters 3 – 8

Émile Durkheim’s Suicide: An Example of the Research Process

Durkheim’s Variables• Inductive Approach or Theory Building• Dependent Variable(s) (what is he trying to explain):

RATES of SUICIDE in Europe (1800s)• Independent Variables (those things that help “explain” the

Dependent Variable(s)): TEMPERATURE, AGE, GENDER, POLITICAL TURMOIL, RELIGION, MARITAL STATUS, CHILDREN, ETC.

• Levels of Measurement (NOIR)– Nominal (can’t be ranked)– Ordinal (ranked with unequal or arbitrary intervals)– Interval (ranked with equally spaced intervals)– Ratio (as interval with “true” zero)

Some of Durkheim’s Descriptive Findings

• Suicide rates are higher for widowed, single and divorced men than married men

• Suicide rates are higher for people without children than with children

• Suicide rates are higher among Protestants than Catholics – Why?????????

The Role of the Coroner

• Differences between Protestants and Catholics – specifically because suicide is [more of] a sin for Catholics – can be attributed to the coroners

• If no suicide note is left, it all comes down to the coroner's interpretation

The Notion of Integration: Going Beyond Religion

1. Catholic countries tend to be more integrated than Protestant countries, with closer family ties. This is basically why people who are married and/or have children commit less suicide. Simply put, they have more to live for.

2. Catholic society has normal levels of integration while Protestant society has low levels.

3. Social bonds are composed of two factors, which are social integration (attachment to other individuals within society) and social regulation (attachment to society's norms). Suicide rates may increase when extremities in these factors occur.

Research Cycle as an Iterative Process

Durkheim used induction by moving from steps #2 & #3 to build step #1

Building a Theory

• abnormally high or low levels of social integration may result in increased suicide rates;

• low levels of social integration results in disorganized society (chaos)

• high levels drive some people to suicide in order to avoid becoming burdens on society

Durkheim’s Four Types of Suicide• Egoistic suicide: Egoism is a state in which the ties attaching the

individual to others in the society are weak. There are few social ties to keep the individual from taking his or her own life

• Altruistic suicide: Altruism is a state is opposite to egoism, in which the individual is extremely attached to the society and thus has no life of his or her own (self-emulation). They kill themselves because they believe that their death can bring about a benefit to the society. In other words, they are too heavily integrated into the society

• Anomic suicide: Anomie is a state in which there is weak social regulation between the society's norms and the individual, most often brought on by dramatic changes in economic and/or social circumstances. Since the individual does not identify with the norms of the society, suicide seems to be an option

• Fatalistic suicide: Fatalism is a state opposite to anomie in which social regulation is completely instilled in the individual (suicide bombers); there is no hope of change against the oppressive discipline of the society. The only way for the individual to be released from this state is to commit suicide

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Examples of Five Research Methods (not exhaustive)

1. Experimental2. Correlation3. Natural Observation4. Survey5. Case Study

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Experiments

• Researcher manipulates a variable (anything that can vary) under highly controlled conditions to see if this produces change in a second variable

• The variable, or variables, that the researcher manipulates is the independent variable(s) while the other variable, the one measured for changes, is the dependent variable.

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Strengths: Experiments

• Experiments help us in understanding relationships (about as close to cause and effect as one can get) BUT

• Must be sure that manipulation of an independent variable is the only variable having an effect on the dependent variable. S/he does this by holding all other variables constant or equivalent (control variables)

• See quasi-experimental design in Creswell

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Weaknesses: Experiments• Experiments can only be used when it is practical and ethical

for the researcher to manipulate the antecedent conditions (e.g. Tuskegee experiments - 399 black sharecroppers with syphilis (1932 -1972), The Tearoom Trade (1970) by Laud Humphreys, Stanley Milgram’s experiments, etc.)

• Experiments are usually done in the highly controlled setting of the laboratory. These conditions are artificial and may not reflect what really happens in the less controlled and infinitely more complex real world (counterfactual thought experiments an exception)

• Randomization is often problematic, particularly in medical studies

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Can one's biochemistry be, at least in part, responsible for aggressive or violent behavior?

• A biologist at Yale, attempted to answer this question by manipulating the biochemistry of group prison inmates

• Previous studies suggested that lower levels of serotonin was associated with increased aggression and, conversely, higher levels of serotonin caused decreases in aggressive responses

• Sheard (1995) injected a group of prisoners (the experimental group) with lithium carbonate, known to enhance serotonin brain activity

• Another group (the control) of similar prisoners were given a placebo

• The lithium injections dramatically reduced aggressive behavior in prisoners over a four month trial

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Correlation Approach

• Correlation is classified as a non-experimental method because variables are not directly manipulated

• It is more of a statistical tool. • These studies are designed to determine the

strength and direction of a relationship between two or more variables

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Strengths: Correlation

• They can be used to determine if there is a relationship between two variables without having to directly manipulate those variables

• They can be used when it is impractical and/or unethical to manipulate the variables

• They can be used as a basis for prediction. For instance, if we know that two variables are highly correlated, say +.85, we can predict the value of the dependent variable by knowing the value of the independent variable (e.g. SAT scores and success in college)

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Weaknesses: Correlation

• Correlation does not tell researchers whether or not the relationship is causal [e.g. drowning and ice cream consumption or children’s shoe size and math skills]

• Since correlation does not, cannot, prove causation, we never know for sure

• If we can’t disprove it, it supports [but does not prove] our hypothesis

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Natural Observation• Field studies; non-experimental approaches used

in the field or in real-life settings• The researcher very carefully observes and

records some behavior or phenomenon, sometimes over a prolonged period, in its natural setting

• This usually involves observing humans or animals as they go about their activities in real life settings

• Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America (Barbara Ehrenreich; 2002)

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Strengths: Natural Observation

• It allows the researcher to observe behavior in the setting in which it normally occurs rather than the artificial and limited setting of the laboratory

• It might validate some laboratory finding or theoretical concept

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Weaknesses: Natural Observation

• This is a descriptive method, not an explanatory one. The behavior can only be described, not explained

• It can take a great amount of time• It is sometimes difficult to observe behavior

without disrupting it and the difficulty of coding results in a manner appropriate for statistical analysis

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What is the impact of having a label (stigma) attached to one's self. How does this label influence others'

perceptions of and responses to the stigmatized person?

• The label of schizophrenia• A doctor (Rosenhan) had himself and eight other volunteers admitted to

mental hospitals throughout the United states by faking symptoms of schizophrenia

• Once admitted, the pseudo-patients immediately began behaving "normal“

• Despite the normal behavior, none of the patients were recognized as "sane"

• Their stays ranged from 7-52 days with an average stay of 19 days• Normal behaviors were interpreted to fit the label (e.g. the pseudo-

patients took extensive notes while they were on the wards and in the open. This behavior was seen as an aspect of their pathological behavior

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Survey Research• Usually not an end-product

– Typically used as input for statistical analyses (correlation analysis)

• Administering Surveys:– Telephone– Mail– Online surveys– Personal in-home survey– Personal mall intercept survey

• Response Rates• Items (the fewer, the better, avoid negations, etc.)• Constructing and administering a good survey is not

simply a matter of coming up with a series of questions.

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Case Studies• In-depth exploration of an event, an activity, a

process, of one or more individuals. • Psychobiography: The Colonial House by

George & George)• Phineas Gage • Anna: Case study of a Feral child (Kingsley

Davis)

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Hunches and Theory• Hunches are theories in embryo form

– Speculations that have a relatively short life span – start using hunches to come up with ideas for your lit review.

• Social theories are more elaborate, general explanations of human behavior

• Usually they take a concrete form• Some formats used to express theory: models

and typologies

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Typologies

• Typologies are a way of sorting out relationships and developing hypotheses

• Definition: a way to analyze all of the logical combinations of at least two variables.

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Example of a Typology: James David Barber's The Presidential Character. Predicting Performance in the White House

Two Baselines:1) "activity-

passivity”2) "positive-

negative view“

IIActive-Positive

Examples?

IPassive-Positive

Examples?

IIIActive-Negative

Examples?

IVPassive-Negative

Examples

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Presidential Types

• Active-Positives: T. Roosevelt, F. Roosevelt, Truman, Kennedy,

• Active-Negatives: Wilson, Hoover, L. Johnson, Nixon

• Passive-Positives: McKinley, Taft, Harding, Reagan

• Passive-Negatives: Coolidge, Eisenhower

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Presidential Character & Amnesty for the Last 17 Presidents)

• Active-positives granted 55% of all amnesties• Active-negatives granted 35% of all amnesties• Passive-positive presidents granted 7.5% of all

amnesties• Passive-negatives granted 2.5 % of all amnesties• Active Presidents combined (i.e. both positives and

negatives) granted 90% of all amnesties

What explains this?

• Presidents have averaged over 200 acts of clemency per year

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Amnesty by the Numbers: 1900-1993

• Ford: 409 clemency actions taken (382 pardons and 27 commutations) or 35% of all requests

• Reagan: 406 (393 pardons, 13 commutations) or 13% of all requests

• G.H.W. Bush: 77 (74 pardons, 3 commutations) or 5% of all requests

• Wilson: 2550 (995 pardons, 1403 commutations) or 37% of all requests

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Example of a Typology: GPA & IQ

• Variables: GPA and IQ• IQ is antecedent so it must be the independent

variable• GPA Operationalized

– High, Average, Low• IQ Operationalized:

– High, Average, Low

Quick Group Exercise: Devise a typology

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Typology of College Students According to Grades and IQ

Intelligence

GPA

High Average Low

High (N=1)“Straight Arrows”

(N=4)“Pluggers”

(N=7)“Overachievers

Average (N=2)“Apathetics”

(N=5)“Normals”

(N=8)“Strivers”

Low (N=3)“Under-achievers”

(N=6)“Slackers”

(N=9)“Marginals”

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Models• Models are prototypes to which the real world

is compared

• Definition: a visual depiction of how something works

• Like typologies, models are suggestive of theory

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Building a Model of Socioeconomic Achievement

1. Describe this concept. What does it mean.2. What sorts of things help explain it (i.e. what are

some of the more salient variables)?3. How would you test your hunches; that is, can you

formulate a model?4. While these questions can be addressed at any

level of analysis (e.g. individual or comparatively at the sub or national levels) the basic theoretical model should be general.

Family influence on a son or daughters first job.

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A Model of the Process of Socioeconomic Achievement: Family Influences

Father’sEducation

Father’sOccupation

Respondent’sEducation

Respondent’sFirst Job

Respondent’sPresent

Occupation

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Verification and Discovery of Theory• Deduction: begin with a theory and then subject it to

observation– Formulate hypotheses (i.e. specific predictions that follow from

the general theory)– Democratic Peace Proposition

• Induction: builds new theory as research progresses– From the data collected, a generalized understanding of

behavior is gradually induced (Durkheim)– Neither hypotheses nor measurement tools are developed in

advance• Elijah Anderson looked at social class and street-corner life• Mitchell Duneier described the world of sidewalk book sellers• Jody Miller analyzed girls in gangs• Cristina Rathbone recounts the experience of women in prison

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Pure vs. Applied Research

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Pure Research

• Definition: finding solutions to questions that are intellectually challenging but that may not have practical applications in the short run

• Primarily devoted to expanding theory

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Applied Research• Definition: research where findings and

conclusions are applied immediately to solve a problem or improve the effectiveness of an existing or proposed social program– Are agencies set up to help the poor succeeding?– How many parking meters should be put on main

street?– Where are traffic lights most needed in a given

city?– How can the US best reduce the incidents of state

failure worldwide?

Content Analysis

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Content Analysis

• Content Analysis is a systematic attempt to examine some form of verbal or visual communication such as newspapers, diaries, letters, speeches, movies, or television.

• Can be inductive or deductive.• Objective is to classify content• Can be either qualitative or quantitative (e.g.

frequency counts).• Manifest Content: what explicitly appears in a text.• Latent Content: meanings implied by the written

content that do not actually appear in the text.

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Examples• Content Analysis of Video Games

– Look at “E” (like rated G) games and look for violence, killing, and the use of weapons in the course of normal play.

• Analyze The Daily Show and Assess for:– % of the stories addressing political topics– % of the stories addressing a public policy theme– % of the stories addressing international news in some way– % of the stories having to do with the news media– % of the stories that address celebrity/entertainment news– % of the guests who could be labeled serious (e.g. politicians,

government officials, authors, etc.)– % of stories that involved traditional news media or video footage

vs. % coming from network of cable news shows

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Verbal Behavior Analysis• Verbal Behavior Analysis (VBA) is a content analytic

technique designed to tap "styles of speaking with patterns of thinking and behaving" (Weintraub, 1989: 7).

• Weintraub devised a system to analyze samples of speech (monologues elicited by a standardized procedure) to obtain the frequencies of occurrence of members of fourteen categories, not all of which are, strictly speaking, "syntactic" (e.g. long pauses and the rate of speech).

• Then groups representing "no pathology" and various psychopathological syndromes are compared with respect to the frequencies with which these categories appear in speech.

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VBA, Continued

• Fifteen indicators: 1) I, 2) We, 3) Me, 4) Negatives, 5) Qualifiers, 6) Retractors, 7) Direct References, 8) Explainers, 9) Expressions of Feeling, 10) Evaluators, 11) Adverbial Intensifiers, 12) Non-personal References, 13) Creative Expressions, 14) Rhetorical Questions, and 15) Interruptions

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VBA, Continued

• frequent use of evaluators are indicative of individuals possessing a punitive conscience

• frequent use of retractors convey impulsivity • high adverbial intensifier scores indicate persons "who see the

world in black and white terms;" • frequent use of explainers signify tendencies toward

rationalization • high qualifiers scores indicate anxiety and avoidance to

commitment • frequent use of negatives signify negation and denial• frequent use of rhetorical questions indicate aggressiveness• frequent use of direct references indicates that the speaker has

difficulty speaking and prefers to divert the attention of the audience

• low use expressions of feeling convey an impression of aloofness

• frequent use of creative expressions indicate creativity

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Evaluation of Kim Jong Il

• Kim scored low on the I variable, indicating detachment

• Kim scored within the normal range on the we variable. A moderate score suggests a healthy capacity to recognize and collaborate with others

• Kim scored high on the me variable. High scores here may reflect passive strivings or victimization narratives characteristic of poor-quality interactions and decreased satisfaction

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Evaluation, Continued• Kim’s use of negatives is low. According to Weintraub

(1989: 12), this variable is associated with the coping mechanisms of negation and denial. He is probably not prone to cognitive dissonance.

• Kim’s use of retractors is above the range for "well-adapted adults." Frequent use of these words imparts to a speaker's verbal style a flavor of impulsivity.

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Evaluation, Continued

• Kim’s use of adverbial Intensifiers is high. The "high," overall score for this variable may partially be a function of Kim's age. Relative to other age groups, males over 60 have a tendency to invoke greater numbers of adverbial intensifiers while females over 60 tend to invoke fewer

• Frequent use of adverbial intensifiers indicates "histrionic tendencies" and those who "often see the world in black and white terms.”

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Evaluation, Continued

• Kim scored low in the qualifiers category. This conveys a dogmatic flavor to his speech. High “use of qualifiers has been said to increase with anxiety" See Lalljee and Cook (1975)

• Kim’s use of explainers is high. Excessive scores reflect the speaker's propensity to rationalize (Weintraub, 1989: 14). A strong need for affiliation may compel a person to justify and explain his/her policies and actions for personal as well as political reasons.

Quick PT Analyzer

Content Analysis of News Reports

The Framework: The Protocol for the Assessment of Nonviolent Direct Action (PANDA)

• A research project at Harvard in the early 1990s.• A set of dictionaries or “protocol” that specifies actors,

events and circumstances carried in news reports (similar to what KEDS/TABARI uses)

• Unlike KEDS/TABARI, PANDA utilized a greatly expanded and refined WEIS-based events framework illuminating the contentious and coercive but not yet violent dimensions of evolving conflicts (i.e., nonviolent direct action)

• PANDA informs and guides the parsing of the text-based news and field situation reports into variables amenable to systematic longitudinal analyses.

Integrated Data for Events Analysis (IDEA): A Third Generation Event Framework

• Most domain specific events data frameworks have been or can be mapped to IDEA, including WEIS, PANDA, MIDS, etc.

• IDEA is a multi-framework compatible data standard designed to facilitate the comparison of data developed by different conceptual frameworks

• The IDEA framework is currently comprised of 249 social, economic, environmental and political events

IDEA Class Hierarchy (N=249)

Level 0: All phenomenaLevel 1: Animal incidents, Human actions, Human conditions, Other incidentsLevel 2: Animal attack, Accident, Accuse, Animal death, Agree, Animal illness, Cognitive state, Complain, Consult, Human death, Demand, Demonstrate, Deny, Economic activity, Endorse, Economic status, Expel, Force Use, Grant, Human illness, Natural disaster, Other animal incident, Other human action, Other human condition, Other incident, A&E Performance, Promise, Propose, Reject, Request, Reward, Comment, Sanction, Seize, Sports contest, Threaten, Warn, YieldLevel 3: Abduction, Affective state, Agree or accept, Alerts, Promise to mediate, Apologize, Arrest and detention, Ask for material aid, Request protection, Assure, Beliefs and values, Criticize or denounce, Balance of payments, Break relations, Call for action, Unconventional weapons attack, Acknowledge responsibility, Extreme climactic condition, Collaborate, Crowd control, Commodity prices, Demand aid, Decline comment, Demand ceasefire, Default on payment, Defy norms, Demand information, Demand mediation, Demand meeting, Demand protection, peacekeeping, Demand policy support, Demand rights, Demand withdrawal, Discussion, Drought, Declare war , Corporate Earnings, Earthquake, Ease sanctions, Extend economic aid, Extend humanitarian aid, Extend military aid, Empathize, Equity prices, Exchange rates, Formally complain, Flood, Forgive, Executive adjustment, Halt discussions, Infectious human illness, Host a meeting, Hurricane, Informally complain, Improve relations, Interest rates, Extend invitation, Judicial actions, Armed force blockade, Armed force mobilization, Armed force display, Covert monitoring, Armed force threats, Non-infectious human illness, Other physical force threats, Radioactive leak, Optimistic comment, Physical assault, Pessimistic comment, Protest demonstrations, Praise, Promise material support, Promise policy support, Offer to mediate, Offer to Negotiate, Offer peace proposal, Armed actions, Refuse to allow, Ratify a decision, Real estate prices, Reduce or stop aid, Reduce routine activity, Release or return, Currency reserves, Riot Reject proposal, Investigate Seize possession, Provide shelter, Solicit support, Hazardous material spill, Rally support, Strikes and boycotts, Tornado, Transactions, Sanctions threat, Tsunami, Non-specific threats, Give ultimatum, Travel to meet, Volcano, Elect representative, Wildfire, Yield to order, Yield positionLevel 4:Armed force air display, Missile attack, Ask for economic aid, Ask for humanitarian aid, Ask for armed assistance, Assassination, Agree to mediation, Agree to negotiate, Agree to peacekeeping, Agree to settlement, Impose restrictions, Beatings, Border fortification, Break law, Armed force border violation, Chem-bio attack, Private transactions, Private default on payments, Impose censorship, Armed battle, Bodily punishment, Coups and mutinies, Criminal arrests, De-mining, Demobilize armed forces, Earnings above expectations, Earnings below expectations, Ease economic sanctions, Ease military blockade, Equity prices down , Equity prices up, Evacuate victims, Grant asylum, Government transactions, Government default on payments, Artillery attack, Reduce or stop humanitarian assistance, Halt negotiation, Halt mediation, Reduce or stop economic assistance, Political flight, Reduce or stop military assistance, Reduce or stop peacekeeping, Hostage taking and kidnapping, Investigate human rights abuses, Security alert, Downward trend in interest rates, Investigate war crimes, Upward trend in interest rates, Hijacking, Torture, Armed force alert, Mediate talks, Mine explosion, Armed force activation, Armed force occupation, Armed force naval display, Engage in negotiation, Nuclear alert or test, Disclose information, Protest altruism, Small arms attack, Protest procession, Political arrests, Protest obstruction, Protest defacement, Promise economic support, Promise humanitarian support, Promise military support, Reject ceasefire, Relax curfew, Request mediation, Request an investigation, Reject mediation, Nuclear attack, Reject peacekeeping, Reject proposal to meet, Relax censorship, Reject request for material aid, Return, release person(s), Return, release property, Relax administrative sanction, Reject settlement, Request withdrawal or ceasefire, Suicide bombing, Sexual assault, Threaten forceful attack, Threaten forceful blockade, Threaten to boycott or embargo, Threaten biological or chemical attack, Armed force troops display, Threaten to halt negotiations, Threaten to halt mediation, Threaten nuclear attack, Threaten forceful occupation, Threaten to reduce or break relations, Threaten to reduce or stop aid, Observe truce, Threaten war, Vehicle bombing, Veto

Selected Branches (IDEA Event Framework)All phenomena

Human action Human conditions Animal incidents Other incidents

Other human condition Human illness Economic status Human death Cognitive state

Infectious human Non-infectious Affective state Belief illness human illness sand values

Balance Commodity Debt Equity Exchange Real Currency reservesof payments prices yields prices rates estate prices

Red signifies a terminal event (i.e., the lowest node on a branch)

Basic Structure of Extracting Meaning from a Report

Subject Verb Direct Object/Indirect Object

Examples:

US President George W. Bush blasted Iraqi President Saddam Hussein for defying the no-fly zone.

The U.S. delivered $20 million of humanitarian aid to Afghanistan yesterday.

Subject (source), Verb (event), Direct Object/Indirect Object (target)

Variables Coded from Each Clause1) ID (auto-generated, unique ID, 2) Sentence ID, 3) Event ID, 3) Event Date, 4) Report Date, 5) Event Place (e.g. Baku), 6) Event Administration (e.g. Azerbaijan), 7) Source Value (e.g. President Ilham Aliyev 's grip), 8) Source Name (e.g. AZJ), 9) Source Administration (AZJ), 10) Source Level (e.g. INDI), 11) Source Sector (e.g. NEXE), 12) Event Negated, 13) Event Status (e.g. past, ongoing, foreshadowing), 14) Event Type (e.g. conflict/cooperation), 15) Is Flagged (i.e. pre-defined search terms), 16) Event Form (i.e. IDEA code, 17) Event Value (literal value), 18) Target Value (literal value), 19) Target Name, 20) Target Admin, 21) Target Level, 22) Target Sector, 23) Information Value, 24) Information Name, 25) Information Admin, 26) Information Level, 27) Information Sector, 28) Locus, 29) Affect, 30) Mechanism, 31) Injury, 32) Damage

From these 32 variables we create 50 + additional variables in a post-parse process

Example Description of an IDEA Event Form

IDEA Event Code: 2122Name: Criminal arrests and detentionsDescription: Arrests and detentions explicitly characterized as criminalUsage Notes:Example*: French police on Tuesday arrested a man trying to sneak through Paris airport customs with a boa snake hidden in his underpants, an airport spokeswoman said.

*Source = blue, Event = red and Target = green

SourceLiteral French Police

Sector Police

Level Organization

Association France

TargetLiteral a man

Sector Nominal

Level Individual

Association None

Wordnet’s 15 Senses for the Verb “kill”)

1. kill -- (cause to die; put to death, usually intentionally or knowingly; "This man killed several people when he tried to rob a bank"; "The farmer killed a pig

for the holidays")2. kill, defeat, vote down, vote out -- (thwart the passage of; "kill a motion")3. kill -- (cause the death of, without intention; "She was killed in the collision of three

cars")4. stamp out, kill -- (end or extinguish by forceful means; "Stamp out poverty!")5. kill -- (be fatal; "cigarettes kill"; "drunken driving kills")6. kill -- (be the source of great pain for; "These new shoes are killing me!")7. kill -- (overwhelm with hilarity, pleasure, or admiration; "The comedian was so

funny, he was killing me!")8. kill -- (hit with so much force as to make a return impossible, in racket games; "She

killed the ball")9. kill -- (hit with great force, in sports; "He killed the ball")10. kill -- (deprive of life; "AIDS has killed thousands in Africa")11. toss off, bolt down, belt down, pour down, down, drink down, kill -- (drink down

entirely; "He downed three martinis before dinner"; "She killed a bottle of brandy that night")12. kill, obliterate, wipe out -- (mark for deletion, rub off, or erase, as of writings; "kill

these lines in the President's speech")13. kill -- (tire out completely; "The daily stress of her work is killing her")14. kill -- (cause to cease operating; "kill the engine")15. kill -- (destroy a vitally essential quality of or in; "Eating artichokes kills the taste of

all other foods")See WordNet

Sense 2 "Hypernyms (this is one way to...)" of verb "kill"

Sense 2kill, defeat, vote down, vote out -- (thwart the passage of; "kill a motion• veto, blackball -- (vote against; refuse to endorse; refuse to assent)• oppose, controvert, contradict -

(be resistant to; "The board opposed his motion.“• refute, rebut - (overthrow by argument, evidence, or proof;

“the speaker refuted his opponent's arguments")• renounce, repudiate (cast off or disown; "She renounced her husband“)• reject --

(refuse to accept or acknowledge; "I reject the idea of starting a war"; "The journal rejected the student's paper")

• judge -- (form an opinion of or pass judgment on)

Sense 2: Container (synset) of verb "kill"

judge

reject

renounce; repudiate

refute; rebut

oppose; controvert; contradict

veto; blackball

kill; defeat; vote down; vote out

Semantic Framework: Noun ClassesTop LevelAll agentsLevel 1

True agents (political actors) Pseudo agents (other actors, like the environment)Level 2

Civil society agents, Government agents Intangible things, Tangible thingsLevel 3

Armed civilian groups, Artists, Athletes, Body parts, Communication, Events, Human actions,Businesses, Candidates, Civic group agents, Human artifacts, Human cognition, Human attitudes,Criminals, Detainees, Diplomats, Educators, Natural environment, Status, Time-relatedEthnic agents, Farmers, Health care agents, phenomenaJudiciary, Legislators, Mass media, Migrants, Military, National executive, Nominal agents, Occupations, Officials, Political opposition, Political parties, Philanthropic agents, Religiousagents, Royalty, Sub-national officials, Students, Unions

Level 4Arabs, Bosnian-Croats, Bosnian-Moslems, Animals, Ancient beliefs, Disease,Bosnian-Serbs, Christians, Cult, Christian-Orthodox, Food, Health conditions, Historical figures,Hindu, Insurgents, Jew, Kurds, Moslems, Ideology, Human languages, Legislation,Peace-keeping forces, Paramilitary groups, Location, Markets, Human-madePolice (note that the entries at this level are for conditions, Monetary units, Non-gun weapons,illustration purposes only; a comprehensive list of Protest actions, Plants and flora, Polls & surveys,entries is included in actual data development) Travel to meet, Violent actions, Weapons, Weather

conditionsLevel 5

(greater differentiation among agents is possible Accident, Apology, Assassination, Balance of through user specification) payments, Biological agent/weapon, Bombing action,

CBR weapons use, Censorship, Chemical agent/weapon, Commodity prices, Debt yields, Drought, Earthquakes, Equity prices, Exchange rates, Explosive device, Floods, Firearms, Harassment, Hurricanes and typhoons, Infectious disease, Litigation, Military actions, Military hardware, Monetary reserves, Nuclear devices, Protest altruism, Real estate prices, Military raids, Riot, Rapes, Shooting, Strike and boycott action, Tornados, Tsunami, Volcanic events, Wild fires

Level 6Biological weapons use, Car bomb, Car bombing, De-mining vehicle,

Grenade/RPG, Grenade/RPG use, Mine explosions, Mines, Missile, Missile attack

Synset Example: Selected Entries of Nouns and Noun Phrases Mapped to the Noun Class “Migrant” (WordNet)

abandoned, abandoned person, bag lady, beggar, beggarman, beggarwoman, bird of passage, bum, castaway, deportee, derelict, displaced person, internally displaced person, dosser, down-and-out, DP, IDP, drifter, evacuee, exile, foundling, gamin, have-not, hobo, homeless, homeless person, immigrant, mendicant, migrant, nomad, orphan, outcast, outcaste, panhandler, pariah, poor person, profligate, ragamuffin, rake, refugee, rip, roamer, roue, rover, shipwreck survivors, quatter, squatter, stateless person, street arab, street person, sundowner, tatterdemalion, throwaway, tramp, transient, urchin, vagabond, vagrant, waif, wanderer

Events Data Tools

Automated, modular software tool designed to identify, assess and “visualize” situations of potential conflict as they develop

– In near real-time,– Using both news feed and field situation

reports,– With graphs and maps linked to the original

input

Components

The Reader– filters, formats, parses and generates SEEP

events. We currently rely mostly on Reuters and AFP for monitoring the globe but any English text can be used.

From Syntax to Events

The Reader generates and maps “events,” or who does what to whom when where & how

– syntax (from the read module)– semantics (from an external dictionary) and– user-specified information (from a protocol)

into data matrices that can be used in statistical

and other analyses.

Mapped to (user defined) Events

• The mapping procedure is guided by a user-defined set of dictionaries or protocol. The (IDEA) protocol maps specific words and phrases to their various meanings.

• Relevant behavioral referents are considered events, around which the event data matrix is built. Each event is linked to its actors who are identified as individuals, groups, organizations or states.

The Reader & IDEA

Operate together to support monitoring and interactive assessment of evolving conflict situations,

Automated Coding

• Advantages of automated coding no longer in dispute (exceptions: idiosyncratic text, low N)

• As good as humans (see King and Lowe article)

• 100% Consistent (could be consistently bad but it is consistent)

• 100% Transparent

• Flexible & Extensible

So What?

http://Vranet.com/geomonitor

Facilitation

Questions?

In-Class Writing Exercise 5

Explain why the intuitively comfortable “city-day” unit of measure for studying protest generally yields far fewer cases than the machine’s “clause-bound” unit of analysis. Give an example of each and discuss the costs and benefits of each.