This article examines the reliability of statistical models that use visualization of word distances using computer-assisted text analysis. This study looks at the choice of parameters in the COOA - software for word co-occurrence analysis. The word co-occurrence analysis enables visualization of text structure through the exploration of the number of co-occurrences of words. The data visualization provided by a multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) procedure is susceptible to a particular form of error. The nonlinear relationship between words with significantly different frequencies lies at the root of this problem where words with higher frequencies are placed in the middle of a two-dimensional MDS map visualization. Words with lower frequency, on the other hand, are forced by the MDS estimator to the edge of the two-dimensional map and their estimated spatial positions are unstable. These two processes are potentially a major source of error in making inferences. One solution for reducing this source of error is to (a) reduce the number of words in a model or (b) increase of the number of model dimensions. This article, however, suggests that a detailed investigation of the word structure and a thorough analysis of the error sources and their meaningful interpretation may be a better solution., Václav Čepelák., and Obsahuje bibliografii
An increasing number of surveys are employed in the field of public administration. This begs the question, what is the quality of this form of research? In this article two different surveys are presented and compared. First, a client satisfaction survey implemented at twelve municipal offices is examined. Second, there is an exploration of an international comparative research project that studies municipal representatives (MAELG). An examination of the research methodologies employed in both of these two surveys reveals the problems inherent to this type of inquiry. Strategies for overcoming these obstacles in future research are described. This study argues that examination of methodological issues can lead to important substantive insights; in this case it is the link between public administration and democracy., Dan Ryšavý., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Despite the growing number of statistical analyses of life-history data and a long tradition of biographical research, there is often no communication between these two streams of life-course research. It is possible to examine the life course quantitatively through life histories, which may be used to model synthetic biographies in order to reveal patterns in the timing and sequencing of life events, the durations of states between them, and the causal links between them. It is also possible to examine the life course qualitatively through life stories, e.g. biographical narratives, which reflect how persons understand, experience and attach meaning to events and states in their life. Through a quantitative analysis of life-history data we can describe and explain the morphology of particular events in the observed population, while a qualitative analysis of biographical narratives provides insight into people’s decision-making, perceptions of their options, and how they attach meanings to and experience events. This article summarizes the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches, explains in which sense they are connected or differentiated from each other, what data and analyses each perspective may utilize, and briefly introduces one type of mixed methods life course research that utilizes the complementarity of both approaches., Hana Hašková a Radka Dudová., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Reason analysis is a long neglected method of data collection and analysis. This article describes the method and shows some fields of practical application. The methods and principles of reason analysis were first expounded by Lazarsfeld (1935). Reason analysis explores how respondents answer “why” questions during survey interviews. Typically, respondents are asked a simple question inquiring about the reasons that led them to make a specific decision or action. Data obtained in this way are often used to construct a simple classification of respondents. In reality, respondents often have many reasons for making a particular decision, but usually only mention one to an interviewer. Reason analysis contends that responses to ‘why’ questions are a combination of some or all reasons used by the respondent to formulate an answer to an interviewers’ question. Consequently, reason analysis constructs a “tree” of questions and an “accounting scheme” or model of the decision or action being studied. Using this framework, responses are grouped into classes and types according to their (dis)similarity. With the development of software tools it is now easy to estimate reason analysis models of survey response. One key advantage of reason analysis is that it facilitates developing a deeper understanding of the latent structure of groups; and hence allows a more precise estimation of individual level effects in studies of decision-making. As the demand for “structural estimation” models of decision making and action increase, it is likely the reason analysis will become a more influential methodological approach in the 21st century., Hynek Jeřábek., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
This paper explores causal explanations that use panel data and describes the contribution of Paul Lazarsfeld to the methodology of panel analysis. The introductory part describes the concepts of ‘panel data’ and ‘panel analysis.’ The second section is devoted to the history of panel studies. The main part of the paper focuses on the contributions of Paul Lazarsfeld to panel data analysis. The term ‘panel study’ generally denotes any data collection that involves the same respondents who are questioned repeatedly in consecutive waves of a survey. In contrast, ‘panel analysis’ refers to the quantitative analysis of changes in the distributions of responses among the same respondents across two waves of a panel data set. Paul Lazarsfeld developed panel analysis during the late 1930s and early 1940s. The main aim of this early work was to test for causal relationships, and to outline some explanation for the intra-personal changes observed. Lazarsfeld outlined three important panel data analysis procedures: 1) analysis of turnover tables, 2) analysis of qualified change also known as the “analysis of qualifiers”, and 3) analysis of concurrent changes. The latter was often referred to by Lazarsfeld in his methodological papers as the problem of the “sixteen-fold table”. The final section of this paper discusses of the use of control groups in panel studies and problems associated with panel attrition rates., Hynek Jeřábek., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
This article seeks to contribute to the discussion about literary images of fatherhood in contemporary Czech and Polish prose. It focuses on analysing the specific literary spaces that have emerged alongside a new type of literary character, namely, ‘new fathers’, who give up their professional activities to stay home and look after babies. A comparative analysis of two novels - Petr Šabach’s Putování mořského koně (The Pilgrimage of a Sea Horse) and Marek Kochan’s Plac zabaw (The Playground) - presents the similarities in the structures of their literary space and in the way masculinity is contextualised in the space of the playground and the home. The article sets the analysis against the backdrop of social changes affecting parenting and fatherhood in Poland and the Czech Republic in recent decades., Marcin Filipowicz., and Obsahuje bibliografii