The unit of analysis is the entity that frames what is being looked at in a study, or is the entity being studied as a whole. In
social science
Social science (often rendered in the plural as the social sciences) is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among members within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the ...
research
Research is creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge. It involves the collection, organization, and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness to ...
, at the macro level, the most commonly referenced unit of analysis, considered to be a society is the
state (polity)
A state is a politics, political entity that regulates society and the population within a definite territory. Government is considered to form the fundamental apparatus of contemporary states.
A country often has a single state, with various a ...
(i.e. country). At meso level, common units of observation include groups, organizations, and institutions, and at micro level, individual people.
Unit of analysis vs the level of analysis
Unit of analysis is closely related to the term
level of analysis
Level of analysis is used in the social sciences to point to the location, size, or scale of a research target. It is distinct from unit of observation in that the former refers to a more or less integrated set of relationships while the latter re ...
, and some scholars have used them interchangingly, while others argue for a need for distinction.
Ahmet Nuri Yurdusev wrote that "the level of analysis is more of an issue related to the framework/context of analysis and the level at which one conducts one's analysis, whereas the question of the unit of analysis is a matter of the 'actor' or the 'entity' to be studied".
Manasseh Wepundi noted the difference between "the unit of analysis, that is the phenomenon about which generalizations are to be made, that which each 'case' in the data file represents and the level of analysis, that is, the manner in which the units of analysis can be arrayed on a continuum from the very small (micro) to very large (macro) levels."
Unit of analysis vs unit of observation
The unit of analysis should also not be confused with the
unit of observation. The unit of observation is a subset of the unit of analysis. A study may have a differing unit of observation and unit of analysis: for example, in
community
A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
research, the
research design
Research design refers to the overall strategy utilized to answer research questions. A research design typically outlines the theories and models underlying a project; the research question(s) of a project; a strategy for gathering data and info ...
may collect data at the individual level of observation but the level of analysis might be at the neighborhood level, drawing conclusions on neighborhood characteristics from data collected from individuals. Together, the unit of observation and the level of analysis define the
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of a research enterprise.
Countries as units of analysis
Dependency theory
Dependency theory is the idea that resources flow from a " periphery" of poor and exploited states to a " core" of wealthy states, enriching the latter at the expense of the former. A central contention of dependency theory is that poor states ...
and
world-systems analysis
World-systems theory (also known as world-systems analysis or the world-systems perspective)Immanuel Wallerstein, (2004), "World-systems Analysis." In ''World System History'', ed. George Modelski, in ''Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems'' (E ...
challenged the treatment of countries as societies or units of analysis and the assumption that each country develops separately through stages from agrarian to industrial, from authoritarian to democratic, from backwards to advanced, by raising historical evidence. The development of an uneven division of labor (world-economy) shows factors of causality that account for changes within countries indicating that countries are part of a larger society or historical social system with systemic patterns that account for global inequality.
The literature of
international relations
International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...
provides a good example of units of analysis system.
See also
*
Statistical unit
In statistics, a unit is one member of a set of entities being studied. It is the main source for the mathematical abstraction of a "random variable". Common examples of a unit would be a single person, animal, plant, manufactured item, or countr ...
References
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External links
Unit of analysis
Social research