Comprehensively mapping political science methods: an instructors’ survey

Abstract

A map provides a unique view over the complex relationships of competition and complementarity between methods. It goes beyond the usual approaches to methods, namely monographic, mixed, encyclopaedic and classificatory. A diverse set of fifty social and political science methods instructors were surveyed about their specialty along seventeen dimensions that are regarded as contrasting by the methodology literature. Correspondence analysis and cluster analysis were used to reveal response profiles and proximities between courses. Results show that the 'qualitative/quantitative' divide appears structuring, but not as much as is often conceived. Quantitative-oriented courses form a rather cohesive cluster whereas qualitative courses display high variability regarding empirical material, scales of observation, techniques and epistemologies. The resulting global picture accounts for more dimensions of the quickly expanding space of methods than usual typologies of methods do. We hope it will stimulate new methodological combinations and new ways of teaching methods. KeywordsMethods, methods mapping, methods teaching, correspondence analysis, qualitative/quantitative.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

“…QCA itself constitutes an integrative research approach, as it rests among other things on the integration of case-based and other forms of substantive knowledge (Ragin, 2014). Indeed, while being sui generis in a way, it is also fed by several methods and traditions, both on the qualitative (caseoriented) and on the quantitative (mathematical, albeit nonstatistical) sides (Blanchard, Rihoux, & Álamos-Concha, 2017). More specifically, QCA is about case-based evidence, which is compatible with multiple data collection techniques (see Section 3.1), but also about mathematical formalization in the research process.…”