Introduction : methods, methodology and making sense of the study of politics -- 1. The discipline of politics -- 2. Research design -- 3. Comparative methodology -- 4. Surveys and opinion polls -- 5. Descriptive statistics -- 6. Making inferences -- 7. Documentary and archival analysis -- 8. The internet and political research -- 9. Elite interviewing -- 10. Participant observation and the analysis of communications -- 11. Ethics and political research -- 12. Conclusion : challenging the mainstream and the qualitative/quantitative divide
Summary
This major new text provides a comprehensive introduction to the main research methods employed in the study of politics. The book is illustrated throughout with boxed examples of real political research
