Political Research

Description

The most accessible and practical guide to research methods written especially for politics and international relations students.

• Discusses step-by-step how to conduct research to support students through the entire research process
• Broad coverage of both quantitative and qualitative methods makes it relevant to any research project
• Discussion of key debates of theory, methodology, and the philosophy of social science to broaden students' knowledge of research methods
• Includes a range of learning features such as chapter summaries and test questions to re-inforce students' understanding of research methods
• Also available as an e-book with functionality, navigation features, and links that offer extra learning support

New to this edition

• Updated and additional 'real world' examples, such as who voted for Brexit, the election of Donald Trump, and the impact of anti-terrorism policy on citizenship, show you how methods are used in practice
• New 'Research in Action' boxes provide summaries of published research, to help put your research project into practical context
• Reflects current developments in the field, including the importance of ethics, changes in digital research and internet ethnography, and analysis of the 'digital divide'

About the Author(s)

Sandra Halperin, Professor of International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Oliver Heath, Professor of Politics, Royal Holloway, University of London

Sandra Halperin, Professor of International Relations, Royal Holloway, University of London, and Oliver Heath, Professor of Politics, Royal Holloway, University of London

Table of Contents

1:Political Research
PART I: PHILOSOPHY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE: KNOWLEDGE AND KNOWING IN SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH
2:Forms of Knowledge: Laws, Explanation, and Interpretation in the Study of the Social World
3:Objectivity and Values
PART II: HOW TO DO RESEARCH: AN OVERVIEW
4:Asking Questions: How to Find and Formulate Research Questions
5:Finding Answers: Theories and How to Apply Them
6:Research Design
7:What is Data?
PART III: HOW TO DO RESEARCH IN PRACTICE
8:Experimental Research
9:Comparative Research
10:Historical research
11:Surveys
12:Interviewing and Focus Groups
13:Ethnography and Participant Observation
14:Textual Analysis
15:Quantitative Analysis: Description and Inference
16:Patterns of Association: Bivariate Analysis
17:A Guide to Multivariate Analysis

Reviews

"Review from previous edition 'The writing style and tone is exactly right... No other book on the market is comparable in terms of clarity and authority, detail and register - over even the commonest research techniques. ' (Dr Helen Brocklehurst, University of Derby) "

"'The biggest advantage of the book is the quality of its writing style. It actually demystifies the research process for students right from the start. The authors just really 'get it' when it comes to knowing how students are coming at this.' (Dr Matthew Ryan, University of Southampton)"

"'Overall, this is a fantastic book, and it is refreshing to have a politics-specific book writing in a clear manner, especially without taking sides in the quantitative versus qualitative debate.' (Dr Helen Williams, University of Nottingham)"

"'A really thorough and well-written overview of contemporary research methods in politics.' (Dr Alistair McMillan, Department of Politics, University of Sheffield)"

"'I wish I had this book when I first started my degree. A great tool.' (Hal Meakin, Second Year Politics Student, Brunel University)"

Additional Resources

Digital formats and resources

Political Research is available for students and institutions to purchase in a variety of formats.

The e-book offers a mobile experience and convenient access along with functionality tools, navigation features, and links that offer extra learning support: www.oxfordtextbooks.co.uk/ebooks

This textbook is accompanied by a wealth of online resources featuring:

For students:
- Examples of Research: links to examples of different types of research help you to evaluate key political research findings
- Links to datasets: links to publically available datasets for Politics and IR research provide extra support for conducting your research project
- Web links: relevant web links to reliable online content and databases related to topics covered in the book are provided in the Online Resources for easy access

For registered adoptors:
- Seminar exercises: suggestions for group activities to be carried out in seminars help support students' understanding of the research project process
- Seminar questions: reinforce key themes from each chapter with suggested seminar questions