ABSTRACT
This chapter presents some closing thoughts on the key concepts discussed in the preceding chapters of this book. The book presents the research process, data collection and analysis are carried out in order to test hypotheses. It aims to facilitate the attacking research questions with a full understanding of the research process rather than a disjointed focus on each stage as it is reached. A good research design, then, begins with a review of the literature. That review can suggest the major alternative rival hypotheses that must be ruled out before people can place confidence in the central explanation of observed events. In the design of research, as in the selection of hypotheses and the devising of measures, it is essential to ask whether people are setting themselves too ambitious a task. For political scientists, ethical responsibilities cannot be overemphasized, because it is necessary to conduct the research on people's behavior, for people.
