Comparative Politics (Research Methodology)

The Importance of Research Design in Qualitative Analysis: An Evaluation of Kohli's State Directed Development

by Jacob Rabas

This paper evaluates the methodological rigour of a recent major qualitative work in the social sciences and... more This paper evaluates the methodological rigour of a recent major qualitative work in the social sciences and highlights the importance of justifying methodological assumptions in both quantitative and qualitative research. 

Philosophical Pitfalls: The Methods Debate in American Political Science

by Nivien Saleh

Published in: Journal of Integrated Social Sciences, 1(1), 141-176. 2009.

Positivism dominates research in U.S. political science. I will show that even though critical realism is virtually... more Positivism dominates research in U.S. political science. I will show that even though critical realism is virtually unknown in the discipline, realist concepts have found their way into debates among qualitative methodologists. The analysis begins with a juxtaposition of positivist and realist foundations. Next, I will trace the methodology debate that has unfolded in the U.S., examining in what ways it reflects these foundational assumptions. Over the last number of years, I demonstrate, qualitative methodologists have engaged in philosophical hybridity, because they have drawn on realist concepts while continuing to adhere to an empiricist ontology. This kind of cherrypicking is a perilous strategy, and I suggest that methodologists examine their ontological assumptions, especially their views on causation. To do so, they need to engage critical realism. This exercise would benefit political science, because it would provide scholars with exciting new research possibilities. Moreover, critical realism is well-suited to support the discipline’s central quest: gaining insight into the world by using few examined cases to draw inferences to larger sets of unexamined cases.