Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science

Author: Stephen Van Evera
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 0801454441
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

Book Description
"Stephen Van Evera's Guide to Methods makes an important contribution toward improving the use of case studies for theory development and testing in the social sciences. His trenchant and concise views on issues ranging from epistemology to specific research techniques manage to convey not only the methods but the ethos of research. This book is essential reading for social science students at all levels who aspire to conduct rigorous research."—Alexander L. George, Stanford University, and Andrew Bennett, Georgetown University "Van Evera has a keen awareness of the questions that arise in every phase of the political science research project—from initial conception to final presentation. Although others may not agree with all of his specific advice, all will appreciate his user-friendly introduction to what is sometimes seen as an abstract and difficult topic."—Timothy J. McKeown, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill For the last few years, Stephen Van Evera has greeted new graduate students at MIT with a commonsense introduction to qualitative methods in the social sciences. His helpful hints, always warmly received, grew from a handful of memos to an underground classic primer. That primer has now evolved into a book of how-to information about graduate study, which is essential reading for graduate students and undergraduates in political science, sociology, anthropology, economics, and history—and for their advisers.

Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science

Author: Stephen Van Evera
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 9780801484575
Category : Mathematics
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
Stephen Van Evera greeted new graduate students at MIT with a commonsense introduction to qualitative methods in the social sciences. His helpful hints, always warmly received, grew from a handful of memos to an underground classic primer. That primer evolved into a book of how-to information about graduate study, which is essential reading for graduate students and undergraduates in political science, sociology, anthropology, economics, and history—and for their advisers. •How should we frame, assess, and apply theories in the social sciences? "I am unpersuaded by the view that the prime rules of scientific method should differ between hard science and social science. Science is science." •A section on case studies shows novices the ropes. •Van Evera contends the realm of dissertations is often defined too narrowly “Making and testing theories are not the only games in town. . . . If everyone makes and tests theories but no one ever uses them, then what are they for?" •In "Helpful Hints on Writing a Political Science Ph.D. Dissertation," Van Evera focuses on presentation, and on broader issues of academic strategy and tactics. •Van Evera asks how political scientists should work together as a community. “All institutions and professions that face weak accountability need inner ethical rudders that define their obligations in order to stay on course."

Writing a Research Paper in Political Science

Author: Lisa A. Baglione
Publisher: CQ Press
ISBN: 1506367437
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 282

Book Description
Even students capable of writing excellent essays still find their first major political science research paper an intimidating experience. Crafting the right research question, finding good sources, properly summarizing them, operationalizing concepts and designing good tests for their hypotheses, presenting and analyzing quantitative as well as qualitative data are all tough-going without a great deal of guidance and encouragement. Writing a Research Paper in Political Science breaks down the research paper into its constituent parts and shows students what they need to do at each stage to successfully complete each component until the paper is finished. Practical summaries, recipes for success, worksheets, exercises, and a series of handy checklists make this a must-have supplement for any writing-intensive political science course.

Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science

Author: Stephen Van Evera
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 080145445X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 145

Thinking Like a Political Scientist

Author: Christopher Howard
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022632768X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 240

Book Description
“A compelling case for transforming how research methods are taught to undergraduate students of political science.” —London School of Economics Review of Books Each year, tens of thousands of students who are interested in politics go through a rite of passage: they take a course in research methods. Many find the subject to be boring or confusing, and with good reason. Most of the standard books on research methods fail to highlight the most important concepts and questions. Instead, they brim with dry technical definitions and focus heavily on statistical analysis, slighting other valuable methods. This approach prevents students from mastering the skills they need to engage more directly and meaningfully with a wide variety of research. With wit and practical wisdom, Christopher Howard draws on more than a decade of experience teaching research methods to transform a typically dreary subject and teach budding political scientists the critical skills they need to read published research more effectively and produce better research of their own. The first part of the book is devoted to asking three fundamental questions in political science: What happened? Why? Who cares? In the second section, Howard demonstrates how to answer these questions by choosing an appropriate research design, selecting cases, and working with numbers and written documents as evidence. Drawing on examples from American and comparative politics, international relations, and public policy, Thinking Like a Political Scientist highlights the most common challenges that political scientists routinely face, and each chapter concludes with exercises so that students can practice dealing with those challenges.

Research Methods in Politics

Author: Roger Pierce
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1446204669
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 354

Book Description
Packed with features to promote learning this text is ideal for use on an introductory methods course or for readers carrying out their own research project. It presents: - an overview of the philosophy and principles of research - qualitative and quantitative research methods and research design - a critical review of selected methods - methods of gathering information, such as interviews and focus groups, and discusses issues associated with ensuring quality of information - appropriate methods for analysing and interpreting data, and covers the process of communicating research. The inclusion of chapter objectives, regular summaries, questions for discussion and tasks and assignments, makes this the must-have text for researching politics.

Doing Research in Political Science

Author: Paul Pennings
Publisher: SAGE
ISBN: 1446226905
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
This is an immensely helpful book for students starting their own research... an excellent introduction to the comparative method giving an authoritative overview over the research process - Klaus Armingeon, University of Bern Doing Research in Political Science is the book for mastering the comparative method in all the social sciences - Jan-Erik Lane, University of Geneva This book has established itself as a concise and well-readable text on comparative methods and statistics in political science I...strongly recommend it. - Dirk Berg-Schlosser, Philipps-University Marburg This thoroughly revised edition of the popular textbook offers an accessible but comprehensive introduction to comparative research methods and statistics for students of political science. Clearly organized around three parts, the text introduces the main theories and methodologies used in the discipline. Part 1 frames the comparative approach within the methodological framework of the political and social sciences. Part 2 introduces basic descriptive and inferential statistical methods as well as more advanced multivariate methods used in quantitative political analysis. Part 3 applies the methods and techniques of Parts 1 & 2 to research questions drawn from contemporary themes and issues in political science. Incorporating practice exercises, ideas for further reading and summary questions throughout, Doing Research in Political Science provides an invaluable step-by-step guide for students and researchers in political science, comparative politics and empirical political analysis.

Understanding Political Science Research Methods

Author: Maryann Barakso
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 113662239X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 250

Book Description
This text starts by explaining the fundamental goal of good political science research—the ability to answer interesting and important questions by generating valid inferences about political phenomena. Before the text even discusses the process of developing a research question, the authors introduce the reader to what it means to make an inference and the different challenges that social scientists face when confronting this task. Only with this ultimate goal in mind will students be able to ask appropriate questions, conduct fruitful literature reviews, select and execute the proper research design, and critically evaluate the work of others. The authors' primary goal is to teach students to critically evaluate their own research designs and others’ and analyze the extent to which they overcome the classic challenges to making inference: internal and external validity concerns, omitted variable bias, endogeneity, measurement, sampling, and case selection errors, and poor research questions or theory. As such, students will not only be better able to conduct political science research, but they will also be more savvy consumers of the constant flow of causal assertions that they confront in scholarship, in the media, and in conversations with others. Three themes run through Barakso, Sabet, and Schaffner’s text: minimizing classic research problems to making valid inferences, effective presentation of research results, and the nonlinear nature of the research process. Throughout their academic years and later in their professional careers, students will need to effectively convey various bits of information. Presentation skills gleaned from this text will benefit students for a lifetime, whether they continue in academia or in a professional career. Several distinctive features make this book noteworthy: A common set of examples threaded throughout the text give students a common ground across chapters and expose them to a broad range of subfields in the discipline. Box features throughout the book illustrate the nonlinear, "non-textbook" reality of research, demonstrate the often false inferences and poor social science in the way the popular press covers politics, and encourage students to think about ethical issues at various stages of the research process.

Politics on the Internet

Author: Steve Buckler
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415267714
Category : Political science
Languages : en
Pages : 125

Book Description
This indispensable new text equips the reader with the key skills needed to cut through the mass of material the web offers and harness its real power. Today's students and scholars need new coherent strategies to approach their interests and get the best out of information technology, this superb book builds and strengthens these skills.

Writing in Political Science

Author: Diane E. Schmidt
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1351252828
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 546

Book Description
A complete, professional resource for writing an effective paper in all subfields of political science, Diane Schmidt’s 25th anniversary edition provides students with a practical, easy-to-follow guide for writing about political ideas, events, policies, passions, agendas, and processes. It offers additional formats and guidelines focusing on the growing use of social media and the need for professional communication in blogs, tweets, forums, media sites, lectures on demand, and postings on websites. A collection of student papers shows students how to write well for better grades. After reading Writing in Political Science students will know how to: choose and narrow a research topic; formulate a research agenda; quickly locate reputable information online; execute a study and write up findings; use the vocabulary of political science discourse; follow the criteria used to evaluate student assignments when writing; apply writing skills to an internship, civic engagement project, or grant proposal; and manage and preserve achievements for career development. New to the Fifth Edition Locating Research Materials: Updated links to all sources, expansion of appropriate sources to include mobile sources available through tweets, blogs, forums, and other informal communication; expansion of tools to include database searching; use of smart phone technology; and evaluation of source reliability to include commercial sources, Wikipedia, media sites, social media, and lectures on demand. Creating Evidence: Evaluating data sources on the web including government databases, non-profits, and special interest/commercial data; and using collaborative forms of data collection. Includes a new section on Memorandums of Conversations (MEMCON), essential in recent political controversies. Manuscript Formatting and Reference Styles: Updated examples of citing internet sites, blogs, forums, lectures on demand, and YouTube. Format/Examples: Updated exam-writing treatment to include on-line, e-learning, open-book exams, media applications examples using YouTube and online media; restored legal briefs treatment; revised proposal examples; revised PowerPoint instructions to include diversity considerations; expanded formula for standard research papers to include wider disciplinary treatment, expanded communication techniques, format and examples of appropriate posting for social media and organizational websites, expanded internship treatment, inclusion of needs-assessment format and examples. Career Development: Restoration of 3rd edition chapter and expansion of professional portfolio building including vitae, resume, cover letters, letters of intent, statement of purpose, and skills/competency discussions. Updated citations for changes in The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition, 2017 and The MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 8th Edition, 2016.