Cluster Analysis for Political Scientists

Dalson Britto Figueiredo Filho, Enivaldo Carvalho da Rocha, José Alexandre da Silva Júnior, Ranulfo Paranhos, Mariana Batista da Silva, Bárbara Sofia Félix Duarte

Department of Political Science, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Institute of Social Science, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Brazil.

DOI: 10.4236/am.2014.515232                

Abstract

This paper provides an intuitive introduction to cluster analysis. Our targeting audience are both scholars and students in Political Science. Methodologically, we use basic simulation to illustrate the underlying logic of cluster analysis and we replicate data from Coppedge, Alvarez and Maldonado (2008) [1] to classify political regimes according to Dahl’s (1971) [2] polyarchy dimensions: contestation and inclusiveness. With this paper, we hope to help novice scholars to understand and employ cluster analysis in Political Science empirical research.

Keywords

Cluster Analysis, Q Analysis, Political Regimes

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

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