. Stephen van evera greeted new graduate students at MIT with a commonsense introduction to qualitative methods in the social sciences. That primer evolved into a book of how-to information about graduate study, sociology, which is essential reading for graduate students and undergraduates in political science, anthropology, economics, and history - and for their advisers.
How should we frame, assess, and apply theories in the social sciences? "I am unpersuaded by the view that the prime rules of scientific method should differ between hard science and social science. Dissertation, " van evera focuses on presentation, and on broader issues of academic strategy and tactics.
Van evera asks how political scientists should work together as a community. If everyone makes and tests theories but no one ever uses them, then what are they for?"-In "Helpful Hints on Writing a Political Science Ph. D. All institutions and professions that face weak accountability need inner ethical rudders that define their obligations in order to stay on course.
Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences Belfer Center Studies in International Security
This text presents a comprehensive analysis of research methods using case studies and examines the place of case studies in social science methodology. The book explains how to design case study research that will produce results useful to policymakers and emphasizes the importance of developing policy-relevant theories.
Case studies and theory development in the social sciences will be particularly useful to graduate students and scholars in social science methodology and the philosophy of science, as well as to those designing new research projects, and will contribute greatly to the broader debate about scientific methods.
It argues that case studies, statistical methods, and formal models are complementary rather than competitive. Mit press MA. It offers three major contributions to case study methodology: an emphasis on the importance of within-case analysis, a detailed discussion of process tracing, and development of the concept of typological theories.
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Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research
Their book demonstrates that the same logic of inference underlies both good quantitative and good qualitative research designs, and their approach applies equally to each. Mit press MA. Among the specific topics they address are interpretation and inference, constructing causal theories, dependent and explanatory variables, selection bias, comparative case studies, the limits of random selection, and errors in measurement.
. The unified logic of inference that this book explicates will be enormously useful to qualitative researchers of all traditions and substantive fields. These leading scholars, each representing diverse academic traditions, have developed a unified approach to valid descriptive and causal inference in qualitative research, where numerical measurement is either impossible or undesirable.
Providing precepts intended to stimulate and discipline thought, the authors explore issues related to framing research questions, discovering causal effects, measuring the accuracy of data and uncertainty of empirical inferences, and generally improving qualitative research.
The Globalization of World Politics: An Introduction to International Relations
Features* presents contributions from an impressive line-up of international experts, processes, and other key issues in the field* Offers a visually appealing full-color interior* Provides a strong pedagogical program that includes numerous boxes, figures, tables, theory, maps, structures, lively examples, each of whom provides accessible but stimulating insights into history, questions, and case studies Mit press MA.
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Writing a Research Paper in Political Science: A Practical Guide to Inquiry, Structure, and Methods
In writing a research paper in political Science, author Lisa Baglione breaks down the research paper into its constituent parts and shows students precisely how to complete each component. Mit press MA. Students are shown how to craft the right research question, design good tests for their hypotheses, find good sources and properly summarize them, operationalize concepts, and present and analyze quantitative and qualitative data.
Used book in Good Condition. Cq press. The author provides encouragement at each stage and faces pitfalls head on, giving advice and examples so that students move through each task successfully. Even writing an introduction, presenting a conclusion, coming up with effective headings and titles, and the important steps of editing and revising are covered.
Practical summaries, exercises, recipes for success, worksheets, and a series of handy checklists make this a must-have supplement for any writing-intensive political science course. Princeton University Press.
The Spread of Nuclear Weapons: An Enduring Debate Third Edition
Cq press. Used book in Good Condition. A long-time staple of international relations courses, this new edition continues the important discussion of nuclear proliferation, while looking at the regions and issues now at the forefront of the nuclear question. With new chapters on the questions surrounding a nuclear North Korea, Iran, and Iraq and the potential for a world free of nuclear weapons, this Third Edition will continue to generate a lively classroom experience.
Mit press MA. Princeton University Press.
Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know®
Mit press MA. The alarming acceleration of global warming due to the burning of fossil fuels and concern about dependence on foreign fuel has led policymakers, climate scientists, and energy experts to look once again at nuclear power as a source of energy. Worries about the dangers that nuclear plants and their radioactive waste posed to nearby communities grew over time, and plant construction in the United States virtually died after the early 1980s.
. Ferguson provides an authoritative account of the key facts about nuclear energy. What is the origin of nuclear energy? what countries use commercial nuclear power, ferguson addresses these questions and more in Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know®, and how much electricity do they obtain from it? How can future nuclear power plants be made safer? What can countries do to protect their nuclear facilities from military attacks? How hazardous is radioactive waste? Is nuclear energy a renewable energy source? Featuring a discussion of the recent nuclear crisis in Japan and its ramifications, a book that is essential for anyone looking to learn more about this important issue.
What everyone needs to Know® is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press. Cq press. Princeton University Press.
War of Nerves: Chemical Warfare from World War I to Al-Qaeda
At the turn of the twentieth century, the rise of synthetic chemistry made the large-scale use of toxic chemicals on the battlefield both feasible and cheap. Moving beyond history to the twenty-first century, War of Nerves makes clear that we are at a crossroads that could lead either to the further spread of these weapons or to their ultimate abolition.
Tucker explores the long debate over the military utility and morality of chemical warfare, from the first chlorine gas attack at Ypres in 1915 to Hitler’s reluctance to use nerve agents he believed, incorrectly, that the U. S. Mit press MA.
Essential Readings in World Politics Sixth Edition
. The chapters complement mingst and arreguín-Toft’s companion text, Essentials of International Relations, and can be packaged at a discount with that text or used on its own. In the sixth edition, 23 new readings offer diverse perspectives on current topics such as the rise of China, the proliferation of terrorism and terrorist groups, international human rights, and the consequences―and failures―of international climate negotiations.
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The Craft of Research, Third Edition Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing
The craft of research explains how to build an argument that motivates readers to accept a claim; how to anticipate the reservations of readers and to respond to them appropriately; and how to create introductions and conclusions that answer that most demanding question, “So what?” The third edition includes an expanded discussion of the essential early stages of a research task: planning and drafting a paper.
The authors have revised and fully updated their section on electronic research, emphasizing the need to distinguish between trustworthy sources such as those found in libraries and less reliable sources found with a quick Web search. Mit press MA. Booth. Cq press. Colomb and Joseph M. Williams present an updated third edition of their classic handbook, whose first and second editions were written in collaboration with the late Wayne C.
. Used book in Good Condition. Princeton University Press.
The Process of Social Research
Dixon, Royce A. Used book in Good Condition. Cq press. As each diagram is presented, the authors relate the specific method to the overall research process. Used book in Good Condition. Using everyday examples to introduce chapters and clarify complex concepts, homelessness, family composition, organized racism, social inequality and education, they provide current research examples on such cutting-edge topics as immigration, prosecutorial misconduct, and alcohol consumption and grades.
This way, they convey information about the "nuts and bolts" of research while ensuring that students do not lose sight of the logic of inquiry. Beginning with the introduction, every chapter contains flowcharts of research processes. The process of social research successfully meets two major challenges of teaching social science methods: to make the material interesting and accessible to students, evaluate, and to provide them with the tools necessary to understand, and conduct research.
Mit press MA. Placing a unique emphasis on the research process, the book helps students understand the logic and mechanics of social research, giving them the tools and the power to evaluate the research of others and to conduct their own research.