Rethinking social inquiry : diverse tools, shared standards / edited by Henry E. Brady and David Collier.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Brady, Henry E.

Collier, David, 1942-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social sciences--Research.

Social sciences.

Social sciences--Methodology.

Physical Description:

xx, 362 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham, MD : Rowman & Littlefield, [2004]

Summary:

When it was first published, Designing Social Inquiry, by political scientists Gary King, Robert Keohane, and Sidney Verba, at once struck chords of controversy. As it became one of the best-selling methodology books in memory, it continued to spark debat

Contents:

1. Refocusing the Discussion of Methodology / Henry E. Brady, David Collier, Jason Seawright 3

Mainstream Quantitative Methods, Qualitative Methods, and Statistical Theory 3

The Debate on Designing Social Inquiry 5

DSI's Contribution 5

Tools and Standards 7

Toward an Alternative View of Methodology 10

Critiques of the Quantitative Template 15

Qualitative Tools 16

Linking the Quantitative and Qualitative Traditions 18

Diverse Tools, Shared Standards 19

2. The Quest for Standards: King, Keohane, and Verba's Designing Social Inquiry / David Collier, Jason Seawright, Gerardo L. Munck 21

Scientific Research, Inference, and Assumptions 22

Scientific Research 22

Inference 23

Descriptive Inference 23

Causal Inference 25

Making Inferences: Quantitative Tools and Analytic Goals 26

Causal Homogeneity 29

Independence of Observations 30

Conditional Independence 31

Guidelines: Summarizing DSI's Framework 36

A. Defining the Research Problem 37

B. Specifying the Theory 38

C. Selecting Cases and Observations 38

D. Descriptive Inference 40

E. Causal Inference 42

F. Further Testing and Reformulating the Theory 44

Anticipating the Discussion of DSI's Framework 44

I. Areas of Convergence 44

II. Areas of Divergence 46

II. Critiques of the Quantitative Template 51

3. Doing Good and Doing Better: How Far Does the Quantitative Template Get Us? / Henry E. Brady 53

Theology versus Homiletics 53

Descending from the Rhetorical Heights 56

Explanation and Causality 56

Measurement 62

4. Some Unfulfilled Promises of Quantitative Imperialism / Larry M. Bartels 69

The Contribution and a Shortcoming 70

Omissions and an Agenda for Research 71

Uncertainty 71

Qualitative Evidence 71

Measurement Error 72

Multiplying Observations 73

5. How Inference in the Social (but Not the Physical) Sciences Neglects Theoretical Anomaly / Ronald Rogowski 75

Problemation and Deductive Theorizing 76

Theory and Anomaly: Some Examples 77

Lessons 82

6. Claiming Too Much: Warnings about Selection Bias / David Collier, James Mahoney, Jason Seawright 85

Do the Warnings Claim Too Much? 86

Selecting Extreme Values on the Dependent Variable: Why Is It an Issue? 88

An Example 89

Understanding Why Selection Bias Results from Truncation 90

Selection Bias in Qualitative Research 92

Cross-Case Analysis and Selection Bias 94

Within-Case Analysis and Selection Bias 95

Evaluating the Causal Relationship 96

Atypical Cases and Overgeneralization 97

Stern Warnings about No-Variance Designs 99

Further Observations about Cross-Case and Within-Case Comparison 100

III. Qualitative Tools 103

7. Tools for Qualitative Research / Gerardo L. Munck 105

Qualitative Methods: A Survey of Tools 107

Defining the Universe of Cases: Context, Typologies, and Process Tracing 107

Case Selection: Dilemmas of Increasing the Number of Observations 112

Measurement and Data Collection 115

Causal Assessment in Cross-Case and Within-Case Designs 116

Beyond Strict Hypothesis Testing: Theory Generation, Reformulation, and the Iterated Assessment of Hypotheses 119

8. Turning the Tables: How Case-Oriented Research Challenges Variable-Oriented Research / Charles C. Ragin 123

Constitution of Cases 125

Study of Uniform Outcomes 128

Definition of Negative Cases 130

Examination of Multiple and Conjunctural Causes 133

Treatment of Nonconforming Cases and "Determinism" 135

9. Case Studies and the Limits of the Quantitative Worldview / Timothy J. McKeown 139

Philosophy of Science and the Logic of Research 140

DSI's Philosophy of Science 140

DSI and the Popperian View of Theory 142

A Single Logic of Research 143

Is Inference Fundamentally Quantitative? 144

Making Inferences from One or a Few Cases 146

Toward a Methodology of Intensive Research: An Alternative Logic for Case Studies 154

Understanding Existing Research 154

Cognitive Mapping 155

Game Theory Applied to Empirical Situations 156

A "Folk Bayesian" Approach 158

Heuristics for Theory Construction 162

Case Selection Heuristics 163

Thought Experiments and Counterfactuals 163

Exploiting Feedback from Observation to Design 164

Identifying Causal Processes Rather than Testing 164

IV. Linking the Quantitative and Qualitative Traditions 169

10. Bridging the Quantitative-Qualitative Divide / Sidney Tarrow 171

Challenges of Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Data 172

Tools for Bridging the Divide 173

Tracing Processes to Interpret Decisions 173

Systematic and Nonsystematic Variable Discrimination 174

Framing Qualitative Research within Quantitative Profiles 175

Putting Qualitative Flesh on Quantitative Bones 176

Sequencing Quantitative and Qualitative Research 177

Triangulation 178

11. The Importance of Research Design / Gary King, Robert O. Keohane, Sidney Verba 181

What We Tried to Do 182

Our Alleged Errors of Omission 186

Science as a Collective Enterprise 186

Lijphart: The Case Study That Broke the Pluralist Camel's Back 186

Allen: Distinguishing History from Social Science 187

The Perils of Avoiding Selection Bias 188

Katzenstein: Distinguishing Descriptive Inference from Causal Inference 189

Bates: How to Identify a Dependent Variable 190

Triangular Conclusions 191

V. Diverse Tools, Shared Standards 193

12. Critiques, Responses, and Trade-Offs: Drawing Together the Debate / David Collier, Henry E. Brady, Jason Seawright 195

Critiques and Statistical Responses 196

Doing Research That Is Important 197

The Challenge of Promoting Creativity 200

Innovative Research, Trade-Offs, and DSI's Framework 201

Conceptualization and Measurement 202

Critique 203

Statistical Response 204

Selection Bias 209

Critique 210

Statistical Response 211

Probabilistic versus Deterministic Models of Causation 213

The Statistical Responses 220

Trade-Offs in Research Design 221

Trade-Offs, Goals, and Tools 221

Trade-Offs in DSI 224

Placing Trade-Offs at the Center of Attention 224

13. Sources of Leverage in Causal Inference: Toward an Alternative View of Methodology / David Collier, Henry E. Brady, Jason Seawright 229

Experiments, Quasi-Experiments, Observational Studies, and Inferential Monsters 230

Mainstream Quantitative Methods versus Statistical Theory 233

Determinate versus Indeterminate Research Designs 236

Data Mining versus Specification Searches 238

Conditional Independence or the Specification Assumption 240

Four Approaches to the Qualitative versus Quantitative Distinction 244

Level of Measurement 245

Size of the N 245

Statistical Tests 248

Thick versus Thin Analysis 248

Drawing Together the Four Criteria 249

Cases versus Observations 250

Data-Set Observations versus Causal-Process Observations 252

Examples of Causal-Process Observations 256

Implications of Contrasting Types of Observations 258

Qualitative versus Quantitative 260

Adding Observations and Adding Variables: Consequences for the N, Degrees of Freedom, and Inferential Leverage 260

Implications for Research Design 262

Missing Data 263

Standard Quantitative Tools versus Careful Analysis of Causal-Process Observations 263

Conclusion: Drawing Together the Argument 264

Balancing Methodological Priorities: Technification and the Quest for Shared Standards 266

Appendix Data-Set Observations versus Causal-Process Observations: The 2000 U.S. Presidential Election / Henry E. Brady 267

The Option of Regression Analysis 268

Turning to Causal-Process Observations 269

Where Did Lott Go Wrong? 270.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 315-337) and indexes.

ISBN:

0742511251

074251126X

OCLC:

54952956