The Craft of Political Research is a non-technical introduction to
research design and analysis in political science, emphasizing the
choices we make when we design a research project and analyze its
results. The book's approach centers on asking an interesting
research question, and then designing inquiry into the question so
as to eliminate as many alternative explanations as possible. How
do we develop theory, and what constitutes a good research
question? How do we develop measures and gather evidence to answer
a question? How do we analyze our findings? Students will be
introduced to such topics as multidimensional concepts, levels of
measurement, validity, reliability, random and non-random
measurement error, sampling, case selection, causality,
experimental and quasi-experimental design, statistical inference,
and regression and correlation analysis. Throughout, the emphasis
is on understanding the "back story" of analysis - why do we
measure in a particular way, why do we choose one design as against
another, why do we conduct our analysis as we do. Emphasizing the
internal logic of research methods and the collaborative nature of
the research process, the greatest strength of the book is its
clarity and the large range of political science examples it
provides. It works at a conceptual level, seeking an understanding
of the principles that underlie techniques and the reasons that we
choose them. New to this edition: Updated and international
examples from the US, UK, Latin America and China amongst others,
and international organizations such as the World Bank and the
United Nations. New section, "Reading Political Science" reviews
sources of published political research, with some broad principles
for how to find good sources, and advises students on what to look
for in reading a research report New section, "Gathering Accurate
Information" reviews published sources of data, such as UNESCO, and
offers advice about how to use such sources. It advises students on
how to gather data in personal interviews and it acquaints them
with publicly available data sets for secondary analysis. Online
material featuring revised learning objectives for each chapter,
and a new section offering projects and questions for each chapter.
General
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