Handbook Of Research Methods And Applications In Political Science

Description

This Handbook offers a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art research methods and applications currently in use in political science. It combines theory and methodology (qualitative and quantitative), and offers insights into the major approaches and their roots in the philosophy of scientific knowledge. Including a comprehensive discussion of the relevance of a host of digital data sources, plus the dos and don’ts of data collection in general, the book also explains how to use diverse research tools and highlights when and how to apply these techniques. Front Matter......Page 1 Copyright......Page 4 Contents......Page 5 List of contributors......Page 13 Acknowledgements......Page 20 Introduction......Page 21 PART I POLITICAL SCIENCE: RANGE, SCOPE AND CONTESTED METHODOLOGIES......Page 27 1 Political science......Page 29 2 Epistemology and approaches: logic, causation and explanation......Page 44 3 Taking critical ontology seriously: implications for political science methodology......Page 58 4 Relating theory and concepts to measurements: bridging the gap......Page 74 5 On time and space: the historical dimension in political science......Page 84 6 Systems theory: the search for a general theory of politics......Page 99 PART II APPROACHES: EXPLORING POLITICAL INTERACTIONS......Page 115 7 Applying multilevel governance......Page 117 8 Regime types: measuring democracy and autocracy......Page 131 9 Institutional analysis: progress and problems......Page 147 10 Political actors: parties–interest groups–government......Page 161 11 Social movements and political action......Page 175 12 International relations and transnational politics......Page 189 13 Political economy: economic miracles and socio-economic performance......Page 204 14 Political theory and its normative methods......Page 222 PART III ANALYZING POLITICS: DATA–CONCEPTS–TECHNIQUES......Page 235 15 Organizing and developing data sets: exemplified by the Party Government Data Set......Page 237 16 Political institutions......Page 254 17 Studying voting behavior......Page 268 18 The role of high- quality surveys in political science research......Page 282 19 Quantitative data analysis in political science......Page 301 20 Models in political science: forms and purposes......Page 315 21 Qualitative methods in political science......Page 329 22 Multilevel regression analysis......Page 343 PART IV RESEARCH TOOLS: QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE APPLICATIONS......Page 361 23 Studying how policies affect the people: grappling with measurement, causality and the macro–micro divide......Page 363 24 Regression analysis......Page 379 25 Configurational comparative methods (QCA and fuzzy sets): complex causation in cross-case analysis......Page 403 26 Discourse analysis, social constructivism and text analysis: a critical overview......Page 420 27 Case study analysis......Page 439 28 Cluster analysis......Page 450 29 The logic of process tracing: contributions, pitfalls and future directions......Page 472 PART V EVALUATION AND RELEVANCE OF RESEARCH OUTPUT......Page 487 30 Political science research and its political relevance......Page 489 31 What’s methodology got to do with it? Public policy evaluations, observational analysis and RCTs......Page 503 32 Re-analysis, testability and falsification......Page 517 33 The art of publishing: how to report and submit your findings......Page 534 Index......Page 549