Chapter 2 

What are the issues in empirical analysis?

Percentage of Population with high School Completion/ Higher

• Texas- 82%

• Northern states- over 90%

With Bachelor's Degree

• Texas is about average

o We have a lot of natural resources, so we can draw in more workers= increase population  of people with a bachelor's degree

o When we draw in these people, they are very cheap for us

o We didn't have to pay and subsidize for them to go to school

o We get a lot of revenue from them Don't forget about the age old question of The phonograph is invented by whom?

Scatterplot Analysis

• More information

• Correlation

o Technique for expressing relationships in quantitative terms

What is the importance of measurement?

o Degrees of inherent association which exists between any two variables occurring  simultaneously in the same universe (Abraham N, Franzblau)

o Simply says there is a relationship, that is all

o Must have a minimum strength threshold 

▪ Strength of 0.5= same as –0.5

▪ Doesn’t mean it is weaker, just means it is running the other way

▪ Known as inverse/negative relationship

▪ Positive relationship

• Ex: an increase in high school completion= an increase in per capita income • When income is high then we get higher revenue

o Direction of Relationship 

What is the motion graphs ?

o Possible Interpretations 

o Texas 

▪ We don’t borrow, or we try not to

▪ No legislature in Texas will vote for borrowing money If you want to learn more check out What are the two central ideas for consequentialist theories?

▪ Borrowing money= buy arms= won the war

▪ Balanced budget= a weaker government

• Poverty & Per capita is a negative relationship

Issues in Empirical Analysis

• Measurement

o Per capita income

o Revenue We also discuss several other topics like Capacitors consist of what?

• Variable linkage

• Is there a relationship?

Ex: Poverty x per capita income= r= -.65

Issues if there is an Empirical Relationship

• Causal relationship:

o We know some other people have done the research and found statistical methods to  tease out the relationship

• Spurious relationship:

o One in which the correlation is very high

o However, it is a quirk in nature

o No relationship

▪ Ex: consumption of ice cream x murders

▪ This will not reduce murders because this relationship is Spurious

o Something else is going on If you want to learn more check out When do we use conclusion in creating theory?

o Opportunity is related to this

Importance of Measurement

• Use the rates, NOT the raw numbers

• Rates have numerators & denominators

• Control for inflation over time

• Proper linkage of "cause" & "effect"

o We don’t want to use false/spurious relationships

Motion Graphs

• Similar to cartoons, multiple pictures We also discuss several other topics like What is the function of the scientific method?
If you want to learn more check out What are the theories of dreaming?

• Animated scatterplots

o Two pieces of information being looked at

• Add information about time

o Relationship over time

• If something is positive= continues to be positive