TY - BOOK AU - Van Evera,Stephen TI - Guide to Methods for Students of Political Science SN - 9780801454455 AV - JA71 .V3 1997eb U1 - 320 22 PY - 2016///] CY - Ithaca, NY PB - Cornell University Press KW - Political science KW - Methodology KW - Education & History Of Education KW - Political Science & Political History KW - Sociology & Social Science KW - POLITICAL SCIENCE / Reference KW - bisacsh KW - Comparative politics KW - Constitutional law KW - Elections KW - Government KW - anthropology KW - applied research KW - bibliography KW - citation KW - comparative research KW - concepts KW - cross-cultural research KW - cultural studies KW - data analysis KW - data KW - demography KW - education KW - empirical research KW - encyclopedia KW - experimental research KW - guide KW - history KW - humanities KW - literature review KW - research KW - social science N1 - Frontmatter --; Contents --; Introduction --; 1. Hypotheses, Laws, and Theories: A User’s Guide --; 2. What Are Case Studies? How Should They Be Performed? --; 3. What Is a Political Science Dissertation? --; 4. Helpful Hints on Writing a Political Science Dissertation --; 5. The Dissertation Proposal --; 6. Professional Ethics --; Appendix: How to Write a Paper --; Further Reading --; Index; restricted access N2 - Stephen Van Evera greeted new graduate students at MIT with a commonsense introduction to qualitative methods in the social sciences. His helpful hints, always warmly received, grew from a handful of memos to an underground classic primer. That primer evolved into a book of how-to information about graduate study, which is essential reading for graduate students and undergraduates in political science, sociology, 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. Science is science."-A section on case studies shows novices the ropes.-Van Evera contends the realm of dissertations is often defined too narrowly "Making and testing theories are not the only games in town. 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. 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. "All institutions and professions that face weak accountability need inner ethical rudders that define their obligations in order to stay on course." UR - https://doi.org/10.7591/9780801454455 UR - https://www.degruyter.com/isbn/9780801454455 UR - https://www.degruyter.com/document/cover/isbn/9780801454455/original ER -