Final answer:
The claim that political science research's sole strategy is to prove causation between two variables is false. Political science involves a more complex process of testing hypotheses and understanding relationships, while acknowledging that findings are tentative and subject to change with new evidence and theories.
Step-by-step explanation:
The strategy of political science research is not solely to prove that one variable causes another variable. This statement is false. While it is true that political science research involves testing hypotheses and attempting to establish cause-and-effect relationships, the process is much more nuanced. Researchers in political science use theory, logic, and evidence to explore and explain political phenomena. They understand that while experiments can provide insights into cause-and-effect claims, human behavior is not entirely deterministic, and additional research may always change or update their findings.
An important task in political science is to determine whether the evidence supports the tested hypothesis. This is an iterative process that regards hypotheses as supported or unsupported rather than absolutely true or false. Political scientists are also keenly aware that correlation does not always imply causation and that variables can sometimes show a positive correlation without providing any health benefits or causal relationships.
In political science, empirical research aims to explain and predict political behavior. However, the questions and answers pursued within the field are part of a larger scientific discourse that is continuously evolving as new data and theories emerge, and as political behaviors themselves change in response to new knowledge.