Covering the discipline's major methods, the authors lead students step-by-step through the logic of research design. "Building block" chapters on hypothesis formation and testing, variables, and measurement are right up front; the introduction to research design, sampling, and literature reviews come with explanations as to why a researcher would pursue different kinds of methods; the stats chapters begin with a common-sense primer that walks students through foundational ideas and practices. Throughout the text, updated examples of contemporary research problems keep readers engaged. Each chapter has bolded key terms that are also listed in a glossary at the end of each chapter and the end of the text. "Helpful hints" feature boxes give students nuts-and-bolts reminders they can refer to when they conduct their own research or assess the work of others
Introduction The Empirical Approach to Political Science Beginning the Research Process: Identifying a Topic, Developing Questions, and Reviewing the Literature The Building Blocks of Social Scientific Research: Hypotheses, Concepts, and Variables The Building Blocks of Social Scientific Research: Measurement Research Design: Making Causal Inferences Sampling Making Empirical Observations: Direct and Indirect Observation Document Analysis: Using the Written Record Survey Research and Interviewing Making Sense of Data: First Steps Statistical Inference Investigating Relationships between Two Variables Multivariate Analysis The Research Report: An Annotated Example