This volume offers unique perspectives on how to engage in methods of inquiry in Political Science. Applying the debate in the field over the validity of qualitative methods, the authors illustrate how various methodological approaches are both rigorous and empirically rich. Each of the chapters consists of a particular methodological approach that offers useful insight into pressing political problems important for policy and for theory building. Drawing upon both positivist and interpretive approaches, the chapters illustrate how to engage in qualitative research involving case studies, content analysis and ethnography, each outlining the “doing” part of research. The volume is theoretically, thematically and geographically diverse, important for students and scholars across the field.

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.

From the fifteenth International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, this book foregrounds and engages with new ways of a politics of resistance and critical qualitative inquiry in these troubling times.

This book offers insights on politics and ethics of representation that are relevant to researchers concerned with struggles for justice. It takes moments of discomfort in the qualitative research process as important sites of knowledge for exploring representational practices in critical research. The Politics and Ethics of Representation in Qualitative Research draws on experiences from research processes in nine PhD projects. In some chapters, ethical and political dilemmas related to representational practices are analyzed as experienced in fieldwork. In others, the focus is on the production of representation at the stage of writing. The book deals with questions such as: What does it mean to write about the lives of others? How are ethics and politics of representation intertwined, and how are they distinct? How are politics of representation linked to a practice of solidarity in research? What are the im/possibilities of hope and care in research? Drawing on grounded empirical research, the book offers input to students, PhDs, researchers, practitioners, activists and others dealing with methodological dilemmas from a critical perspective. Instead of ignoring discomforts, or describing them as solved, we stay with them, showing how such a reflective process provides new, ongoing insights. The Open Access version of this book, available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/e/9780429299674, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.

Empirical Political Analysis introduces students to the full range of qualitative and quantitative methods used in political science research. Organized around all of the stages of the research process, this comprehensive text surveys designing experiments, conducting research, evaluating results, and presenting findings. With exercises in the text and in a companion lab manual, Empirical Political Analysis gives students applied insights on the scopes and methods of political science research. Features: Offers comprehensive coverage of quantitative and qualitative research methods in political science, a hallmark since it first published over 25 years ago. Covers the research process from start to finish—hypothesis formation, literature review, research design, data gathering, data analysis, and research report writing. Includes in-depth examples of political science research to give discipline-specific instruction on political analysis. Features a “Practical Research Ethics” box in every chapter to make students aware of common ethical dilemmas and potential solutions to them. Written by political scientists who actively publish in subfields ranging from comparative politics to environmental policy to political communications to voting behavior. Includes learning goals, key terms, and research examples to help students engage and explore the most important concepts.

This is the perfect guide to conducting a research project in politics and international relations. From formulating a research question and conducting a literature review to writing up and disseminating your work, this book guides you through the research process from start to finish. The book: - Is focused specifically on research methods in politics and IR - Introduces the central methodological debates in a clear, accessible style - Considers the key questions of ethics and research design - Covers both qualitative and quantitative approaches - Shows you how to choose and implement the right methods in your own project The book features two example research projects – one from politics, one from IR – that appear periodically throughout the book to show you how real research looks at each stage of the process. Packed full of engaging examples, it provides you with all you need to know to coordinate your own research project in politics and international relations.

Qualitative Inquiry at a Crossroads critically reflects on the ever-changing dynamics of qualitative research in the contemporary moment. We live at a crossroads in which the spaces for critical civic discourse are narrowing, in which traditional political ideologies are now questioned: there is no utopian vision on the horizon, only fear and doubt. The moral and ethical foundations of democracy are under assault, global inequality is on the rise, facts are derided as ‘fake news’—an uncertain future stands at our door. Premised on the belief that our troubled times call for a critical inquiry that matters—a discourse committed to a politics of resistance, a politics of possibility—leading international contributors from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Spain, Norway, and Denmark present a range of perspectives, challenges, and opportunities for the field. In so doing, they wrestle with questions concerning the intersecting vectors of method, politics, and praxis. More specifically, contributors engage with issues ranging from indigenous and decolonizing methods, arts-based research, and intersectionality to debates over the research marketplace, accountability metrics, and emergent forays into post-qualitative inquiry.

In Doing Good Qualitative Research, Jennifer Cyr and Sara Wallace Goodman bring together over forty experts to provide one of the first comprehensive introductions to using qualitative methods across the social sciences, from start to finish. Each chapter introduces the theoretical considerations and best practices involved in the application of qualitative data collection and analysis. Additionally, contributors provide first-person accounts of methodology in action, address the expected and unexpected challenges associated with conducting qualitative research, and demonstrate the real-world applications of academic debates.

Qualitative comparative methods – and specifically controlled qualitative comparisons – are central to the study of politics. They are not the only kind of comparison, though, that can help us better understand political processes and outcomes. Yet there are few guides for how to conduct non-controlled comparative research. This volume brings together chapters from more than a dozen leading methods scholars from across the discipline of political science, including positivist and interpretivist scholars, qualitative methodologists, mixed-methods researchers, ethnographers, historians, and statisticians. Their work revolutionizes qualitative research design by diversifying the repertoire of comparative methods available to students of politics, offering readers clear suggestions for what kinds of comparisons might be possible, why they are useful, and how to execute them. By systematically thinking through how we engage in qualitative comparisons and the kinds of insights those comparisons produce, these collected essays create new possibilities to advance what we know about politics.

Thoroughly updated, more concise than the previous edition, and available for the first time in paperback, "Research Methods for Political Science" is designed to help students learn what to research, why to research, and how to research. The text integrates both quantitative and qualitative approaches to research in one volume, and includes the most comprehensive coverage of qualitative methods currently available. It covers such important topics as research design, specifying research problems, designing questionnaries and writing questions, designing and carrying out qualitative research, and analyzing both quantitative and qualitative research data. Heavily illustrated, classroom tested, and exceptionally readable and engaging, the text also provides specific instructions on the use of available statistical software programs such as Excel and SPSS.