Interview Research in Political Science - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801478634 ISBN 13: 9780801478635

Publisher: Cornell University Press, 2013

Synopsis

Interviews are a frequent and important part of empirical research in political science, but graduate programs rarely offer discipline-specific training in selecting interviewees, conducting interviews, and using the data thus collected. Interview Research in Political Science addresses this vital need, offering hard-won advice for both graduate students and faculty members. The contributors to this book have worked in a variety of field locations and settings and have interviewed a wide array of informants, from government officials to members of rebel movements and victims of wartime violence, from lobbyists and corporate executives to workers and trade unionists.

The authors encourage scholars from all subfields of political science to use interviews in their research, and they provide a set of lessons and tools for doing so. The book addresses how to construct a sample of interviewees; how to collect and report interview data; and how to address ethical considerations and the Institutional Review Board process. Other chapters discuss how to link interview-based evidence with causal claims; how to use proxy interviews or an interpreter to improve access; and how to structure interview questions. A useful appendix contains examples of consent documents, semistructured interview prompts, and interview protocols.

About this title

About the Author

Layna Mosley is Professor of Political Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Global Capital and National Governments and Labor Rights and Multinational Production.

Review

"Interview Research in Political Science is a timely and immensely valuable resource. Political scientists use interviews more than any other field research technique, yet interviews are a method that is rarely taught, and there's great demand for ideas and advice. The chapters contain imaginative, thoughtful, and savvy examples of ways in which experienced scholars use interviews, including how they prepare, how they conduct the interview, and how they incorporate what they learn into their research programs, often in combination with other methods. Within a general theme of seeking rigor in interview research, the book provides a range of perspectives and approaches, and usefully addresses topics including sampling strategies and ethical considerations. Although it is targeted to political science, colleagues in many other disciplines will also find much of benefit here."

(Benjamin Read, University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz, author of Roots of the State: Neighborhood Organization and Social Networks in Beijing and Taipei)

"Mosley (Univ. of North CarolinaChapel Hill), author of books on labor rights and on global capital, offers an edited volume on methodological aspects of interviews in political science.... The content of this volume, in terms of the balance between positivist and interpretative-oriented approaches, mirrors the current state of the discipline, centered at the positivist end of the spectrum. The contributors address challenges associated with interview evidence: gaining access to interview subjects, sampling the right set of respondents, convincing others of the reliability and validity of interview data, and ensuring that research is conducted ethically. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate and research collections."

(Choice)

Edition details

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 0801478634
• ISBN 13: 9780801478635
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 312
• Editor: Mosley Maria Elayna