The Craft of Political Research: CourseSmart eTextbook - Softcover

Shively, Phillips W

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0131174401 ISBN 13: 9780131174405

Publisher: Routledge, 2004

Synopsis

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.

About this title

From the Publisher

This introduction to the conception and pursuit of a research project emphasizes the design of interesting research questions and basic problems of measurement and data analysis.

From the Back Cover

This accessible book introduces the cooperative process as well as the logic of empirical measurement and analysis of observations in the conception and pursuit of a political research project. Emphasizing design and basic problems of measurement and data analysis, it relies more on intuitive understanding than on formal development. Written in a clear and engaging style, this book considers the ethics of research focusing solely on politics. The fourth edition of The Craft of Political Research has been revised to include an introduction to logit analysis; a new section on regression to the mean; updated examples with a special emphasis on Robert Putnam's Making Democracy Work; an analysis of the concept of "power;" a discussion of the direction of causality; and a section on polling and tests of statistical significance. An essential reference book for any professional in politics at any level.

Edition details

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2004
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0131174401
• ISBN 13: 9780131174405
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 6
• Number of pages: 192