This major new text provides a comprehensive introduction to the main research methods employed in the study of politics, an assessment of their strengths and limitations, and an account of their relationship to the evolution of the discipline of political science. Illustrated throughout with boxed examples of real political research, the book ranges widely from substantial coverage of statistical methods to the use of archives, interviews, discourse analysis and the internet. Two concluding chapters cover ethical issues and the relationship between theories and methods with a special emphasis on combining traditions and approaches.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: Methods, Methodology and Making Sense of the Study of Politics
The Discipline of Politics
Research Design
Comparative Methodology
Surveys and Opinion Polls
Descriptive Statistics
Making Inferences
Documentary and Archival Analysis
The Internet and Political Research
Elite Interviewing
Participant Observation and the Analysis of Communications
Ethics and Political Research
Conclusion: Challenging the Mainstream and the Qualitative/Quantitative Divide
Table of Contents:
Introduction: Methods, Methodology and Making Sense of the Study of Politics
The Discipline of Politics
Research Design
Comparative Methodology
Surveys and Opinion Polls
Descriptive Statistics
Making Inferences
Documentary and Archival Analysis
The Internet and Political Research
Elite Interviewing
Participant Observation and the Analysis of Communications
Ethics and Political Research
Conclusion: Challenging the Mainstream and the Qualitative/Quantitative Divide