SCHOOL OF POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
POLM036
QUALITATIVE AND
QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH
METHODS
MODULE HANDBOOK
2011-2012
Qualitative and Quantitative (POLM/036)
Research Methods
MODULE OUTLINE AND READING LIST
Course convenors: Dr. Mark Pennington
[email protected]; Professor Michael Kenny
[email protected]; and Dr. Rainbow Murray
[email protected]
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MODULE DESCRIPTION
This course provides essential research training in philosophy of social science,
with particular reference to the study of Politics, and both qualitative and
quantitative research methods. This is a compulsory core course for
postgraduate research and M Res (1+3) students on these programmes.
MODULE VALUE
60 credits
MODULE OBJECTIVES
The course has three main objectives:
• to familiarise you with debates in the philosophy of social science, with
particular reference to the study of Politics
• to provide you with the skills to choose a research method on the basis of a
critical understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of various
qualitative and quantitative techniques
• to provide you with essential research training skills in qualitative and
quantitative methods to support research leading to the degrees of
MPhil/PhD.
LEARNING OUTCOMES
Knowledge
By the end of this course you should be able to:
• display an advanced awareness of key conceptual debates in the
humanities/social sciences
• show familiarity with a range of methodological approaches and
techniques in the humanities/social sciences in general, and Politics in
particular
• display an awareness of relevant ethical issues connected to research in
political science
• demonstrate knowledge and understanding of key qualitative and
quantitative research techniques
Skills
(i) Generic
By the end of this course you should have developed:
•
•
the ability to read a wide range of text/materials critically, evaluating the
strengths and weaknesses of different arguments
the ability to communicate complex information accurately and clearly,
orally and in writing, using structured and coherent arguments
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•
(ii)
the ability to participate in group discussion and to collaborate effectively
with others in group exercises
Course specific
By the end of this course you should have developed:
•
•
advanced research skills, including the ability to select and use relevant
resources effectively and to devise research questions appropriate for
postgraduate research
the capacity to undertake independent guided research at postgraduate
level
TEACHING ARRANGEMENTS
The course is taught both semesters. In the first semester, it will be taught in a
lecture/seminar format on Mondays, from 10-12 pm in Francis Bancroft 3:18.
For the second semester, the course will be taught in a computer lab on Monday
10am-1pm (Francis Bancroft 1:23). This is to allow for the hands-on training in
statistical software that is used for the quantitative elements of the course.
Attendance at each weekly workshop is compulsory for first year research
students (M Res, M Phil, PhD).
MODULE ASSESSMENT
Assessment is by course work. The first piece of coursework relates to the
qualitative elements of the course and to the questions surrounding philosophy
of social science, with particular reference to the study of Politics. The second
and third piece of coursework will relate to the quantitative aspect of the
course.
Coursework 1: Research proposal
Deadline: Monday January Jan 9th
There are no set essay questions. Instead, you are asked to produce a detailed
and extensive research proposal relating to your specific research topic. The
proposal should include:
An outline of the project topic; a literature review; and an outline and
justification of the particular qualitative or quantitative research methods that
you propose to use in conducting the research. The research proposal should be
5000 words maximum and is worth 50% of the total mark for this course.
Coursework 2 & 3: Data projects
Students are required to submit two written projects, both of which should use
original data analysis and the various methods and techniques covered in the
quantitative part of the course. Projects should be focused on the analysis of
data whilst locating their analysis within the context of addressing and
answering a research question. The marker will look at the accurate and
effective use of a range of methods taught in the course, the accuracy and
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presentation of graphs and tables, whether the tables are based on an original
analysis of the data, whether the tables and graphs illustrate and advance ideas
in the text and if the text accurately reports the results from the tables. Students
are expected to conduct and provide evidence of the relevant statistical tests to
verify their findings. Projects are pieces of academic writing and should make
appropriate references to the literature and contain bibliographies. The usual
penalties will apply to plagiarism.
Coursework 2: 2000 word project
Deadline: Monday 13 February (week 6)
Project question: Use data from the British Election Study to illustrate and
explain gender gaps in voting behaviour.
Recommended reading for project (in addition to all reading on data analysis):
• Norris, P (1999), “Gender: a gender-generation gap?” in P. Norris (ed)
(1999), Critical Elections: British Parties and Voters in Long-Term
Perspective (London: Sage)
• Inglehart, I & Norris, P (1999), “The Developmental Theory of the
Gender Gap: Women’s and Men’s Voting Behaviour in Global
Perspective”, The International Political Science Review (May 1999)
• Campbell, R (2006), Gender and the vote in Britain (Colchester: ECPR
Press)
(Further reading resources are also available on Blackboard)
NB Additional reading is in the reading list for the quantitative part of the
course. The emphasis for projects is on accurate data analysis, so the purpose of
this literature is to guide the research and help you to generate plausible
hypotheses that you can then test with the data.
This project is worth 15% of the total mark for this course.
Coursework 3: 3000 word project
Deadline: Friday 30 March (week 12)
This project provides the freedom to choose your own research question and
use one or more of five different datasets provided, covering a range of themes.
You will be expected to use a variety of techniques covered in the course,
including multiple regression analysis. Rainbow Murray is happy to provide
guidance for anyone struggling to think of a suitable question; this can be done
in class, during office hours or via Blackboard.
This project is worth 35% of the total mark for this course.
Two copies of each piece of coursework should be submitted to Rainbow
Murray during class, and an electronic copy should be submitted to the
course Blackboard site. (The final piece of coursework is due on Friday of the
last week of term to allow for a recap session at the start of that week;
instructions for how to submit this coursework will be provided nearer the
time.)
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---------------------------------------------------------------MODULE OUTLINE: SEMESTER 1
Week 1:
Introduction/Research Ethics
Week2:
Introduction to the History of Political Science: a British
approach to the study of Politics?
Week 3:
Positivism, Behaviouralism and the Interpretivist Turn
Week 4:
Post-structuralism and Discourse Theory
Week 5:
Institutionalism
Week 6:
Rational Choice Theory
Week 7:
(Reading week: no workshop)
Week 8:
Elite Interviewing and Documentary Analysis
Week 9:
Case Studies and the Comparative Method
Week 10:
Textual Analysis
Week 11:
Ethnography
Week 12:
Surveys and Opinion Polls
----------------------------------------------------------------------------GENERAL READING LIST
T Ball
A F Chalmers
P Dunleavy
R E Goodin &
H-D Klingemann, eds.,
M Hollis
Idioms of Inquiry: Critique and Renewal in
Political Science
What is this thing called Science?
Authoring a PhD: How to Plan, Draft, Write and
Finish a Doctoral Thesis or Dissertation
A New Handbook of Political Science
The Philosophy of Social Science: An
Introduction
The Oxford Handbook of British Politics
M.Flinders, A.Gamble,
C.Hay & M.Kenny, eds.,
D Marsh and G Stoker
Theories and Methods of Political Science
L Phillips & M W Jorgensen Discourse Analysis as Theory and
Method
D Silverman
Interpreting Qualitative Data: Methods for
Analyzing Talk, Texts and Interaction
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N S R Walliman, ed.,
P Winch
G H von Wright
Your Research Project: A Step-by-Step Guide for
the First-Time Researcher
The Idea of a Social Science and its Relation to
Philosophy
Explanation and Understanding
If you wish to purchase a 'textbook', the following are recommended:
D Marsh and G Stoker,
And/or
P Burnham et al.,
Theories and Methods of Political Science, 2nd
edition (2002)
Research Methods in Politics, 2nd edition (2008)
A minimum of essential reading will be set each week by the workshop
convenor.
Part One: Semester 1
Week 1
Introduction/Research Ethics: Mark Pennington
Essential Reading:
K Dowding
‘There Must Be End to Confusion: Policy
Networks, Intellectual Fatigue, and the Need for
Political Science Methods Courses in British
Universities’, Political Studies, 49 (2001), 89-105
D Marsh and M Smith
‘There is More than One Way to Do Political
Science’, Political Studies 49 (2001), 528-41
Week 2
Introduction to the History of Political Science: a British approach to the
study of Politics?: Michael Kenny
How and when did ‘Politics’ develop as a separate discipline within the
academy? And to what extent has the history of its emergence from the
influence of other powerful subjects, such as History, Philosophy and Law,
shaped how political science is conceived and conducted? This seminar
focuses on the question of whether there has been a specifically British
approach to the study of politics, and considers if the British tradition
represents an obstacle or a platform for contemporary research. Was the study
of politics in Britain conducted in too amateurish a manner? Do we now need
to rely predominantly upon theoretical approaches and methodologies imported
from elsewhere, notably American political science? And what stance should
professional political science adopt towards politics itself?
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Key Questions




When did political science emerge as a subject in the modern
University?
What has been the ‘British’ approach to political study?
How much distance does professional political science require from
political life?
What are the benefits of theories and approaches associated with US
political science?
Essential Reading
R Adcock
& M.Bevir
J Farr
M Kenny
‘The History of Political Science’, Political
Studies Review, 3 (2005), 1-16
‘The History of Political Science’, American Journal of
Political Science, 32/4 (1988), 1175-95
‘Politics as an Academic Vocation’, in M.Flinders,
A.Gamble, C.Hay & M.Kenny, eds., The Oxford
Handbook of British Politics
Additional Reading
‘The British Study of Politics’, in M.Flinders, A.Gamble,
C.Hay & M.Kenny, eds., The Oxford Handbook of
British Politics
M Bevir
‘Political studies as narrative and science, 1880–1980’,
Political Studies 54 (2006), 583–606
M Bevir
‘Prisoners of Professionalism: On the Construction and
Responsibility of Political
Studies’, Public Administration, 79 (2), 469–89
J Hayward, et al.,
The Study of British Politics in the Twentieth Century
B Crick,
The American Science of Politics
M Kenny,
‘The Case for Disciplinary History: British Political
Studies in the 1950s and 1960s, British Journal of
Politics and International Relations, 6 (4), 2004, 565-83.
J Gunnell
Imagining the American Polity: Political Science and the
Discourse of Democracy
D Ricci
The Tragedy of Political Science
R Adcock, M Bevir Modern Political Science
& S Stimson, eds.,
R.Goodin
Week 3:
Postivism, Behaviouralism and the Interpretivist Turn: Michael Kenny
The study of political science has been profoundly affected by debates in the
philosophy of the social sciences about whether our theories of political
phenomena should be developed subsequent to the collection of empirical
evidence (the ‘inductive’ view, broadly speaking) or should be developed
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separately from, and tested against, the available evidence (the deductive view).
The question of what is the scope for the ‘testing’ of theories in relation to
Politics has been the subject of considerable debate within Anglo-American
political science. This session introduces Karl Popper’s contributions to these
debates and their impact upon positivist conceptions of the discipline, and will
chart the emergence of the behaviouralist revolution. It will also introduce
students to some of the most important critiques of the claims to ‘value-free’
political science, and explore the different causes of the ‘interpretivist’ turn in
recent years.
Key Questions:





Why did Popper reject inductive approaches to social science in favour
of the hypothetico-deductive model?
Can the methods of the natural sciences be applied in a social science
context?
Why is positivism particularly associated with the use of quantitative
research methods?
What were the premises and pitfalls of behaviouralism?
What are the major critiques of positivism and behaviouralism?
Essential reading
A F Chalmers
R Johns
M Bevir & R Rhodes
What is this thing called Science?, chapters 1-10
‘Behaviouralism’, in M Flinders, A Gamble, C
Hay & M Kenny, eds., The Oxford Handbook of
British Politics
‘Interpretive Theory’, in D.Marsh & G.Stoker,
eds., Theories and Methods of Political Science
Additional reading
D Sanders
R Dahl
P Dunleavy
R J Bernstein
P Feyerabend
J Glynos & D Howarth
T Kuhn
‘Behaviouralism’ in D Marsh & G Stoker, eds.,
Theories and Methods of Political Science
‘The Behavioural Approach to Political Science’,
American Political Science Review, 55 (1961),
763-72
‘Political Behavior: Institutional & Experiential
Approaches’, in R Goodin & H Klingemann, eds.,
A New Handbook of Political Science
The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory,
Part I: Empirical Theory
Against Method: Outline of an Anarchistic
Theory of Knowledge, 3rd edition, pp. vii-xiv, 123, 214-37, 268-72
Logics of Critical Explanation in Social and
Political Theory
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 2nd
edition, chapter 10 and Postscript
I Lakatos &
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A Musgrave, eds.,
D Marsh & G Stoker
I Oren
K Popper
A Ryan
G H von Wright
Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge
Theories and Methods of Political Science, 2nd
edition
‘Can Political Science Emulate the Natural
Sciences? The problem of Self-Disconfirming
Analysis’, Polity 38, (2006), 72-99
The Logic of Scientific Discovery
‘Is the Study of Society a Science?’, in D Potter et
al., Society and the Social Sciences: An
Introduction, Chapter 2
The Logical Problem of Induction, 2nd edition,
Chapter 4
Week 4
Post-structuralism and Discourse Theory: Lasse Thomassen
This workshop will consider post-structuralist approaches to political analysis
and, in particular, what is called discourse theory. Like other post-empiricist
approaches to the philosophy of social science, post-structuralism rejects
empiricism and positivism. While post-structuralists share a focus on meaning
with hermeneuticists, they also break with the latter on important points.
Debates about the creation of meaning, rationality and objectivity, the role of
language, and the importance of historical and cultural context, will be
discussed. Problems of contingency, relativism and subjectivism that are
sometimes associated with post-structuralism will also be broached.
Key Questions





What challenge might post-structuralism pose for theories of human
action?
Is post-structuralism anti-science?
What kind of assumptions does a post-structuralist methodology make
about the social world? How might this be applied to qualitative
research? (You might want to think about decision-making structures
and power relations in this context).
Can social institutions be treated and studied as discourses?
Can discourse theory explain anything?
Essential readings
J Williams
Understanding Poststructuralism, chap 1 and 7
... and one of the following:
D Howarth
‘Discourse Theory’, in D Marsh & G Stoker, eds,
Theory and Methods in Political Science
9
D Howarth
‘Discourse theory and political analysis’, in E
Scarbrough & E Tanenbaum, eds., Research
Strategies in the Social Sciences
Additional readings
European Political Science 2:1 (2002). ‘Symposium: Discourse Analysis and
Political Science’
K Atkins, ed.,
Self and Subjectvity: Blackwell Readings in
Continental Philosophy (Sections on poststructuralism and feminist philosophy)
B E Babich et al.,
Continental and Postmodern Perspectives in the
Philosophy of Science
T Ball
Idioms of Inquiry: Critique and Renewal in
Political Science, Part II
W E Connolly
The Terms of Political Discourse, 3rd edition
A Finlayson &
J Valentine, eds.,
Politics and Poststructuralism: An Introduction
D Fuss
Essentially Speaking: Feminism, Nature &
Difference, chapters 1, 6 and 7
M Foucault
Power/Knowledge: Interviews with Michel
Foucault
J Glynos & D Howarth
Logics of critical Explanation in Social and
Political Theory
I Hacking
Historical Ontology
D Howarth
Discourse
D Howarth
‘Applying Discourse Theory: the Method of
Articulation’, in D Howarth & J Torfing, eds.,
Discourse Theory in European Politics: Identity,
Policy and Governance
D Howarth, A J Norval
& Y Stavrakakis
Discourse Theory and Political Analysis
E Laclau
‘Philosophical Roots of Discourse Theory’,
available at
http://www.essex.ac.uk/centres/TheoStud/docum
ents_and_files/pdf/Laclau%20%20philosophical%20roots%20of%20discourse
%20theory.pdf
E Laclau
‘Discourse’, in R A Goodin & P Pettit, eds., A
Companion to Contemporary Political
Philosophy
E Laclau
‘Ideology and post-Marxism’, Journal of Political
Ideologies 11 (2), 2006, 103-14
E Laclau & C Mouffe
Hegemony and Socialist Strategy
L Phillips & M W Jørgensen Discourse Analysis as Theory and
Method
M Sarup
An Introductory Guide to Poststructuralism and
Postmodernism
Y Sherratt
Continental Philosophy of Science
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L Thomassen
J Torfing
J Torfing
M Wetherell et al. eds.,
‘Discourse analytical strategies: antagonism,
hegemony and ideology after heterogeneity’,
Journal of Political Ideologies 10, 2005, 289-309
New Theories of Discourse: Laclau, Mouffe and
Žižek
‘Discourse Theory: Achievements, Arguments,
and Challenges’, in D Howarth & J Torfing, eds.,
Discourse Theory in European Politics: Identity,
Policy and Governance
Discourse Theory and Practice
Week 5
Cultural Institutionalism: Brendan O’Duffy
In contrast to rational choice, institutionalism’s emphasis on institutions as
coordination mechanisms that create or sustain equilibria, cultural (or
‘historical’) institutionalism argue that institutions emerge from and are
embedded in temporal processes that create large degrees of path dependency
to limit individual autonomy. The seminar will first explore at a general
theoretical level the contrasting explanations of institutional evolution offered
by rational choice and cultural institutionalism. We will then apply insights
from the comparative theories of institutional change to the phenomena of
nationalism and ethno-national conflict as a way of exploring the potential for
synthesis between the two institutional approaches.
Key Questions:

What are the main ontological and epistemological differences between
rational choice and cultural (historical) institutionalism?

To what extent are the two approaches complementary?

In what ways do cultural institutional approaches to the study of
nationalism (Hutchinson) and ethno-national conflict address the
‘agency’ problem in their explanations of institutional change?

How have rational choice approaches to linguistic nationalism (Laitin)
incorporated insights from cultural institutionalism?
Essential reading:
G Steinmetz
K Thelan
‘Introduction: Culture and the State’ in G Steinmetz .,
eds., State/Culture: New Approaches to the State after
the Cultural Turn (1999)
‘Historical Institutionalism in Comparative Perspective’,
Annual Review of Political Science, (1999), 369-404
Applied to nationalism:
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J Hutchinson
S J Kaufman
D Laitin
‘Hot and Banal Nationalisms’, chap 4, in Nations as
Zones of Conflict (2005)
‘The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War, chap 2, in
Modern Hatreds: The Symbolic Politics of Ethnic War
Nations, States and Violence (2010) chap 4.
Additional Readings:
‘Articulating Theories of States and State Formation’,
Journal of Historical Sociology, 22 (4), 2009, 553-603
P Corrigan and D Sayer The Great Arch: English State Formation as Cultural
Revolution (1985)
A Greif and D Laitin, ‘A Theory of Endogenous Institutional Change’,
American Political Science Review, 98 (4), 2004, 63352
P Carroll
Week 6
Rational Choice Theory and Research Methods: Mark Pennington
This seminar will explore how the central concern of rational choice theory individual responsiveness to ‘incentives’ - is reflected in the nature of debates
over appropriate research methodologies in political science. The seminar will
consider the link between ‘hard’ rational choice theory and a quantitative
approach to empirical political science and the alternative research methods
adopted by ‘soft’ variants of the theory. It will also consider the difference
between rational choice models in a ‘hypothesis testing’ context and their use
in the formation of ‘analytic narratives’.
Key Questions:





What are the differences between ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ rational choice
theory?
Why is ‘hard’ rational choice associated with a ‘hypothesis testing’
approach to empirical work?
Is ‘soft’ rational choice compatible with a ‘hypothesis testing’
approach?
What role can case studies play in rational choice research?
How might rational choice theory be used in the context of ‘analytic
narratives’?
Reading:
Essential Reading
R Bates, et al.
Critical Review,
Analytic Narratives
Vol. 9. Nos 1-2 – a special issue of this journal on
Rational Choice, particularly recommended are
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the papers by Chong, Fiorina, Lohmann, and
Shepsle.
These and other papers were subsequently
republished as:
J Friedman, ed.,
The Rational Choice Controversy
Additional readings
D Green & I Shapiro
A Hindmoor
Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory
Rational Choice, especially Chapter 9.
M Lichbach
Is Rational Choice Theory All of Social Science?,
especially Chapters 1-4 and 10.
‘Contending Conceptions of the Theory of
Rational Action’, Journal of Theoretical Politics,
11 (2), 171-202
‘A Behavioural Approach to the Rational Choice
Theory of Collective Action, American Political
Science Review, 92 (1), 1-22
Governing the Commons
‘Discourses of the Prisoners’ Dilemma: The Role
of the Local Press in Environmental Policy,
Environmental Politics, 10 (3), 2001, 48-71
K D Opp
E Ostrom
E Ostrom
Y Rydin & M Pennington
Week 7
Reading Week: no workshop
Week 8
Elite Interviews and Documentary Analysis: Adam Fagan
The aim of this workshop is twofold. First, it provides an introduction to the
range of documentary sources available to the political scientist and assesses
the merits of different types of documentary material. Second, it considers a
technique particularly employed by political scientists, elite interviewing. In so
doing, it explains what is distinctive about this technique and examines the
problems associated with its use.
Key questions:



What methods should we use to select the appropriate documentary
sources for our research?
How can we design elite interview schedules as part of a process of
hypothesis testing?
How can we design elite interviews as part of an interpretive research
project?
13

What are the strengths and weaknesses of elite interviewing as a
technique?
Essential reading:
P. Burnham, et al., Research Methods in Politics (2004) chapter 7
‘Documentary and Archival Analysis’.
Additional reading:
A.
Milward,
R. Gardner,
The Reconstruction of Western Europe 1945-51 (1984).
Classic reinterpretation of European post-war reconstruction
drawing on archival sources from six countries and
documentary material from eleven more. It illustrates how
archives can be drawn upon to build a clear argument rather
than simply offer a narrative.
Sterling Dollar Diplomacy in Current Perspective (1980).
Carefully researched account of post-war diplomacy using
official documents, newspaper reports, journals and other
published material.
H. Rubin and I.Rubin, Qualitative Interviewing (1995). This remains the most
useful text on qualitative interviewing and Political Science
Politics
35 (4) 2002, contains a number of helpful articles on the
application of the technique in the study of politics.
A Jones and J. Clark, The Modalities of European Union Governance (2001).
This book makes effective use of interviews with over one
hundred actors in the EU multi-level governance system.
Week 9
Case Studies and the Comparative Method: Mark Pennington
This session will consider both the rationale for using case studies within a
Political Science research project and explore various methodological
approaches to their use as part of qualitative and quantitative research. In
particular, we will consider how to select case studies as part of sample
surveys; how to use and select case studies as the basis of both small and largescale comparative research; how to use case studies either to ‘test’ hypotheses
or to extend understanding of the differences between apparently unique cases.
Workshop questions:



What is the rationale for using case studies as part of a research project?
What factors will determine the selection of case studies for a
comparative research project?
How can case studies be used to test hypotheses as part of a qualitative
and/or quantitative study?
14

How can case studies be employed to extend understanding of
apparently unique cases?
Reading:
A Bennett & A George
H E Brady & D Collier
B Geddes
R K Yin
Case Studies and Theory Development in the
Social Sciences
Rethinking Social Inquiry
Paradigms and Sand Castles, especially chapter 3
Case Study Research, especially chapters 1, 2 and
3
Week 10
Textual Analysis: Judith Bara
As we have already seen (in Week 9), documentary materials are a fruitful
source of data which can be ‘excavated’ to provide estimates or infer meaning.
This week we will consider how this can be managed effectively by means of
discourse analysis or content analysis. Essentially an epistemological tool,
discourse analysis is a qualitative method which focuses on language as a social
construction. Content analysis can be used qualitatively and as a basis for
quantitative analysis and is a pioneer in the quest for enhancing validity
through the process of triangulation. Increasingly, studies based on content
analysis are employing computerised techniques. The workshop will focus
mainly on content analysis of political text.
Workshop questions:


Can we establish both saliency and meaning by means of content
analysis?
How do we engage in content analysis of political documents?
Essential Reading
P Burnham, et al.,
I Budge, H-D Klingemann
A Volkens, J Bara &
E Tanenbaum
D Howarth
Research Methods in Politics, 2nd edition,
Chapter 10 ‘Discourse Analysis and Other
Methods’.
Mapping Policy Preferences, especially
Introduction and Chapter 2
‘Discourse Theory’, in D Marsh and G Stoker,
eds., Theories and Methods of Political Science
Additional Reading
R P Weber
Basic Content Analysis
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K Krippendorf
K A Neuendorf
D Howarth
N Fairclough
Applications:
N Fairclough
A Norval
J Bara
J Bara
J Bara
J Bara, A Weale
& A Bicquelet
Content Analysis: An introduction to its
methodology
The Content Analysis Guidebook
Discourse
Analysing Discourse
New Labour, New Language
Deconstructing Apartheid Discourse
‘The 2005 Manifestos: A sense of déjà vu?’,
Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties,
16 (3), 2006, 265-82
‘Do parties reflect public concerns?’ in J
Bara
and A Weale, eds., Democratic Politics and Party
Competition
‘A Question of Trust: Implementing Party
Manifestos’, Parliamentary Affairs, 58 (3), 2005,
585-99
‘Analysing Parliamentary Debate with
Computer Assistance’, Swiss Political Science
Review, 13 (4), 2007, 577-606
Week 11
Focus Groups, Ethnography and Participant Observation: Mark
Pennington
This workshop will focus on how to use qualitative research tools to explore
group discussions or observe research subjects in their lived environment. It
will consider how to use methodological tools to test hypotheses and to
undertake more interpretive research approaches. It will look at how to set up
these methods of data capture and how to approach the analysis of data. As well
as looking at the theory of group discussions, ethnography and participant
observation, the session will explore case studies in which these methods have
been used.
Key Questions

What types of research question can best be explored through focus
groups, ethnography and participant observation?

How should data generated by these methods be analysed?
Essential Reading
G Payne and J Payne
Key Concepts in Social Research (entries on
Ethnography, Ethnomethodology and
Conversational Analysis, Participant Observation
and Qualitative Methods)
16
P. Burnham and K. Gilland Research Methods in Politics
W. Grant and Z. Layton(2004) Chapter 10 ‘Participation Observation and
the Analysis of Communications’.
Additional Reading
‘The methodology of Focus Groups: the
importance of interaction between research
participants’, Sociology of Health and Illness, 16
(1), 1994, 103-121
S. Wilkinson
‘Focus Groups in Feminist Research: Power,
Interaction and the Co-Construction of Meaning’,
Women’s Studies International Forum, 21 (1),
1998, 111-125
D. Silverman
‘Analysing conversation’ in C.Seale, ed.,
Researching Society and Culture (1998), 261-74
A. Finlayson, et al
The interpretive approach in political science: a
symposium, British Journal of Politics and
International Relations, 6 (2), 2004, 129-164
D. Morgan
Focus Groups as Qualitative Research (1997)
D. Stewart & P. Shamdasani Focus Groups: Theory and Practice (1990)
J. Templeton
The Focus Group: a strategic guide to organizing,
conducting and analyzing the focus group
interview (1994)
T. Greenbaum
The Handbook for Focus Group Research (1998)
M. Bloor et al.,
Focus Groups in Social Research (2001)
R. Krueger
Developing Questions for Focus Group (1998)
R. Krueger
Moderating Focus Groups (1998)
D. Silverman, ed.,
Qualitative Research: Theory, Method and
Practice (1997)
B. Berg
Qualitative Research Methods for the Social
Sciences (2001)
A. Holliday
Doing and Writing Qualitative Research London:
(2002)
H. Wolcott
Writing up Qualitative Research (2001)
J. Kitzinger
Week 12
Surveys and Opinion Polls: Rainbow Murray
This session considers the issues and potential pitfalls in designing and
interpreting surveys and opinion polls. Areas covered include question
wording; question sequencing; the use of loaded, leading and misleading
questions; sampling bias; response rates; overlapping categories; survey length;
the differences between face-to-face, telephone, postal and internet surveys;
social desirability bias; multiple interpretations; double-barrelled questions;
pilots; open-ended and closed questions. We will then have a go at designing
surveys which avoid the usual traps.
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Workshop questions



How can surveys be used in social research?
What precautions should be used when interpreting public opinion
polls?
How can the pitfalls of poor survey design be avoided?
Essential reading
P Burnham et al.,
Research Methods in Politics 2nd edition
Chapter 4 and relevant sections of Chapter 8
Additional material will also be provided on Blackboard.
Additional reading
P L Alreck, & R B Settle,
The Survey Research Handbook (2nd edition)
E R Babbie
Survey Research Methods
L B Bourque & E P Fiedler, How to Conduct Self-Administered and Mail
Surveys
N M Bradburn & S Sudman Improving Interview Method and Questionnaire
Design
N M Bradburn & S Sudman, Polls and Surveys: Understanding What They Tell
Us
L M Rea & R A Parker
Designing and Conducting Survey Research
P Salant & D A Dillman
How to Conduct your Own Survey
N Moon
Opinion Polls: History, Theory and Practice
F Joliffe
Survey Design and Analysis
F Fowler
Improving Survey Questions: Design and
Evaluation
H Schuman
Questions and Answers in Attitude Surveys:
Experiments on Question Form, Wording and
Context
F Fowler
Survey Research Methods, Chapters 5-7.
* D DeVaus
Surveys in Social Research, Chapters 6 & 7.
*J Manheim & P Rich
Empirical Political Analysis: Research Methods
in Political Science, Chapter 8.
N Sauger
‘Assessing the accuracy of the polls for the
French presidential election: the 2007
experience’, French Politics, 6 (2), 116-136
You should also take a look at journals such as Political Analysis, The Public
Opinion Quarterly and JEPOP (The Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and
Parties).
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MODULE OUTLINE: SEMESTER 2
The second part of the course looks at quantitative research methods. This part
of the course is taught differently to the first part. Sessions are interactive and
comprise a lecture followed by a hands-on computer lab session. The lectures
introduce theories and concepts, while the lab sessions teach students how to
apply these concepts in practice using the statistical software programme SPSS.
Sessions are both challenging and cumulative, so it is extremely important that
you make every effort to attend each week or you will fall behind and find it
harder to follow. Please note that in order to use computer software during
these sessions, they will be held in a different venue to the first part of the
course. The classes are also longer in order to allow time for questions and to
allow for the variable pace at which students will progress during the computer
lab sessions. Students who adapt quickly to the techniques learned in this
course may not require the full three hours, but students should always be
available until 1pm in case they do require extra guidance in any given week.
Readings are not provided for each individual week. Much of what is taught is
based on statistical theory and on the practical application of SPSS, so general
readings covering these two areas are offered at the end of this handbook.
Additional readings are suggested for the first project. In addition, articles
using the techniques covered in the course will be available on Blackboard as
an illustration of how the methods can be applied in practice. The course does
not assume any prior knowledge of statistics or SPSS, and the course begins at
an introductory level, although it advances fairly quickly so students should
allow the necessary preparation time each week to enable them to keep pace.
Students are expected to do sufficient reading to understand the concepts
introduced each week, and to practise data analysis between sessions to make
sure that they are confident about applying what they have learned. SPSS can
be used on university computers and is also available for purchase at a
subsidised fee if people wish to practise at home.
Week 1
Introduction to quantitative analysis using SPSS
This lecture introduces the concept of data analysis and explains how and why
social scientists use this kind of research. This session provides a taster of the
quantitative methods section of the course. Students are introduced to concepts
such as the difference between dependent and independent variables; sampling;
significance; correlation; and error. The session is followed by an introduction
to SPSS, where students are shown the software and learn how to input data.
Week 2
Descriptive statistics
This lecture begins with a recap and refresher from the first session. Students
are then introduced to new concepts including distributions, standard deviations
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and the difference between nominal, ordinal and interval variables. Descriptive
statistics such as frequencies and cross-tabulations are introduced, and students
are taught how to test for significance using chi squares. The lab session
teaches students how to conduct and analyse descriptive statistics using SPSS,
and how to recode their variables.
Week 3
Measurements and scales
This week we think about how things are measured and categorised, and how
this is translated into numerical data. We learn how to group variables together
and to compare them for certain kinds of analysis. We then learn about scales
and scale reliability, using more than one measure to test the same thing in
order to reduce bias. In the lab session we learn how to sort, split and group
data, and how to conduct statistical tests of scale reliability, using data from the
British Electoral Survey (BES).
Week 4
Measures of association and correlation
In this lecture we look at relationships between variables. In addition to the
significance of a relationship, we also need to think about the strength and the
direction of a relationship so that we know what it is telling us and how it
compares to other relationships. We look at correlations, outliers and
interpretations. This is the first step towards being able to make predictions
based on our data. In the lab session, we learn how to test the correlations
between variables and look at different statistical tests for measuring these
relationships.
Week 5
Recap, preparing for the first project
This session provides an opportunity to evaluate what we have learned so far,
to go over any concepts that students are uncertain about, and to introduce the
first coursework project and explain what is expected of students. The first
project will be based on material covered up to and including this session.
Students may use the lab session to revisit areas they have found difficult or to
begin work on their projects with the benefit of supervision and guidance.
Week 6
Statistical primer
This week is compulsory for MRes students, and optional for PhD students who
will not be making extensive use of quantitative methods in their theses. The
purpose of this session is to explain statistical concepts in greater depth. The
lecture will provide a richer and more detailed understanding of the theories
and principles underlining the practical elements of the course. Concepts
explored will include standard error, standard deviation, the central limit
theorem, comparing means, and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The lab
session will show you how to compare means within and between groups.
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Week 7
Reading week – no class
Week 8
Introduction to regression
This lecture introduces regression analysis, explaining the basic principles
behind regression and the practical applications of regression analysis for
political research. The lecture explains the potentials and limitations of
regression and introduces the theoretical concepts underlying bivariate
regression. The importance of understanding error is also explained. The lab
session begins with a guided walkthrough of how to conduct and interpret a
regression, with an emphasis on understanding the various pieces of
information provided in the regression output.
Week 9
Multiple regression
This week we expand on the concepts learned last week and apply them to
multivariate analysis – that is to say, conducting a regression with more than
one independent variable. The theory behind multiple regression is explained
and various concepts are introduced, including standard errors, confidence
intervals, T values, standardised versus non-standardised coefficients and R2.
The lab session allows you to have a go at doing your own regressions, with
guidance provided on how to interpret your findings.
Week 10
Violations of regression: multicollinearity and heteroscedasticity
This lecture begins by explaining some of the assumptions underlying
regression analysis, and then explains what happens if these assumptions are
violated. Two common problems are multicollinearity and heteroscedasticity.
These are introduced with an emphasis on what causes them, what
consequences they have, and how to fix them. This is followed in the lab
session by using diagnostic tools on SPSS to determine whether a regression
suffers from either of these problems, and considering ways to resolve the
problem.
Week 11
Logistic regression
Logistic regression is a valuable variant of regression which allows regression
analysis to be conducted when the dependent variable is a dummy variable.
This session is of benefit to those wishing to use logistic regression in their
future research, but students are not expected to include logistic regression in
their projects. The concepts of logistic regression are explained, the differences
between logistic and OLS regression explored, and the different ways of
interpreting the output are discussed. The lab session begins with a
demonstration of how to conduct a logistic regression and interpret the output
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using the concepts introduced in the lecture. Students are then encouraged to
conduct their own logistic regressions using the BES dataset.
Week 12
Recap and preparing for the second project
This is the final session before the second project is due. The lecture revisits
the core concepts covered in weeks 8-11, reviewing regression analysis,
interpretation of output, problems with the data and how to diagnose and
resolve them, and logistic regression. Students are welcome to bring their
projects along to the lab session and ask for help with any problem areas.
General reading list – quantitative research methods
Rowntree, D. (1991) Statistics without tears: A primer for non-mathematicians.
London: Penguin
Healy, J. (1998) Statistics: a Tool for Social Research. Belmont, CA:
Wadsworth
Burton, D. (Ed.) (2000) Research Training for Social Scientists: A Handbook
for graduate researchers. London: Sage
King, G. (1986) ‘How not to lie with statistics: avoiding common mistakes in
quantitative political science’, American Journal of Political Science, vol 30,
no 3, 666-687 (on Blackboard)
Pennings, P., Keman, H. & Kleinnijenhuis, J. (1999) Doing Research in
Political Science. London: Sage
Graziano, A. M. & M. L. Raulin (2010), Research Methods : A process of
inquiry, Seventh Edition. Boston: Pearson Education.
On SPSS/ PASW
George, D & P. Mallery (2010), SPSS for Windows Step by Step. Eleventh
edition, 18.0 update. Pearson Education.
Field, A (2009) Discovering statistics using SPSS 3nd editon. Sage.
Norusis, Marija (2011), PASW Statistics 18 Guide to Data Analysis. Pearson.
Stern, L. D. (2010), A Visual Approach to SPSS for Windows: a guide to SPSS
17.0. Second edition. Pearson.
On statistical theory
Levin, Jack, James Fox, and David Forde (2009), Elementary Statistics in
Social Research, 11th edition. (international ed) Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.
Agresti, Alan, and Barbara Finlay (2008), Statistical Methods for the Social
Sciences (International edition 4th). Pearson
(harder) Gujarati, D. (1995) Basic Econometrics. New York London :
McGraw-Hill
On regression
Allison, P. (1999) Multiple Regression: A Primer. Thousand Oaks, California:
Pine Forge Press (recommended)
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Lewis-Beck, M (1985) Applied regression: an introduction. Sage.
Berry, William D. (1993), Understanding Regression Assumptions. Series:
Quantitative Analysis in the Social Sciences. Sage.
Lewis-Beck, Michael S. 1995. Data Analysis: An Introduction. Sage.
Lewis-Beck, Michael (1980), Applied Regression: An Introduction. Series:
Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 22. Sage Publishers.
Schroeder, Larry D., David L. Sjoquist, and Paula, E. Stephan (1986),
Understanding Regression Analysis: An Introductory Guide. Thousand Oaks,
CA: Sage Publications.
On gender gaps in voting behaviour (for project 1)
Essential
Norris, P (1999), “Gender: a gender-generation gap?” in P. Norris (ed) (1999),
Critical Elections: British Parties and Voters in Long-Term Perspective
(London: Sage)
Inglehart, I & Norris, P (1999), “The Developmental Theory of the Gender
Gap: Women’s and Men’s Voting Behaviour in Global Perspective”, The
International Political Science Review (May 1999)
Campbell, R. (2004) ‘Gender, Ideology and Issue Preference: Is There such a
Thing as a Political Women’s Interest in Britain?’, The British Journal of
Politics and International Relations, vol. 6 (1), pp. 20-44.
Further reading
Campbell, R. (2006) Gender and the Vote in Britain. Colchester: ECPR Press.
Childs, S. (2004) ‘A British Gender Gap? Gender and Political Participation’,
The Political Quarterly, vol. 75(4), October, pp. 422-424.
Hill, L. (2003) ‘The Political Gender Gap: Australia, Britain and the United
States’, Policy and Society, vol. 22(1), pp. 69-96.
Ingelhart, I. and Norris, P. (2002) The Gender Gap in Voting and Public
Opinion, pp. 1-16, available at
http://ksghome.harvard.edu/~pnorris/ACROBAT/risingtide/Chapter%204.pdf
Norris, P. (1996) ‘Mobilising the ‘Women’s Vote: The Gender-Generation Gap
in Voting Behaviour’, Parliamentary Affairs, vol. 49 (1), pp. 333-342.
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