John and a whole bunch of commenters discuss this weird article by Matt Bai, who defends political journalism (as compared to political science) by saying:
My dinnertime conversation with three Iowans may not add up to a reliable portrait of the national consensus, but it’s often more illuminating than the dissertations of academics whose idea of seeing America is a trip to the local Bed, Bath & Beyond.
Would it be ok if the local Bed, Bath & Beyond were in Iowa? Would Nebraska be ok or is that not so helpful, Nebraska not being an early caucus state? Or is the key difference that Bai’s conversation is over dinner rather than in a shopping center?
Setting aside all other aspects of this discussion, my question is: What kind of political scientist studies America via a trip to the local Bed, Bath & Beyond??? Not any political scientist that I’ve ever heard of.
(Rant continues here.)
P.S. More here.
I am also puzzled by some journalists who write just like a social scientists by proposing "deeper linkage" of social phenomenon, while they don't have the training of social science research. Examples are like Noami Klein, or to some extent, Micheal Moore. What is the value of such journalists' conjecture based on their journalistic investigation instead of following formal social science research methodology?
I think that he may mean that REAL American cannot be found north of 14th Street, that you have to speak to people in SOHO and The Village.
(Sorry about that NYC geography lesson, folks.)
Or, he might mean that going on errands is not seeing America, so people who do their work in offices don't know what they are talking about.
I am sad to say that Bai is a Columbia graduate (Journalism School.) I don't know if the reform of journalism education at Columbia is going forward, but the statement by President Bollinger when naming the new dean in 2003 seems to be on the mark:
"The educational goal ought to be to develop a base of knowledge across relevant fields that is crafted specifically for what leading journalists need to know: for example, a functional knowledge of statistics, the basic concepts of economics, and an appreciation for the importance of history and for the fundamental debates in modern political theory and philosophy."
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/president/docs/communi…
I deeply resent comments like those of Matt Bai, because in the subtext of them is an insulting corollary. The use of small-town "ordinary folks" as the best representation of "Real America" carries the implication that I am not a Real American.
Two caveats: Maybe Bai himself isn't making that argument, but I know it was rampant in the past election. Also, it is important not to ignore Iowa or Nebraska, but that doesn't mean we need to insult NYC and the Ivory Towers of the country as somehow unamerican.
Re: your post, that's the old "anecdote as evidence" problem.
In terms of getting political ideas from weird sources, I have heard that Lee Atwater got his political insights from reading the National Enquirer.
On a completely different subject, could I possibly send you a business-related statistics question? It relates to online advertising. I think it's a relatively simple question.
Thanks,
Greg
[email protected]
Bai ought to have included at least once cite.
If Bai had said "Wal-mart" that would be at least defensible, given that over 80% of Americans shop there in a year. But BB&B?
There's a bit of action on this front: Google Scholar shows 87 hits for "Bed, Bath and Beyond" in the social sciences.
<a href="http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_q=&num=10&btnG=Search+Scholar&as_epq=Bed+Bath+and+Beyond&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_occt=any&as_sauthors=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_allsubj=some&as_subj=soc&hl=en&lr=" rel="nofollow"> <a href="http://;http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_q=&num=10&btnG=Search+Scholar&as_epq=Bed+Bath+and+Beyond&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_occt=any&as_sauthors=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_allsubj=some&as_subj=soc&hl=en&lr=” target=”_blank”>;http://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_q=&num=10&btnG=Search+Scholar&as_epq=Bed+Bath+and+Beyond&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_occt=any&as_sauthors=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_allsubj=some&as_subj=soc&hl=en&lr=
Some look a bit interesting.
There's "jesus the savior of the american retail outlet, of macys and dillards and brookstone
and wal-mart, of bed bath and beyond and restoration hardware,"
Balancing this is "Bed, Bath, and Beyond: The Discourse Surrounding Niddah in the Contemporary American Jewish …"
But most are just references BB&B as another retailer who might find the research useful: "This research would seem to have a particularly strong impact given the importance
that retailers (eg, Warner Brothers, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Barnes and …"
I looked through the first few screens and saw nothing that I'd identify as "political science".
But you can't rule out a hypothesis by the way it was generated (being it by taking a bath or being hit on the head with an apple)
and it may be that illuminating hypotheses are more likely to be generated from the "lived" experiences of wayward Columbia graduates …
but I would not trust them to evaluate (evidence) for their or even others hypotheses