The Craft of Political Research immerses readers not only in how political scientists work but also in how ideas produce research questions and guide the selection of research methods.
Emphasizing the internal logic of research methods and the collaborative nature of the research process, this slender text explores the design behind interesting questions, problems in measurement and analysis, and key statistical methods. Brief and inexpensive to include in any course, The Craft of Political Research’s elegant explanations inspire a big picture understanding of how political scientists explain political reality and encourage students to create their own inventive, original, and bold research work.
Features include:
- Focuses on the big picture of how good research leads to good theories instead of just what research method to use.
- Provides concise and accessible coverage of key topics, including the nature of research, research design, sampling, statistical analysis, ethics, and more.
- Includes detailed examples of classic and contemporary political science research to give students models for their own original research.
“The Craft of Political Research is just what one hopes for in an undergraduate methods course. It is more theoretically engaged than most such texts, and the conceptual discussion is non-sectarian. Marx and Duverger make an appearance; so do Mancur Olson and Anthony Downs; so do Philip Converse and Robert Putnam. Students will learn that ideas matter, not the statistical software; and they will see that theoretical narrowness is the antithesis of good science.”–from Christopher H. Achen’s Foreword
