Summary of Content

CONTENTS

2 Summary of Content:

The module is designed to allow students to develop a critical understanding of the methodological issues involved in designing and undertaking research in the discipline of politics and international relations and to strengthen their ability to read and evaluate political science literature more generally. The first part of the module focuses on issues of research design. It exposes students to a broad range of methodological issues involved in designing, conducting and writing up research based on a relative small number of cases in areas of comparative politics, international relations, political theory and public policy. Topics that are addressed in the module include issues involved in developing a research question, problems of conceptualisation, measurement, and strategies and approaches to causal theorising in small N research. The second part of the module addresses various methods of generating and processing data for research in politics. Methods that are covered include the use of documentary sources, textual analysis observation and ethnographic research, and various forms of interviewing. Throughout the module you will be developing a feasible research proposal. This requires reading and summarising a minimum of two articles/book chapters per week on a topic of your choice. This will be used to inform your dissertation proposal.

Educational Aims:

The module seeks:  to provide students with an understanding of the stages and issues that are involved in designing research in political science, international relations and political theory;  to encourage students to apply the research design tools for the critical assessment of literature in political science ;  to familiarise students with different techniques of generating and processing data, and to encourage students to critically use and assess these techniques;  to promote students' ability to develop and design their own research project.

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the semester, students should  have developed a critical understanding of the main methodological issues involved in designing and undertaking political science research;  be able to apply and critically consider different qualitative methods of generating data in political science research;  be able to critically evaluate political science and political theory literature from a methodological point of view;  have acquired the basic toolkit to design their own research project.

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Module Evaluation:

Evaluation and feedback are crucial to the success of any module. The School wants students to have their say on Politics modules. Therefore modules are formally evaluated on a biennial basis, so please use this opportunity to have your say. If you have any other comments or queries regarding this module, please contact the Module Convenor.

4 Seminar Titles:

You are expected to attend the seminars, to prepare for the seminars and to contribute regularly. The seminars are supposed to provide a setting to critically discuss and assess the literature listed for each week, and to discuss examples of their application in different areas of political science. Moreover, you may be given small assignments applying the method in question in advance of the seminars. The assignments will eventually be discussed in the seminars. The discussions and explorations in the seminars do therefore critically depend on your willingness to actively engage with the module.

Week 1 Introduction and overview (w/c 24-01-11)

Week 2 Theory and political research 1 (w/c 31-01-11)

Week 3 Theory and political research 2 (w/c 07-02-11)

Week 4 Developing a research project (w/c 14-02-11)

Week 5 Causal inference in small N research (w/c 21-02-11)

Week 6 Causal inference in case study research (w/c 28-02-11)

Week 7 Documentary, archival and textual analysis (w/c 07.03-11)

Week 8 Research proposal session (w/c 14-03-11)

Week 9 Individual and group interviewing (w/c 21-03-11)

Week 10 Observation and analysing data (w/c 28-03-11)

Week 11 Research Proposal Session (w/c 03-05-11)

Method and Frequency of Class:

Activity Number of Sessions Duration of a Session Lecture - - Seminar 11 2 hours

Location of Seminar I: UP-LASS-A4 Day: Monday Time: 13.00 - 15.00

Location of Seminar II: UP-HEMSLEY-B7

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Day: Wednesday Time: 09.00 - 11.00

Method of Assessment:

This 20 credit/15 credit module will be assessed on the following basis:

Assessment Type Weight Requirements

Coursework 1 40% 1 x 2,000 word critical review (1 x 1,500 word critical review for 15 credit version) Coursework 1 60% 1 x 3,000 word research report (1 x 2,500 word research report for 15 credit version)

The assessment for the module consists of two elements (see table above). For the 20 credits version of this module (M14320) students must complete a 2,000 word critical review (excluding bibliography but including footnotes) and a 3,000 word research report (again excluding bibliography but including footnotes). The critical review counts 40 per cent of the final mark and the research report 60 per cent. For the 15 credits version of this module (M14321) students must complete a 1,500 word critical book review (excluding bibliography but including footnotes) and a 2500 word research report (again excluding bibliography but including footnotes). The critical book review counts 40 per cent of the final mark and the research report 60 per cent.

CRITICAL REVIEW

Chose two articles from the following list of journals, and critically evaluate the methods employed in your chosen articles.

American Journal of Political Science American Political Science Review British Journal of Political Science Comparative Political Studies Contemporary Political Theory International Organization Journal of Politics Millennium Philosophy and Social Criticism Political Studies Political Theory World Politics

6 The main aim of the critical review is to analyze and discuss the research design and methods employed in the articles that you have chosen. The review will include a short summary of the main research questions and arguments that are raised in the articles, and compare and contrast them on key issues such as methods of data collection, inferences drawn, and ethical considerations. You may also choose a journal that is not listed below, but you will need the approval of the module convenor.

NB: the articles you chose should ideally have been published in the last 10 -15 years. Although I recognise that this will not always be possible

RESEARCH REPORT

For the 'research report', you are required to prepare a research proposal, in which you  Develop a research problem;  Develop and clearly state a research question;  Develop and formulate hypotheses and consider issues of theory development;  Discuss and propose a design of your research project, including questions of conceptualisation, measurement, case selection and inference;  Discuss and propose methods for undertaking the research project; and  Outline primary and secondary sources for the conduct of your research project and provide a bibliography at the end of your proposal.

The deadline for the submission for

 The critical review (coursework I) should be submitted to the School Office by 4pm Thursday 10th of March 2011

 The research proposal (coursework II) should be submitted to the School Office by 4pm Wednesday 11th of May 2011

Procedure for submitting the coursework:

1. Submit an electronic copy of your essay via the module’s WebCT site 2. Make sure you take note of the individual ID number that will be generated once you have successfully uploaded it. This process is self- explanatory. 3. After you have done that – and only then – you must submit two hard copies of the essay. One submission sheet should be completed and attached to the top copy of the essay. You are required to enter the WebCT ID number on the cover sheet, as proof that you have submitted the essay electronically. 4. The submission sheet and the top of page of each copy of your essay should then be date stamped, and posted in the filing cabinet in front of

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 the School Office. 5. Failure to complete either process ie. Electronic and/or hard copy submission will result in late submission penalties being applied

Please note that the School Office will be open from 10am till 4pm (Monday to Friday) on submission days. Essays handed in after 4pm will be stamped as late and the usual University penalties will be applied unless an extension has been approved in advance. Applications for extensions will not normally be considered retrospectively. Any student wishing to apply for an extension should collect and complete the necessary forms from the School Office and submit these to the relevant Year Tutor together with any necessary documentary evidence.

The standard University penalty for late submission should be 5% absolute standard University scale per normal working day, until the mark reaches zero. For example, an original mark of 67% would be successively reduced to 62%, 57%, 52%, 47% etc. Normal working days include vacation periods, but not weekends or public holidays.

The electronic copies will be scanned to detect plagiarism. It is therefore imperative that you consult the Student Handbook, which outlines what is counted as plagiarism and advises you how to avoid it. Failure to submit an electronic copy even if you submit two hard copies on time will mean that the essay will be counted as having not been submitted.

Plagiarism is a serious offence and University regulations will be applied.

Reading Information:

Several questions are set out at the beginning of each week's reading list. These questions are designed to illustrate some of the key issues concerning the topic, to help you prepare individual sessions, and to structure the seminar discussion. The reading list is divided into two sections. 'Essential Reading' is the central reading for the topic; it provides an introduction and overview to the topic and has been designed to provide both several differing and often conflicting viewpoints on the topic. It is therefore important that students read all or most of these items. The 'Further Reading' list has two functions: first, to allow students interested in the topic to deepen their knowledge, especially with respect to the preparation of the individual research report and the critical book review (see below); second, to offer alternative sources in the event that essential readings are difficult to obtain.

There is no single course book but the following offer a good introductory and background reading to the course.

8 *Della Porta, D. and M. Keating (eds) (2008) Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press. (recommended for purchase). Bauer, Martin W. and George Gaskell (2000) Qualitative Researching with Text, Image, and Sound: A Practical Handbook. London: SAGE Publications. Brady, Henry, and David Collier (eds) (2004) Re-thinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers Bryman, Alan (2007) Social Research Methods. 3rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Burnham, Peter, Kathryn Gillard, Wyn Grant, and Zig Layton-Henry (2004) Research Methods in Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Dunleavy, Patrick (2003) Authoring a PhD: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation. London: Palgrave. *Geddes, Barbara (2003) Paradigms and Sand Castles: Theory Building and Research Design in Comparative Politics. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. George, Alexander, and Andrew Bennett (2005) Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Gerring, John (2001) Social Science Methodology: A Criterial Framework. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gerring, John (2007) Case Study Research. Principles and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gilbert, Nigel. ed. (2001) Researching Social Life, 2nd Ed. London: SAGE Publications. Goertz, Gary (2006) Social Science Concepts. A User’s Guide. Princeton University Press. Gschwend, Thomas, and Frank Schimmelfennig (eds) (2007) Research Design in Political Science. How to Practice What They Preach. Basingstoke: Palgrave. King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, Sidney Verba (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Ragin, Charles (1987) The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press. Ragin, Charles (1994) Constructing Social Research: The Unity and Diversity of Method. Thousand Oaks: Northwestern University Press. Ragin, Charles C. (2000) Fuzzy-Set Social Science. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Van Evera, Stephen (1997) Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.

Coursework Support:

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 The Hallward Library and Halls of Residence have a number of networked PCs to facilitate access to information on holdings.

As Module Convenor please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any difficulties with the module or assessed work. I will be available without appointment during my office hours. Appointments to meet at other times can be made by calling me on my direct line or via email. My contact details together with office hours are noted at the front of this module outline.

Guidance to Essay Writing:

A short guide for students on essay writing skills and an outline of the marking criteria used by staff is available on the School intranet.

10 Week 1 Introduction and Overview

Week 2 Theory and Political Research 1

Issues and Questions This session introduces students to key concepts and methodological approaches in undertaking political research.  What do you understand by the terms epistemology, ontology, positivism, realism and interpretivism?  What role, if any, does ontology and epistemology play in research strategy?  Identify two different theoretical approaches to research and assess their respective methodological perspectives.  What is the difference between methods and methodology?  What is the difference between inductive and deductive theory?  Identify differences between quantitative and qualitative approaches to research.

Essential Readings Bryman, Alan (2001) Social Research Methods. Second Edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch 1 pp 3-25 Marsh, D. and G. Stoker, Eds. (2002). Theory and Methods in Political Science. Second Edition Houndsmill, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Ch 1 Marsh, D. and G. Stoker, Eds. (2002). Theory and Methods in Political Science. Second Edition Houndsmill, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Ch 6 and Ch 9

Further Reading Bennett Andrew, Aharon Barth, and Ken Rutherford (2003), “Do we Preach What we Practice? A survey of Methods in Journals and Graduate Curricula,” PS: Political Science and Politics 36 (July), 373–378. Chalmers Alan F. (1999), What Is This Thing Called Science? (Hackett Publishing) Ch 1-10 Lin Ann Chih, "Bridging Positivist and Interpretive Approaches to Qualitative Methods," Policy Studies Journal 26:1(1998): 162-180. Bennett Andrew, “A Lakatosian Reading of Lakatos: What Can we Salvage from the Hard Core?,” in Colin and Miriam Elman, Progress in International Relations Theory: Metrics and Methods of Scientific Change, MIT Press 2001. George, Alexander, and Andrew Bennett (2005) Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, preface to Case Studies and Theory Development (MIT Press). Hempel Carl G., "The Function of General Laws in History" Journal of Philosophy 39 (1942), pp. 35-48. ejournal Keohane, King, and Verba (hereafter KKV), Designing Social Inquiry pp. 3- 33, 99-114. M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Taylor Charles, "Interpretation and the Sciences of Man,” in Paul Rabinow and William Sullivan, Interpretive Social Science: A Second Look, pp. 33-81. Van Evera Stephen, Guide to Methodology for Students of Political Science, pp. 89-121. Geertz Clifford, The Interpretation of Cultures, (Basic, 1973), Ch. 1. HM101.G4 Feldman Martha S.. Strategies for interpreting qualitative data. (Sage, 1995), chapters 1 and 3. HM131.F4

Week 3 Theory and Political Research 2

Issues and Questions This session introduces students to key theoretical approaches in undertaking research in political science, international relations and political theory.  Identify whether you going to do a MA dissertation in political science, international relations and political theory?  Draw a table outlining the main theoretical approaches of the sub- discipline you have identified with.  Identify which theoretical approach you are going to use and justify your choice.  Explain why you are not using the alternative theoretical approaches.  What is the ontology and epistemology of your approach?

Essential Readings

Marsh, D. and G. Stoker, Eds. (2002). Theory and Methods in Political Science. Second Edition Houndsmill, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan. Ch 6 and Ch 9

Further Readings

Baylis, J., Owens, P. and Smith, S. (eds) (2005) The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations. Oxford: Oxford University Press Brown, C. and Kirsten, A (2009) Understanding International Relations 4th edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Burchill, S. et al (2009) Theories of International Relations 4th edition. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Leopold, D and Stears, M (eds) (2008) Political Theory: Methods and Approaches. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Marsh, D. and G. Stoker, Eds. (2002). Theory and Methods in Political Science. Second Edition Houndsmill, Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

12 Monroe, K.R (eds) (1997) Contemporary Empirical Political Theory. Berkeley: University Of California Press.

Steans, J. et al (2010) International relations: perspective and themes 3rd edition . London: Longman.

Tully, J. (eds) (1989) Meaning and Context: Quentin Skinner and his Critics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Week 4 Developing a Research Project

Issues and Questions This session provides an overview of the challenges in designing research in political science. It discusses the research cycle from choosing a topic to designing, conducting and delivering the results of your research. The session puts particular emphasis on the issues of selecting a research topic and developing a research question, both of which are important for the preparation of your research proposal. Moreover, the lecture will address the role of a literature review in preparing and writing a research proposal.

Key issues that will be addressed include  What is a research design and what are the different types of research design?  What is a research question and how do I develop a 'good' research question?  How does the research question I choose affect the answer I get?  What is a literature review and what is its purpose?  Why are we concerned with the formation of concepts and what criteria should we take into account in order to form 'good' concepts?  What are classifications, typologies and indices?  What common pitfalls of concept formation can be identified and how can they be avoided?  What is causation and what conceptions of causation can we distinguish?  What is inference and what is the difference between descriptive and causal inference?

Questions  What are the key concepts of your research proposal?  Provide an etymology/history of the different ways in which your key concepts have been used in your discipline.  How do you intend to use your concept? Justify your answer.

Bring to the seminar Essential Readings *Mair, P. (2008) Concepts and Concept Formation. In D. Della Porta and M. Keating (eds.), Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. CUP.

Geddes, Barbara (2003) Paradigms and Sand Castles: Theory Building and Research Design in Comparative Politics. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Chs 1-2. King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, Sidney Verba (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Ch 1.

14 Gerring, John (2001) Social Science Methodology: A Criterial Framework. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chs 3-4.

Examples of concept formation, typologies and classifications in action: Lijphart, A (1999) Patterns of Democracy. New Haven: Yale University. Read Chs 1-3. Lijphart, A (ed.) (1992) Parliamentary versus Presidential Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Introduction by Lijphart King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, Sidney Verba (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Chs 2-3. For the critique check out the debate in APSR (1995) and the chapters in Brady/Collier (2004), see below. Lijphart, Arend (1971) Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method. American Political Science Review 65(3): 682-693. (e-journal).

Task: Read the introduction only of the following articles and identify the research topic, the research question(s), the research problem (why does the question matter), and the argument of the articles.

McNamera, K (2002) ‘The Diffusion of Central bank Independence as an Organization Form’, West European Politics 25(1) (e-journal) Schmidt, VA (2002) Does Discourse Matter in the Politics of Welfare State Adjustment?. Comparative Political Studies 35(2): 168-193 (e-journal). Steinmo, S, and Tolbert, CJ (1998) Do Institutions really Matter? Taxation in Industrialized Democracies. Comparative Political Studies 31(2): 165-187 (e-journal).

Further Reading (Searching Literature and Doing a Literature Review) *Della Porta, D. and M. Keating (eds) (2008) Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press. Chapter by Schmitter. Brady, H, and D Collier (eds) (2004) Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tool, Shared Standards. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield. Check p. 37; if you feel like it read the entire Ch 2 (Collier/Seawright/Munck). Bryman, Alan (2007) Social Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Part One. Dawson, Heather (2003) Using the Internet for Political Research: Practical Tips and Hints. Oxford: Chandos. Dunleavy, Patrick (2003) Authoring a PhD: How to Plan, Draft, Write and Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation. London: Palgrave. Google Scholar (http://scholar.google.co.uk/) Hart, Chris (2001) Doing a Literature Search. London: SAGE Publications. IBSS International Bibliography of the Social Sciences (access via EBSCO- HOST) (An IBSS-research is an excellent way of searching literature that might be relevant for your research project!). Van Evera, Stephen (1997) Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Chs 1, 3-4.

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Weber, Max [1919] (1948) Science as a Vocation. In From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology. H.H. Gerth, and C.Wright Mills. eds. London: Routledge.

Further Reading (Concept formation and inference) American Political Science Review Vol. 89, No. 2, June 1995. Symposium on the Qualitative-Quantitative Disputation: Gary King, Robert O. Keohane, Sidney Verba's Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research, pp. 454-481. (e-journal). *Della Porta, D. and M. Keating (eds) (2008) Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press. Chapter by Mair (see above). *Della Porta, D. and M. Keating (eds) (2008) Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press. Chapter by Heritier. Sartori, G (1984) Guidelines for Concept Analysis. In Social Science Concepts: A Systematic Analysis. Beverley Hills: SAGE, pp. 15-48. Sartori, Giovanni (1991) Comparing and Miscomparing. Journal of Theoretical Politics 3(3): 243-257. (copy available from JMS) Bailey, Kenneth D. (1994) Typologies and Taxonomies: An Introduction to Classification Techniques. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. Brady, H, and D Collier (eds) (2004) Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tool, Shared Standards. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield. Chs 2 – 5 and 10 – 12. Burnham, Peter, Kathryn Gillard, Wyn Grant, and Zig Layton-Henry (2004) Research Methods in Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Ch 3. Campbell, D and J Stanley (1966) Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Designs for Research. Chicago: Rand McNally. Theory. John H. Goldthorpe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 137-160. Collier, David, and Steven Levitsky (1997) Democracy with Adjectives: Conceptual Innovations in Comparative Research. World Politics 49: 430- 51. (e-journal). Collier, David, and James E. Mahony (1993) Conceptual 'Stretching' Revisited: American Political Science Review 87(4): 845-855. (e-journal). Collier, David (1993) The Comparative Method. In Political Science: The State of the Discipline II. Ada W. Finifter. ed. Washington, DC: The American Political Science Association, pp. 105-120. (Evaluates Lijphart’s (1971) article taking into account recent developments). Collier, David, and Robert Adcock (1999) Democracy and Dichotomies: A Pragmatic Approach to Choices about Concepts. Annual Review of Political Science 2: 537-565. (e-journal). Cook, T and D Campbell (1979) Quasi-Experimentation: Design and Analysis Issues for Field Settings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. Elkins, Z (2000) Gradations of Democracy? Empirical Tests of Alternative Conceptualisations. American Journal of Political Science 44(2) (e- journal). Gerring, John (2001) Social Science Methodology: A Criterial Framework. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Chs 6-7.

16 Goldthorpe, John H. (2000) Causation, Statistics, and Sociology. In On Sociology: Numbers, Narratives, and the Integration of Research and Green, D and A Gerber (2001) Reclaiming the Experimental Tradition in Political Science. In Political Science: The State of the Discipline. 3rd Ed, Ira Katznelson and Helen Milner (eds). Marsh, Michael, and Gerry Stoker. eds. (2002) Theory and Methods in Political Science, 2nd Ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Ch 9 McDermott (2002) Experimental Research in Political Science. Annual Political Science Review 5: 31-61. (e-journal). Pennings, Paul, Hans Keman, and Jan Kleinnijenhuis (1999) Doing Research in Political Science: An Introduction to Comparative Methods and Statistics. London: SAGE Publications. Chs 1-2. Peters, B. Guy (1998) Comparative Politics: Theory and Methods. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. Chs. 1-3. Peters, B. Guy (1998) Comparative Politics: Theory and Methods. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. Ch 4. Przeworski, Adam, and Henry Teune (1970) The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry. New York: Wiley. Ragin, Charles (1987) The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press. Sartori, Giovanni (1970) Concept Misformation in Comparative Politics. American Political Science Review 64(4): 1033-1053. (e-journal). Stinchcombe, Arthur L. (1968) Constructing Social Theories. New York: Harcourt Brace.

Week 5 Causal Inference in Small-N Research

Issues and Questions  How can we draw inference in small-N research?  How can we design our research in a way that we achieve conditions for valid causal inference?  How should we select cases for inclusion in a study?  What are the sources of selection bias and inefficiency, how do they affect the results of our research and how can we avoid these problems?

Essential reading Mahony, James (2000) Strategies of Causal Inference in Small-N Analysis. Sociological Methods & Research 28(4) 387-424. (e-journal). Geddes, Barbara (2003) Paradigms and Sand Castles: Theory Building and Research Design in Comparative Politics. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Ch on selection bias Ragin, Charles C., and Howard S. Becker (1992) What is a Case? Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry. New York: Cambridge University Press. Ch by Lieberson, reprinted from (1991) in Social Forces.

Small-N research in action. M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Schimmelfennig, Frank, Stefan Engert, and Heiko Knobel (2003) Costs, Commitment and Compliance: The Impact of EU Democratic Conditionality on Latvia, Slovakia and Turkey. Journal of Common Market Studies 41(3). (e-journal). Further Reading *Della Porta, D. and M. Keating (eds) (2008) Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press. Chapter 11 by Della Porta. Brady, H, and D Collier (eds) (2004) Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tool, Shared Standards. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield. Ch 6. Braumoeller, Bear F., and Gary Goertz (2000) The Methodology of Necessary Conditions. American Journal of Political Science 44(4): 844-858. (e- journal). Burnham, Peter, Kathryn Gillard, Wyn Grant, and Zig Layton-Henry (2004) Research Methods in Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Ch 6. Collier, David (1993) The Comparative Method. In Political Science: The State of the Discipline II. Ada W. Finifter. ed. Washington, DC: The American Political Science Association, pp. 105-120. Collier, David, and James Mahony (1996) Insights and Pitfalls: Selection Bias in Qualitative Research. World Politics 49(1): 56-91. (e-journal). Coppedge (1999) Thinking Thin Concepts and Theories: Combining Large N and Small in Comparative Politics. Comparative Politics 31(4): 465-76. (e- journal). DeFelice, Gene (1980) Comparison Misconceived: Common Nonsense in Comparative Politics. Comparative Politics 13:119-126(e-journal). Dion, Douglas (1998) Evidence and Inference in the Comparative Case Study. Comparative Politics 30(2): 127-145. (e-journal). George, Alexander, and Andrew Bennett (2005) Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Ch 8. King, Gary, Robert O. Keohane, Sidney Verba (1994) Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Chs 4-5. Lijphart, Arend (1971) Comparative Politics and the Comparative Method. American Political Science Review 65(3): 682-693. (e-journal). Lijphart, Arend (1975) The Comparable-Cases Strategy in Comparative Research. Comparative Political Studies 8(2): 158-177. Pennings, Paul, Hans Keman, and Jan Kleinnijenhuis (1999) Doing Research in Political Science: An Introduction to Comparative Methods and Statistics. London: SAGE Publications. Ch 3. Peters, B. Guy (1998) Comparative Politics: Theory and Methods. Basingstoke: Macmillan Press. Chs. 1-3. Przeworski, Adam, and Henry Teune (1970) The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry. New York: Wiley. Chs 2-3. Rose, Richard (1991) Comparing Forms of Comparative Analysis. Political Studies 39: 446-462.

18 Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA, Medium N analysis) Ragin, Charles (2000) Fuzzy-Sets Social Sciences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Esp. 120-45, 203-308.

An example of QCA in action Schimmelfennig, F (2004) The Impact of EU Democratic Conditionality in Central and Eastern Europe: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Paper presented at ECPR Second Pan-European Conference, Bologna, 24-26 June 2004. [google it]

Week 6 Causal Inference in Case Study Research

Issues and Questions  What is a case study and what kind of case studies can we distinguish?  To what extent and what techniques do we have available to draw causal inference from case study research?  What is process tracking?

Essential Reading George, A, and A Bennett (2004) Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: MIT Press. Chs 1, 7, 10. Chs 9&10 are highly recommended. Gerring, John (2004) What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for? American Political Science Review 98(2): 341-354. (e-journal).

Case Study research in action: Tracing EU Eastern Enlargement Schimmelfennig, Frank (2003) Strategic Action in a Community Environment. The Decision to Enlarge the European Union to the East. Comparative Political Studies 36 (1/2): 156-183. (e-journal).

Further Reading *Della Porta, D. and M. Keating (eds) (2008) Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Cambridge University Press. Chapter by Vennesson. Achen, Christopher H., and Duncan Snidal (1989) Rational Deterrence Theory and Comparative Case Studies. World Politics 41(2): 143-169. (e- journal). Brady, H, and D Collier (eds) (2004) Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tool, Shared Standards. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield. Ch 7. Eckstein, Harry (1975) Case Study and Theory in Political Science. In Handbook of Political Science: Strategies of Inquiry (Vol 7). Fred I. Greestein, and Nelson W. Polsby. eds. Reading, MA: pp. 79-137. Geddes, Barbara (2003) Paradigms and Sand Castles: Theory Building and Research Design in Comparative Politics. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press. Ch 4.

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Gerring, John (2001) Social Science Methodology: A Criterial Framework. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Ch 9, esp. pp. 215-229. Gerring, John (2007) Case Study Research. Principles and Practices. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Hedstroem, Peter, and Richard Swedberg (1998) Social Mechanisms: An Introductory Essay. In Social Mechanisms: An Analytical Approach to Social Theory. Peter Hedstroem, and Richard Swedberg. eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1-31. Mahony, James, and Dietrich Rueschemeyer (2002) Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (selected chapters) Ragin, Charles C., and Howard S. Becker (1992) What is a Case? Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry. New York: Cambridge University Press. Introduction (pp. 1-18). Skocpol, Theda, and Margaret Somers (1980) The Uses of Comparative History in Macrosocial Inquiry. Comparative Studies in society and History 22: 174-197. (e-journal). Skocpol, Theda. ed. (1984) Vision and Method in Historical Sociology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Van Evera, Stephen (1997) Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. Ch 2. Yin, Robert K. (2003) Case Study Research: Design and Method. 3rd Ed. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications.

Week 7 Documentary, Archival and Textual Analysis

Please submit a three-page draft outline of your research proposal in the seminar!

Questions  What kind of documentary sources can we distinguish and what benefits and problems arise from using documentary sources?  Why use historical and archival evidence in political science research?  What is 'content analysis', how does it work, and what are the strengths and weaknesses of using content analysis as a research method?

Essential Reading *Charteris-Black, J (2006) ‘Britain as a container: immigration metaphors in the 2005 election campaign’ Discourse and Society, 17, pp.563-581.

*Jonathan Flairclough, N (2005) ‘Blair’s contribution to elaborating a new doctrine of international community’. Journal of Language and Politics 4, pp. 41-63

20 Bauer, Martin W. (2000) Classical Content Analysis: A Review. In Qualitative Researching with Text, Image and Sound: A Practical Handbook. Martin W. Bauer, and George Gaskell. eds. London: SAGE Publications, pp. 131- 151. Bryman, Alan (2008) Social Research Methods. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Chs 21 & 26. Gilbert, Nigel. ed. (2001) Researching Social Life, 2nd Ed. London: SAGE Publications. Ch 12 by Macdonald.

Task: In preparation of the seminar, create a list of different types of documentary material that you expect to use in your dissertation (or research proposal).

Further Reading Althaus, Scott L., Jill A Edy, and Patricia F. Phalen (2001) Using Substitutes for Full-Text New Stories in Content Analysis: Which Text Is Best? American Journal of Political Science 45: 707-724. (e-journal). Burnham, Peter, Kathryn Gillard, Wyn Grant, and Zig Layton-Henry (2004) Research Methods in Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Ch 7. Lustick, Ian S. (1996) History, Historiography, and Political Science: Multiple Historical Records and the Problems of Selection Bias. American Political Science Review 90: 605-618. (e-journal). McCullagh, C. Behan (2000) Bias in Historical Description, Interpretation, and Explanation. History and Theory 39: 39-66. (e-journal). Platt, Jennifer (1981) Evidence and Proof in Documentary Research. Sociological Review 29(1): 31-66. (e-journal). Scott, John (1990) A Matter of Record: Documentary Sources in Social Research. Cambridge: Polity Press. The Political Methodologist Vol. 8, No. 1. Fall 1997. Does Historicasl Political Research Pose any Special Methodological Concerns?, pp. 8-21. [google it] Weber, Robert P. (1990) Basic Content Analysis. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications. Woolley, John T. (2000) Using Media-Based Data in Studies of Politics. American Journal of Political Science 44: 156-173. (e-journal).

Week 8 Research Proposal Session

In this session, we will have a workshop where we will discuss your draft research proposals based on the three-page outlines that you have submitted in week 7.

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Week 9 Individual and Group Interviewing

Issues and Questions  Why interview political actors and what research goals can be advanced?  What kind of interviews can we distinguish and what are their strengths and weaknesses?  What is the balance between structure and improvisation when interviewing? To what extent can we establish a clear set of rules or 'canons' for doing good interviews?  What is a focus group? How does it work? What is it good for? How is it different from one-on-one interview? What factors contribute to a successful focus group interview?

Essential Reading Bauer, Martin W., and George Gaskell. eds. (2000) Qualitative Researching with Text, Image and Sound: A Practical Handbook. London: SAGE Publications. Ch 3 by Gaskell. Chs 4&5 by Jovchelovitch/Bauer and by Flick are optional. Bryman, Alan (2008) Social Research Methods. 3rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch 8, 18-19. Gilbert, Nigel. ed. (2001) Researching Social Life, 2nd Ed. London: SAGE Publications. Chs 8 by Fielding and Thomas, and 10 by Cronin. PS: Political Science and Politics, Vol. 35, No. 4, December 2002. Special Issue on Interview Methods in Political Science. [apsa.net]

Further Reading Lilleker, Darren (2003) Interviewing the Political Elite: Navigating a Potential Minefield. Politics 23(3): 207-214. Becker, Theodore, and Peter Meyers (1974/1975) Empathy and Bravado: Interviewing Reluctant Bureaucrats. Public Opinion Quarterly 38(4): 605- 613. (e-journal). Burnham, Peter, Kathryn Gillard, Wyn Grant, and Zig Layton-Henry (2004) Research Methods in Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Ch 9. Kvale, S (1996) InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. More advanced treatment of qualitative interviewing. Morgan, David L. (1997) Focus Groups as Qualitative Research. 2nd Ed. London: SAGE: Publications. Morgan, David L. ed. (1993) Successful Focus Groups: Advancing the State of the Art. Newbury Park: SAGE Publications. Ch 1 by Morgan/Krueger. Peabody, Robert L. et al. (1990) Interviewing Political Elites. PS: Political Science and Politics 23: 451-55. (e-journal). Richard, David (1996) Elite Interviewing: Approaches and Pitfalls. Politics 16(3) : 199-204.

22 Rubin, Herbert J., and Irene S. Rubin (1995) Qualitative Interviewing. The Art of Hearing Data. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications. This is an accessible Introduction to qualitative interviewing. Silverman, David (2001) Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction. London: SAGE Publications. Ch 5.

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11 Week 10 Observation and analyzing data

Issues and Questions  What can we learn by talking to people and observing them and what are we not likely to learn?  Why is observational field research simple, but at the same time immensely complicated?  What sampling technique can be used in (participant) observation?  How should you go about recording and analysing data in (participant) observation?  How can we analyse empirical data?  How can we measure concepts?  How can we address problems of measurement validity?

Essential Reading Bryman, Alan (2008) Social Research Methods. 3rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch 17. Gilbert, Nigel. ed. (2001) Researching Social Life, 2nd Ed. London: SAGE Publications. Ch 9 by Fielding.

Observation-based research in action Fenno, Richard Jr. (1986) Observation, Context, and Sequence in the Study of Politics. American Political Science Review 80(1): 3-15. Fenno, Richard Jr. (1990) Watching Politicians: Essays on Participant Observation. Berkeley: IGS Press. Ch 3. Bryman, Alan (2007) Social Research Methods. 3rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch 22.

Example of questionnaire design, content analysis of interviews and construction of an index. Material will be handed out before the session. Kopecky, P. et al (2007) Party Patronage in New Democracies: Concepts, Measures and the Design of Empirical Inquiry. Paper prepared for Party Patronage Workshop, European University Institute, Florence, 22-23 November, 2007. Meyer-Sahling, J-H., and K. Jáger (2008) Party Patronage in Hungary. Paper prepared for Workshop on Party Patronage in Europe, Leiden University, December 2008.

Further Reading Adcock, Robert, and David Collier (2001) Measurement Validity: A Shared Standard for Qualitative and Quantitative Research. American Political Science Review 95(3): 529-546. (e-journal). Angrosino, Michael, and Kimberley Mays de Perez (2000) Rethinking Observation: From Method to Context. In Handbook of Qualitative

24 Research. Norman K. Denzin, and Yvonna S. Linclon. eds. Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, pp. 673-702. Burgess, Robert G. (1982) Field Research: A Source Book and Field Manual. London: Allen and Unwin. Burgess, Robert G. (1984) In the Field: An Introduction to Field Research. London: Allen & Unwin. Burnham, Peter, Kathryn Gillard, Wyn Grant, and Zig Layton-Henry (2004) Research Methods in Politics. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Ch 10. Geertz, Clifford (1973) Thick Desciption: Toward an Interpretive Theory of Culture. In The Interpretation of Cultures. Clifford Geertz. New York, pp. 3-32. Goertz, Gary (2006) A Checklist for Constructing, Evaluating, and Using Concepts or Quantitative Measures. In Box-Steffensmeier, J., and H. Brady and D. Collier (eds.) The Oxford handbook of political methodology. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Hammersley, Martyn, and Paul Atkinson (1994) Ethnography: Principles and Practice. 2nd Ed. London: Routledge. Lazarsfeld, Paul F., and Allen H. Barton (1951) Qualitative Measurement in the Social Sciences: Classifications, Typologies, and Indices. In The Policy Sciences: Recent Developments in Scope and Methods. Daniel Lerner, and Harold D. Lasswell. eds. Stanford: Stanford University Press, pp. 155-192. Mason, Jennifer (2002) Qualitative Researching. 2nd Ed. London: SAGE Publications. Ch 5 Munck, Gerardo, and Jay Verkuilen (2002) Conceptualising and Measuring Democracy: Evaluating Alternative Indices. Comparative Political Studies 35(1): 5-34. (e-journal). Silverman, David (2001) Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction. London: SAGE Publications. Ch 3.

Week 11 Dissertation Proposal Session

Issues and Questions The purpose of this session is to provide you with an opportunity to present your work via a 10-minute power point presentation to the rest of the group. There will be a five-minute question and answer session for each presentation.

M14320/321 Designing Political Enquiry 2010/11