Research methods in politics: a practical guide/
Roger Pierce
- London: Sage, 2008.
- xi, 339 p. ill. ; 24 cm.
Includes bibliographical references (p. [330]-334) and index.
PART ONE: INTRODUCTIONIntroductionPower in Research, Ethics, Data Protection and BiasThe Philosophy and Principles of Research PART TWO: METHODOLOGIESQualitative versus Quantitative Methods A Relevant Argument?Collecting Data Sets Case Studies, Experimental, Comparative, Longitudinal and Action Research Models PART THREE: COLLECTING INFORMATIONCritically Evaluating Published ResearchEvaluating Information Validity, Reliability, Accuracy, TriangulationCompleting a Literature Review Accessing Published InformationAsking Questions Effective Elite Interviews, Vignettes, Projective Questions and Focus GroupsQuestionnaire SurveysObservation PART FOUR: DATA ANALYSISAnalyzing Research Data The Process PART FOUR A: QUANTITATIVE ANALYSISCalculating and Interpretating Descriptive StatisticsUsing and Understanding Inferential StatisticsTesting for AssociationApplying Factor Analysis and Other Advanced Techniques PART FOUR B: QUALITATIVE ANALYSISAnalyzing Qualitative Information Classifying, Coding and Interpreting InformationUsing Content AnalysisUnderstanding and Adopting Discourse and Narrative AnalysisP ART FIVE: COMMUNICATING RESEARCH Writing Up