Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences: A Pluralist Perspective

Cover......Page 1
Half-title......Page 3
Title......Page 5
Copyright......Page 6
Dedication......Page 7
Contents......Page 9
Figures......Page 11
Tables......Page 12
Contributors......Page 13
Preface......Page 15
1 Introduction......Page 19
Big questions......Page 20
National traditions and cross-national influences......Page 23
The chapters......Page 25
Part I Epistemology and philosophy of the social sciences......Page 35
Paradigms in the social sciences......Page 37
What can we know and how? Ontologies and epistemologies in the social sciences......Page 39
How many methodologies in the social sciences?......Page 43
From methodology to method......Page 46
How many ways to knowledge?......Page 50
NOTES......Page 56
Introduction......Page 58
The normative (re)turn in political theory......Page 59
An institutionalist and contextualist turn......Page 60
Non-ideal theory......Page 61
Closed societies......Page 62
Self-determination and minority rights......Page 63
Normative theory and the social sciences: can the gap be bridged?......Page 65
Three views of political power......Page 68
Problem-driven and tradition-driven approaches......Page 70
The empirical study of normative attitudes and beliefs......Page 73
Qualitative case studies......Page 74
Quantitative comparative studies......Page 75
The ethics of normative theorizing......Page 76
NOTES......Page 78
Introduction......Page 79
Deductive and inductive approaches......Page 81
Comparative statics......Page 84
Causal mechanisms......Page 87
Explanatory frameworks and modular explanations......Page 91
Causal reconstruction......Page 93
NOTES......Page 95
Idola fori et theatri......Page 98
The constructivist perspective......Page 101
Problems of description, classification and operationalization......Page 106
Issues of explanation......Page 112
NOTES......Page 115
Do we need a concept of culture?......Page 117
The return of culture......Page 120
Bringing culture back in......Page 126
Studying culture......Page 130
Combining cultural and other approaches......Page 134
NOTES......Page 135
Origins......Page 136
Studying the real world......Page 140
Historical Institutionalism......Page 141
Three institutionalisms......Page 143
Taking history seriously......Page 145
Agendas......Page 147
Political and social ‘science’......Page 151
NOTES......Page 154
Introduction......Page 157
Bayesian framework of rational choice: basic concepts and assumptions......Page 158
Rationality in interaction: the search for equilibria......Page 161
Taking stock......Page 169
The use of game-theoretic models for analytical purposes......Page 171
Norm-oriented reasons and the challenge of reciprocity......Page 172
Iterated games – the challenge of free-riding......Page 173
Evolutionary games – the instability of co-operation......Page 175
NOTES......Page 177
Introduction......Page 180
Smith and Rousseau: the other as a spectator......Page 182
References to recognition in sociological thinking......Page 185
Max Weber......Page 186
Emil Durkheim......Page 188
Concluding remarks......Page 190
NOTES......Page 191
Part II Research design......Page 193
10 Concepts and concept formation......Page 195
The ‘what-is’ question......Page 197
Classes and comparisons......Page 200
The ladder of abstraction......Page 204
Learning from the ladder of abstraction......Page 209
Other approaches to concept formation......Page 210
Conclusion......Page 213
NOTES......Page 214
11 Comparative analysis: case-oriented versus variable-oriented research......Page 216
Comparative analysis......Page 217
Case-oriented versus variable-oriented: diverse tools, shared standards?......Page 220
What is a case?......Page 226
The number of cases......Page 227
The selection of cases......Page 229
Similar versus different cases......Page 232
Time and history in comparative politics......Page 235
NOTES......Page 239
Introduction......Page 241
What is a case study?......Page 243
Varieties of case studies......Page 245
Bachelard’s applied rationalism and case study research......Page 246
Epistemological rupture, conceptualization and observation in case study research......Page 247
Process tracing in action......Page 250
Challenges and limits in case study research and process tracing......Page 254
Conclusion: Problem-solving and case studies......Page 257
13 Quantitative analysis......Page 258
The vocabulary of quantitative research......Page 261
The dataset and data matrix......Page 262
Variables and levels of measurement......Page 263
Units and levels of analysis......Page 266
Statistics......Page 267
How significant?......Page 268
How strong?......Page 269
Correlations between variables......Page 271
How widespread?......Page 272
Multivariate analysis......Page 273
Regression analysis......Page 275
The way forward......Page 278
NOTES......Page 280
14 The design of social and political research......Page 281
Choice of topic......Page 284
Potentially damaging fallacies......Page 285
Conceptualization......Page 286
Potentially damaging fallacies......Page 288
Formation of hypotheses......Page 289
Possibly optimizing choices......Page 290
Selection of cases......Page 291
Possibly optimizing choices......Page 295
Potentially damaging fallacies......Page 296
Writing the proposal......Page 297
Operationalization of variables......Page 298
Potentially damaging fallacies......Page 300
Measurement......Page 301
Possibly optimizing choices......Page 302
Potentially damaging fallacies......Page 303
Test for association......Page 304
Possibly optimizing choices......Page 305
Causal inference......Page 306
Possibly optimizing choices......Page 309
Self-assessment......Page 310
Conclusion......Page 311
NOTE......Page 313
Vignette 1......Page 314
Vignette 3......Page 315
What is ethnography?......Page 317
Naturalistic......Page 318
Theoretical openness and self-reflexivity......Page 320
A process in three steps......Page 321
Participant observation......Page 323
Interviewing......Page 327
Ethnographic writing and analysis......Page 330
Ethics......Page 331
Conclusion......Page 332
Surveying the differences in approaches......Page 334
Where do we go and how?......Page 338
References......Page 341
Glossary......Page 366
Index......Page 375