Research Methods in Politics

Introduction: Methods, Methodology and Making Sense of the Study of Politics.- The Discipline of Politics.- Research Design.- Comparative Methods.- Surveys and Opinion Polls.- Descriptive Statistics.- Making Inferences.- Documentary and Archival Analysis.- The Internet and Political Research.- Elite Interviewing.- Participant Observation and the Analysis of Communications.- Ethics and Political Research.- Research and the Policy Process.- Conclusion: Challenging the Mainstream and the Qualitative/Quantitative Divide.