Reference no: EM133348125

Question: I am working on a final report which has included a proposal, annotated bib and literature review. I am now on the final step which is the final paper which is an introduction which includes the motive of the study, suggesting research methods, ethical concerns and conclusion. I had to chose an explanatory or descriptive question and I chose "How does Beyonce's endorsement for Joe Biden for President positively affect voting behavior?" and identified it was focus of potential cause that results the outcome. My overall feedback stated "Throughout your POLS assignments, you constantly have the research question hanging over your head, and the research question must be either descriptive or explanatory. Per your lecture notes, an explanatory question seeks to establish causality, while a descriptive question aims to identify possible trend(s). Essentially, explanatory research tries to explain why/how dependent variable(s) connect to the independent variable(s) and through what mechanism. For instance, a state votes on a crisis interference/aversion vote in a transnational organization. That state's final decision is the dependent variable, and that state's participation in that organization is the independent variable and that specific ballot is an instance/event/observation/data entry. The internal payoff calculus is the mechanism that drives the outcome. May that calculus be humanitarian, geopolitics strategy, or economic motivated? The result of that ballot is boring because it is definitive; however, understanding (if you do not know) and testing (if you already have some estimate of why and want to join the scholarly debate) the motive/mechanism are crucial" "The former is descriptive, and the latter is explanatory. For a descriptive/exploratory thesis, you would include most (if not all) relevant motives uncovered and assess their applicability to this specific scenario. For an explanatory argument, you would choose the most likely motive/mechanism based on your understanding and available evidence and try to establish that causality. The thesis statement from your literature review, especially for one incorporated into research, serves as the thesis statement for that research (and you must defend it). I don't think providing an example here is a good idea because a low-effort sample would only cause further confusion". Can someone help me understand what is meant by mechanism? or can someone explain this to me in simpler terms as I am very confused on what's really being asked of me.