ABSTRACT
In contrast with an approach that holds culture to be the key explanation of Indian resilience (Dumont 1970; Kothari 1970), or one for which context plays an equivalent role (Weiner 1968; Wood 1984; Frankel and Rao 1989, 1990), the criteria for hypothesis testing and a sampling frame are crucial to the approach that underpins this book. The rational choice neo-institutional model of governance (Figure 1.5), based on the abstract logic of governance, generates a need for measurements that are precise, representative of the underlying population, empirically valid, and comprehensive, and that bridge the inter-subjectivity of the actor and the observer. It is thus imperative to specify the key components of the model in a form that both the actor and the observer can recognise as their own but one that is still precise enough for hypothesis testing and generalisation. In order to meet these objectives, this chapter specifies indicators for the measurement of the key concepts; identifies the sources of data; develops a research design to generate a database; and sets up the parameters for hypothesis testing using quantitative, qualitative and discourse data.
