Welcome to Introduction to Research Methods

1. Welcome to Introduction to Research Methods This module is for Politics, Pol/Int and Pol/French students only Module team:, Wyn Grant, Justin Greaves, Renske Doorenspleet, Ted Svensson

2. Why study research methods? • Useful skills valued by employers • Helps you to undertake work, e.g., for assessed essays, undergraduate dissertation, postgraduate work • Allows you to read the literature of political science and international relations critically • Did how this study was done affect the results?

3. Can political science predict? • Different models of US presidential election presented at APSA, Boston, August 2008 • First time since 1952 no president or vice-president in race • Very close result puts one in Bermuda triangle of electoral college where candidate with popular mandate may not win

4. Economic models

5. Political models

6. And finally … • Estimated that 11.5 per cent of voters will not vote for a black candidate • Many of them would not vote Democrat anyway • But then becomes Obama 50.07 per cent, McCain 49.93 per cent.

7. The current state of world political science • Two-thirds of political scientists in North America/Europe (advanced economies) • One quarter in Asia (emerging economies) • Less than 4% in Africa (Global South) • Less than 4% in Latin America

8. A junction discipline with • History • Philosophy • Economics • Sociology • Geography • Psychology • Biological Science (Justin + Wyn)

9. Strengths of a junction discipline • Open to interdisciplinary collaboration • Open to influences from a variety of disciplines, including natural sciences • Eclectic approach to methodology, combines a variety of approaches

10. Weaknesses of a junction discipline • Open to charge that it is a field rather than a discipline – no distinctive theories or methodology • Therefore open to imperialism of other disciplines, especially economics (sociology in the past) • Ecleticism can lead to confused methodologies, hence need for controlled eclecticism

11. Some risks • Fragmentation into sub-fields • Hence lack of willingness to confront big issues • Hence poor dialogue with policy-makers • Exaggerated conflict between rational choice and historical institutionalism

12. A reminder • The module is concerned both with methodologies (intellectual approaches to the discipline, its history being one way of exploring this) and techniques (means of finding out what we want to know in a reliable, valid and systematic way)

13. Different ways of knowing • ‘We hope to encourage students to become more aware of their own methodological positions and how these might affect their research. We also hope to make students aware of the various ways in which methods can be employed in social science projects.’ (Moses & Knusten)

14. Different approaches • Different social scientists approach the world with different assumptions about how it actually is and how they should study it • As a consequence standard methods are used in different ways when employed by people coming from different perspectives

15. Naturalism • Positivism, empiricism, behaviouralism • Assumes that there is a real world independent of our experience and we can gain access to it • There are regularities or patterns in nature that can be observed and tested

16. Constructivism • Each of us sees different things and what we see is determined by a complicated mix of influences • People may look at the same thing and see it differently • Hence we need to be open and honest about the way in which contexts frame our understanding

17. Scientific realism • Mixed method approach that straddles the natural and social sciences • Both quantitative and qualitative techniques are important • I think you are a better social scientist if you can master several methodologies and make an informed choice about approaches