Designing empirical research involves (1) asking research questions, (2) theorizing and extracting observable implications from the theory, (3) identifying rival hypotheses, and (4) developing measures. We present the components in sequential order, but the process is never quite as orderly in practice. Analysts should and often must deviate but even as they do it's always a good idea to follow best practice—the tried-and-true standards for conducting research that we flesh out here and in Chapter 3.

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