ABSTRACT

Empirical Political Analysis introduces readers to the foundations of social science research. Organized around the stages of the research process, this textbook prepares readers to conduct both quantitative and qualitative research, from the formation of theory through the design of research projects, to the collection of data and the analysis of results. It offers a clear and concise presentation of basic concepts and tools that can be applied in a wide range of research settings and highlights ethical conduct in the research process. It will help you both to achieve sound results in your own research and to critically evaluate research presented by others.

Key features:

  • Offers comprehensive coverage of quantitative and qualitative research methods in political science – this book is one of the key texts in the field of political research methods since it was 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.
  • Includes learning goals, key terms, and research examples to help students engage and explore the most important concepts.

New to this edition:

  • Updated and international case studies.
  • New material on understanding research design – what constitutes a sound research design and how this contributes to being able to justify research findings.

part I|14 pages

Introduction

chapter 1|12 pages

Research as a Process

part II|125 pages

Preparing to Do Research

chapter 2|19 pages

Building Theories and Hypotheses

chapter 3|33 pages

Developing Your Literature Review

chapter 5|25 pages

From Abstract to Concrete

Operationalization and Measurement

chapter 6|15 pages

Research Design

Attributing Causation Through Control

chapter 7|18 pages

Who, What, Where, When

The Problem of Sampling

part III|75 pages

Quantitative Methods

chapter 8|24 pages

Survey Research

Characterizing a Broader Population

chapter 9|12 pages

Creating Complex Indicators

Using Scaling Techniques

chapter 10|12 pages

Content Analysis

Researching Textual Material

chapter 11|14 pages

Aggregate Data

Studying Groups

chapter 12|11 pages

Comparative Methods

Research Across Populations

part IV|65 pages

Analyzing Quantitative Data

chapter 13|10 pages

Coding Data

Preparing Observations for Analysis

chapter 14|12 pages

Tables and Charts

Visually Describing the Data

chapter 15|11 pages

Statistics I

Summarizing Distributions on One Variable

chapter 16|19 pages

Statistics II

Relationships Between Two Variables

chapter 17|11 pages

Statistics III

Relationships Among Several Variables

part V|47 pages

Qualitative Methods

chapter 18|19 pages

Direct Observation

Systematically Watching Behavior

chapter 19|16 pages

Focus Group Research

chapter 20|10 pages

Elite and Specialized Interviewing

part VI|34 pages

Conclusion

chapter 21|15 pages

The Research Report

Diagramming a Sample Article

chapter 22|17 pages

Summary

Overview of a Research Process