Political Analysis

Cover
Contents
List of Figures, Tables and Boxes
Preface
List of Abbreviations
Introduction: Methods, Methodology and Making Sense of the Study of Politics
	Guiding themes
	Structure of the book
1 The Discipline of Politics
	The diverse traditions of political science
	Dominant paradigms
	Political studies or political science: some methodological considerations
2 Research Design and the Research Process
	The meaning of research design
	The research process
	The research labyrinth
	Types of research design
	Conclusion
3 Comparative Methods
	Comparative political science: substance and method
	Designing comparative research
	Why compare? The advantages
	The limits of comparison
	Cases: how many, and which?
	Conclusion
4 Surveys, Polls and Focus Groups
	Surveys, opinion polls and politics
	History of opinion polls and surveys
	Sampling procedures
	Types of sample design
	Administering surveys
	Interviewing
	Coding and analysis
	Focus groups
	Conclusion
5 Descriptive Statistics
	Levels of measurement, central tendency and spread
	Choosing descriptive statistics
	Presenting descriptive statistics
	All that glitters…
	Conclusion
6 Making Inferences
	What is inference?
	Inference – logic and problems
	Inferences in political science
	Conclusion
7 Documentary and Archival Analysis
	Use and abuse of secondary and tertiary documentary sources in political science
	The analysis of primary sources
	Research in the Public Record Office (the UK's National Archives) and the National Archives, Washington
	Conclusion: the value and limits of documentary and archival analysis
8 The Internet and Political Research
	Searching the internet
	Electronic resources for political research
	Online polling
	Elite interviewing online
	Conclusions
9 Elite Interviewing
	Decide who you want to see
	Get access and arrange the interview
	Conduct the interview
	Analyse the results
	Conclusions
10 Discourse Analysis and Other Methods
	Discourse analysis
	Content analysis
	The advantages and limitations of content analysis
	Participant observation
	Conclusion
11 Ethics and Political Research
	The nature of ethical problems
	Two broad approaches to ethical problems
	Five basic ethical principles
	The relationship with sponsors
	Gatekeepers
	Citizens
	The problem of fraud in research
	Professional codes of conduct
	Conclusions
12 Research and the Policy Process
	The demand side: what policymakers want from researchers
	The supply side: what researchers can provide
	The mediating effect of national structures and cultures
	Bridging the gap
	How could the contribution of research to policymaking be improved?
	Conclusion
13 Conclusion: Challenging the Mainstream and the Qualitative/Quantitative Divide
	Feminist methods?
	Anti-racist and Marxist challenges
	Theory, methods and the qualitative/quantitative divide
Suggestions for Further Reading
References
Index
	A
	B
	C
	D
	E
	F
	G
	H
	I
	J
	K
	L
	M
	N
	O
	P
	Q
	R
	S
	T
	U
	V
	W
	Y
	Z