A Model Discipline: Political Science and the Logic of Representations

Clarke, Kevin A.

ISBN 10: 019538220X / ISBN 13: 9780195382204

Published by Oxford University Press, USA, 2012

About this Item

Num Pages: 232 pages, 6 b/w illus. BIC Classification: GPS; JHBC; JPA. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 232 x 157 x 15. Weight in Grams: 316. . 2012. Illustrated. paperback. . . . .

Seller Inventory # V9780195382204

Bibliographic Details

• Title: A Model Discipline: Political Science and the Logic of Representations
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 019538220X
• ISBN 13: 9780195382204
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

In A Model Discipline, Kevin A. Clarke and David M. Primo turn a critical eye to the methodological approach that dominates modern political science. Clarke and Primo contend that the field's emphasis on model testing has led to a distortion of both the modeling process and the art of data analysis and cannot be logically justified. The authors argue that models should be seen as "objects" and thus regarded as neither true nor false. Models should instead be evaluated for their usefulness for a particular purpose. Divided into two parts, the book first establishes that current practice is not philosophy-free and rests on a number of questionable assumptions. The second part focuses on the different ways that theoretical and statistical models can be useful, and closes with a defensible justification for integrating theoretical and statistical models. A novel work of methodology, A Model Discipline offers a new perspective on long-held assumptions about the way research in the social sciences should be conducted.

About the Author

Kevin A. Clarke, an Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Rochester, received his Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Michigan. His research focuses on political methodology and model discrimination tests. Clarke's articles have appeared in American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Political Analysis, and many other journals.

David M. Primo is Associate Professor of Political Science and Business Administration at the University of Rochester. His research focuses on American politics and political economy. He is the author of two other books, Rules and Restraint (2007) and The Plane Truth (with Roger W. Cobb, 2003), and many journal articles.