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Copyright, ii
Preface, xi
Introduction, 1
Chapter 1. The Research Process, 1
The Quest for Knowledge, 1
The Formulation of Theory, 4
The Operationalization of Theory, 6
The Selection of Appropriate Research Techniques, 7
The Observation of Behavior, 8
The Analysis of Data, 9
Interpretation of the Results, 11
Ethical Considerations, 11
Conclusion, 12
Summary Points, 13
Suggested Readings and Examples, 13
Research Exercises, 13
Key Terms, 14
Preparing to Do Research, 15
Chapter 2. Theory Building: Concepts and Hypotheses in Political Research, 15
The Nature of Social Science Theory, 17
The Logic of Theory Building, 17
Components of Social Science Theory, 21
Relationships in Social Science Theory, 23
Theory Testing and Elaboration, 25
The Role of Hypotheses, 27
Formulating Hypotheses, 30
Ethical Considerations, 32
Conclusion, 32
Summary Points, 33
Suggested Readings and Examples, 33
Research Exercises, 34
Key Terms, 34
Chapter 3. Setting the Foundation: Techniques of Systematic Bibliographic Search, 35
Using the Existing Literature, 35
Developing a System, 37
Periodical Indexes and Databases, 38
Library Catalogs, 44
Organizing Your Findings, 46
Reviewing and Summarizing the Literature, 48
Ethical Considerations, 48
Conclusion, 50
Summary Points, 51
Suggested Readings and Examples, 51
Research Exercises, 52
Key Terms, 52
Chapter 4. Internet Research, 53
What Is Out There?, 53
Internet Search Strategies, 55
The Invisible Web, 60
Political Sources on the Internet, 62
Ethical Considerations, 64
Conclusion, 64
Summary Points, 64
Suggested Readings and Examples, 65
Research Exercises, 66
Key Terms, 66
Chapter 5. From Abstract to Concrete: Operationalization and Measurement, 67
Operationalization: The Link Between Theory and Observation, 68
Operational Definitions, 71
Measurement, 72
Levels of Measurement, 73
Working Hypotheses, 79
Measurement Error: The Enemy, 80
Validity, 83
Factors That Threaten Validity, 84
Types of Validation (Advanced Tools), 85
Reliability, 90
Ethical Considerations, 93
Conclusion, 93
Summary Points, 94
Suggested Readings and Examples, 95
Research Exercises, 95
Key Terms, 95
Chapter 6. Working from a Plan: Considerations in Research Design, 97
Research Purpose and Research Design, 97
Coping with Alternative Rival Hypotheses Through Research Design, 98
Experimental Research Designs, 103
Field Experiments and Nonexperimental Designs, 108
Quasi-Experimental Designs, 109
Creating a Research Design, 114
Ethical Considerations, 115
Conclusion, 115
Summary Points, 115
Suggested Readings and Examples, 116
Research Exercises, 116
Key Terms, 117
Chapter 7. Who, What, Where, When: The Problem of Sampling, 118
Defining a Representative Sample, 118
Procedures for Selecting a Representative Sample, 122
Variations on Random Sampling, 124
Determining Appropriate Sample Size, 130
Ethical Considerations, 134
Conclusion, 134
Summary Points, 134
Suggested Readings and Examples, 135
Research Exercises, 135
Key Terms, 136
Quantitative Methods, 137
Chapter 8. Survey Research, 137
Stages of the Survey Process, 138
Conceptualizing, 139
Survey Design, 139
Instrumentation, 141
Types of Surveys, 149
Training and Briefing Personnel, 153
Pretesting, 155
Surveying, 156
Monitoring, 158
Verifying, 159
Secondary Analysis of Survey Data, 159
Ethical Considerations, 161
Conclusion, 162
Summary Points, 162
Suggested Readings and Examples, 163
Research Exercises, 164
Key Terms, 165
Chapter 9. Scaling Techniques, 166
The Art of Scaling, 166
Scale Construction: Two Basic Concerns, 167
Likert Scaling, 168
Guttman Scaling, 170
Thurstone Scaling, 174
The Semantic Differential, 175
Ethical Considerations, 177
Conclusion, 177
Summary Points, 178
Suggested Readings and Examples, 178
Research Exercises, 179
Key Terms, 179
Chapter 10. Content Analysis, 180
Preparing to Use Content Analysis, 181
Undertaking a Substantive Content Analysis, 186
Undertaking a Structural Content Analysis, 188
Special Problems in the Use of Content Analysis, 189
Ethical Considerations, 192
Conclusion, 193
Summary Points, 193
Suggested Readings and Examples, 193
Research Exercises, 194
Key Terms, 194
Chapter 11. Sources and Applications of Aggregate Data, 195
Types of Aggregate Data, 196
Limitations in the Use of Aggregate Data, 201
Sources of Aggregate Data, 206
Collecting Aggregate Data, 208
Ethical Considerations, 209
Conclusion, 209
Summary Points, 210
Suggested Readings and Examples, 210
Research Exercises, 211
Key Terms, 212
Chapter 12. Comparative Research, 213
Research Across Borders, 213
Finding Questions That “Travel”, 215
Using Equivalent Measures, 216
Choosing Cases to Study, 218
Finding Independent Observations, 220
Finding Data, 220
Ethical Considerations, 222
Conclusion, 223
Summary Points, 223
Suggested Readings and Examples, 223
Research Exercises, 224
Key Terms, 225
Analyzing Quantitative Data, 226
Chapter 13. Social Network Analysis: Finding Structure in a Complex World, 226
A Concept of Social Networks, 226
Social Network Data, 227
Types of Networks, 230
Roles of Participants, 232
Ethical Considerations, 235
Conclusion, 235
Summary Points, 236
Suggested Readings and Examples, 236
Research Exercises, 237
Key Terms, 238
Chapter 14. Data Preparation and Data Processing, 239
Coding: What Do All Those Numbers Mean?, 239
The Codebook and the Coding Sheet, 244
Data Entry and Data Processing, 247
Ethical Considerations, 249
Conclusion, 250
Summary Points, 250
Suggested Readings and Examples, 250
Research Exercises, 251
Key Terms, 251
Chapter 15. Describing the Data: The Construction of Tables and Charts, 252
The Simple Table, 252
The Line Graph, 254
The Pie Chart and the Bar Chart, 256
The Bilateral Bar Chart, 259
The Crosstabulation, 260
Creating Tables and Charts, 261
Ethical Considerations, 262
Conclusion, 262
Summary Points, 263
Suggested Readings and Examples, 263
Research Exercises, 264
Key Terms, 264
Chapter 16. Statistics I: Summarizing Distributions on One Variable, 265
Measures of Central Tendency and Dispersion, 266
Measures for Nominal Variables, 268
Measures for Ordinal Variables, 269
Measures for Interval/Ratio Variables, 271
Ethical Considerations, 276
Conclusion, 276
Summary Points, 276
Suggested Readings and Examples, 276
Research Exercises, 277
Key Terms, 278
Chapter 17. Statistics II: Examining Relationships Between Two Variables, 279
Measures of Association and Statistical Significance, 279
Measures of Association and Significance for Nominal Variables: Lambda, 286
Measures of Association and Significance for Ordinal Variables: Gamma, 291
Measures of Association and Significance for Interval/Ratio Variables: Correlation, 293
Ethical Considerations, 299
Conclusion, 299
Summary Points, 300
Suggested Readings and Examples, 300
Research Exercises, 300
Key Terms, 302
Chapter 18. Statistics III: Examining Relationships among Several Variables, 303
Tabular Analysis, 303
Multiple Regression, 306
Interpreting Multiple Regressions Results, 308
Solving Common Problems in Multiple Regression, 309
Path Analysis, 314
Ethical Considerations, 318
Conclusion, 318
Summary Points, 319
Suggested Readings and Examples, 319
Research Exercises, 320
Key Terms, 321
Qualitative Methods, 322
Introduction to Qualitative Methods, 322
Limitations of Quantitative Research, 322
Comparing Qualitative and Quantitative Methods, 323
Different Methods for Different Questions?, 327
Ethical Considerations, 328
Summary Points, 330
Suggested Readings and Examples, 330
Key Term, 331
Chapter 19. Direct Observation, 332
Direct Observation and the Scientific Method, 333
Degree of Obtrusiveness, 334
Degree of Structure, 335
Techniques of Unstructured Observation, 336
Techniques of Structured Observation, 341
Sampling Procedures in Direct Observation, 346
Coping with Method Effects in Direct Observation, 347
Ethical Considerations, 351
Conclusion, 351
Summary Points, 352
Suggested Readings and Examples, 353
Research Exercises, 353
Key Terms, 354
Chapter 20. Focus Group Methodologies, 355
Why Use Focus Groups?, 355
When Are Focus Groups Useful?, 359
Planning and Conducting Focus Groups, 361
Ethical Considerations, 368
Conclusion, 369
Summary Points, 369
Suggested Readings and Examples, 370
Research Exercises, 370
Key Terms, 371
Chapter 21. Elite and Specialized Interviewing, 372
Elite Interviewing, 372
Seeking Validity, 374
Techniques of Elite Interviewing, 375
Conducting Elite Interviews, 376
Specialized Interviewing, 379
Ethical Considerations, 380
Conclusion, 381
Summary Points, 381
Suggested Readings and Examples, 382
Research Exercises, 383
Key Terms, 383
Conclusion, 384
Chapter 22. Writing (and Reading) the Research Report, 384
The Plan, 384
The Structure, 385
The Style, 387
The Title and Abstract, 388
Ethical Considerations, 389
Conclusion, 389
Summary Points, 390
A Case in Point, 390
Suggested Reading and Examples, 398
Research Exercises, 398
Key Terms, 398
Chapter 23. Overview, 399
Developing Hypotheses, Measures, and a Research Design, 399
Data Collection and Analysis, 401
A Checklist for Judging Research, 402
Ethical Considerations, 405
Conclusion, 405
Appendix A. Statistical Tables, 407
Appendix B. Ethical Standards in Empirical Research, 417
Glossary, 421
Index, 433

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