Political Science Research Methods

This concise introduction to political science tools covers the research process and scholars use of research methods.

Tables and Figures

xi

(4)

Preface

xv

1 Introduction

1

(18)

Research on Regime Stability

4

(3)

The Western Media and Non-Western Nations: An Issue in International Relations

7

(1)

Study of How Congressional Elections Are Financed

8

(3)

Investigating Popular Influence on Public Policy

11

(1)

A Look into Judicial Decision Making

12

(3)

Influencing Bureaucracies

15

(1)

Explaining Variability in Checkoff Rates among the States

16

(1)

Conclusion

16

(1)

Notes

17

(1)

Terms Introduced

18

(1)

Exercises

18

(1)

2 Studying Politics Scientifically

19

(22)

Characteristics of Scientific Knowledge

19

(8)

Acquiring Scientific Knowledge: Induction and Deduction

27

(3)

Can Politics Be Studied Scientifically?

30

(2)

Political Science as a Discipline

32

(4)

Conclusion

36

(1)

Notes

36

(2)

Terms Introduced

38

(1)

Exercises

38

(1)

Suggested Readings

39

(2)

3 The Building Blocks of Social Scientific Research: Hypotheses, Concepts, and Variables

41

(32)

Specifying the Research Question

41

(3)

Proposing Explanations

44

(5)

Defining Concepts

49

(4)

Formulating Hypotheses

53

(13)

Conclusion

66

(1)

Notes

66

(1)

Terms Introduced

66

(1)

Exercises

67

(3)

Suggested Readings

70

(3)

4 The Building Blocks of Social Scientific Research: Measurement

73

(38)

Devising Measurement Strategies

74

(2)

Examples of Political Measurement

76

(5)

The Accuracy of Measurements

81

(10)

The Precision of Measurements

91

(4)

Multi-item Measures

95

(10)

Conclusion

105

(1)

Notes

106

(1)

Terms Introduced

107

(1)

Exercises

108

(1)

Suggested Readings

109

(2)

5 Research Design

111

(42)

Experimentation

112

(6)

Experimental Designs

118

(15)

Nonexperimental Designs

133

(14)

Conclusion

147

(1)

Notes

148

(2)

Terms Introduced

150

(1)

Exercises

151

(1)

Suggested Readings

152

(1)

6 Conducting a Literature Review

153

(18)

Where Do Research Topics Come From?

153

(1)

Reasons for a Literature Review

154

(5)

Conducting a Literature Review

159

(9)

Conclusion

168

(1)

Notes

168

(1)

Exercises

168

(1)

Suggested Readings

195

(2)

8 Making Empirical Observations: Direct and Indirect Observation

197

(30)

Types of Data and Collection Techniques

197

(3)

Observation

200

(1)

Direct Observation

201

(14)

Indirect Observation

215

(3)

Ethical Issues in Observation

218

(4)

Conclusion

222

(1)

Notes

223

(2)

Terms Introduced

225

(1)

Suggested Readings

226

(1)

9 Document Analysis: Using the Written Record

227

(34)

Types of Written Records

228

(16)

Content Analysis

244

(7)

Advantages and Disadvantages of the Written Record

251

(4)

Conclusion

255

(1)

Notes

256

(2)

Terms Introduced

258

(1)

Exercises

258

(1)

Suggested Readings

259

(2)

10 Elite Interviewing and Survey Research

261

(34)

Elite Interviewing

262

(4)

Survey Research

266

(20)

Conclusion

286

(1)

Notes

287

(4)

Terms Introduced

291

(1)

Exercises

292

(1)

Suggested Readings

293

(2)

11 Univariate Data Analysis and Descriptive Statistics

295

(30)

Frequency Distributions

298

(8)

Descriptive Statistics

306

(10)

The Normal Distribution

316

(5)

Conclusion

321

(1)

Notes

321

(1)

Terms Introduced

322

(1)

Exercises

323

(1)

Suggested Readings

324

(1)

12 Measuring Relationships and Testing Hypotheses: Bivariate Data Analysis

325

(50)

Crosstabulation

327

(20)

Difference of Means Test and Analysis of Variance

347

(6)

Regression and Correlation Analysis

353

(15)

Conclusion

368

(1)

Notes

368

(1)

Terms Introduced

369

(1)

Exercises

370

(3)

Suggested Readings

373

(2)

13 Searching for Complete Explanations and Causal Knowledge: Multivariate Data Analysis

375

(28)

Introduction

375

(3)

Multivariate Crosstabulation

378

(8)

Two-Way Analysis of Variance

386

(3)

Multiple Regression and Partial Correlation

389

(7)

Conclusion

396

(1)

Notes

397

(1)

Terms Introduced

397

(1)

Exercises

398

(3)

Suggested Readings

401

(2)

14 The Research Report: An Annotated Example

403

(30)

Polarity, the Offense-Defense Balance, and War

404

(27)

Conclusion

431

(1)

Exercises

431

(2)

Appendix

433

(8)

Index

441

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Political Science Research Methods

Summary

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials