Political Science Research Methods

Exploring America at a Crossroads

The principal goal of this textbook is to provide clear and elementary descriptions of the major statistical techniques used in political and social science research. The book is built on two basic assumptions. First, that it is possible to explain social science statistics in a simple and straightforward manner so that students with a minimal background in math can understand even fairly advanced techniques, such as multiple and logistic regression. Second, that undergraduate and even graduate students have less trouble in understanding specific techniques than in interpreting what statistical results mean substantively. Consequently, the book stresses the interpretation of research findings.

In essence, the book argues that political science research is like piecing a jigsaw puzzle together. Pieces of information — statistical and non-statistical — must be assembled and interpreted both logically and creatively.

The text is organized in a unique manner, using the various techniques being discussed to analyze the current state of the United States as it seemingly stands at a crossroads in both its political orientations and socioeconomic nature. To make the statistical interpretation more meaningful and easier to understand, the results throughout the book are integrated by their focus upon two central questions related to the theme of America at a Crossroads: Are Americans conservative or liberal in their political beliefs? How do economic and social outcomes in America compare to those in other developed democracies?

Contents:

• Research as Puzzle Solving

  Introducing Our Data

• Designing Research Projects:

  • The Logic of Inquiry and Research Design
  • Approaches to the Study of Politics
  • The Relationship of Qualitative Approaches to Quantitative Analysis

• The Foundations for Statistical Analysis:

  • Some More Complex Issues in Interpreting Data
  • Summary Statistics for an Entire Distribution: Moving Beyond Data Arrays and Graphs
  • An Introduction to Inferential Statistics

• Discovering Relationships for Nominal and Ordinal Data:

  • Crosstabulation: Why Do Americans Vote Democratic or Republican?
  • Multivariate Tables: More Nuanced Explanations for Conservative Attitudes and Behavior

• Discovering Relationships for Interval Data:

  • Regression Analysis: International Patterns and Benchmarks for American Performance
  • Multiple Regression and Path Analysis: More Complex Models of the Policy Process
  • Logistic Regression: Developing More Complete Models of Partisanship

• Conclusion:

  • The Joy and Challenge of the Jigsaw Puzzles in Political Research

Readership: Undergraduates or graduate-level students of political science and/or social sciences interested in its statistical research methods.
Key Features:

• The basic quantitative techniques in political science research are illustrated with examples from two data sets. This allows an integration of the text and building from one chapter to the next that is unique in research methods books
• The examples and analysis emphasize substantive questions about the state of public opinion in the United States and about the comparative performance of industrialized democracies
• Abstract discussions of theory, methodological approaches, and the research process are illustrated with real world examples, which make them more accessible to students