Doing Research in Political Science: An Introduction to Comparative Methods and Statistics

About the Author:

Paul Pennings is Associate Professor of Political Science at the VU University Amsterdam. His research and teaching interests are in the fields of Comparative (European) Politics and Comparative Methods and Statistics. He has publised widely in peer-reviewed academic journals in political science, such as Acta Politica, Electoral Studies, European Journal of Political Research, European Union Politics, Party Politics, Political Studies and Sociological Methods and Research. His recent publications include Doing Research in Political Science. An Introduction to Comparative Methods and Statistics (with Hans Keman and Jan Kleinnijenhuis), London: Sage (2nd edition, 2006) and (with Christine Arnold) Is Constitutional Politics like Politics ‘At Home’? The Case of the EU Constitution, Political Studies 56 (4): 789-806, which was a finalist for the Harrison Prize for the best article published in Political Studies in 2008.

Hans Keman is Professor and Chair of Political Science at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam

CONTRIBUTORS′ AFFILIATIONS:

Klaus Armingeon Institut fuer Politiekwissenschapft, Unitobler

Uwe Becker Universiteit van Amsterdam

Ian Budge University of Essex

Francis Castles The Australian National University, Canberra

Hans Daalder The Hague

Svante Errson Umea Universitet

Kees van Kersbergen Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen

Jan-Erik Lane Universite de Geneve

Peter Mair Universiteit van Leiden

Paul Pennings Vrije Universiteit

Manfred Schmidt

Current lines of research

    News effects
    Economic news and political news, patterns of agenda-building
    Content Analysis, Semantic Network Analysis

Review:

`I wish I′d had this book when I was a student, but even more I′m pleased to have it now I′m a teacher′ - Ken Newton, University of Essex

`This book takes the student through the entire process of research, from framing a research question through research design and operationalization, data gathering and analysis, and ultimately to maing both practical and theoretical decisions on the basis of empircal results. By constantly illustrating their methodological discussions with important examples, the authors admirably convert what is ofetn a boring, if necessary, exercise into a course in which students will constantly be drawn into the excitement of learning interesting things about politics as well as learning about the methods′ - Richard S Katz, Johns Hopkins University

`Most textbooks do not bridge the gap between the question which stimulates research, the evidence to be examined and the procedures which enable you to do the investigation. That is exactly what this exciting new synthesis does - in a most compact and resaonable way, and with the minimum of heavy mathematics. One cannot speak to highly of the systematic, point-by-point exposition, from basic principles of comparison, through procedures, to exciting applications to questions which go to the heart of politics in the contemporary world. Students and practitioners will be fired and inspired by this book to a renewed engagement with their subject′ - Ian Budge, University of Essex

`My dream is that all undergraduate majors in political science would be guided through a text such as Doing Research in Political Science. In this user friendly text, replete with examples from political science, students will quickly grasp the statistical fundamentals needed to write a senior thesis or to read with comprehension standard journal articles in our field. Direct connections to data bases on the web allows students not only to read about others′ work, but to do their own statistical analysis as well. The authors have made an essential course a pleasure to teach′ - David D. Laitin

The William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Political Science at the University

of Chicago

`Doing Research in Political Science offers a remarkably full and well-signposted guide to the art of comparative political science research. It will prove of immense benefit to students in the field, both for those who are just beginning to embark on their research and for those who may need reminding of the limits and possibilities of comparative research design. This is a new and original text that can be strongly recommended′ - Peter Mair, Leiden University

`Comparative research is increasingly popular in the social sciences. Doing Research in Political Science offers the best available introduction to the state of the art. Combining immense insights into comparative theories with a sound and advanced methodology of how to organize and interpret data on almost 200 countries of the world′ - Jan-Erik Lane, University of Geneva

`This is, however, definitively a text that can and should be used in teaching quantitative political science methods....Advanced students but also researchers in political science will profit from making use of this introduction to comparitive methods and statistics′ - Democratization

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