Methodology in Political Science: Qualitative Research Methods Sept. 24, 2014 by Hung-jen Wang 王宏仁

Today’s Outline Introduction: scientific inference in qualitative research What is qualitative research?

I. Introduction: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research

What Is This Course About? This course is about research in the political science as well as in the social science. Political scienceSocial science: politics, sociology, anthropology, history, economics, and psychology

X1 X2 X3 X4 Ontology Epistemology Methodology (Quantitative vs. Qualitative) Method (statistical or discursive methods )

Different ways to introduce the methodology topic: Philosophy of the social sciences (postmodernism, the nature of truth, relativism etc.) Research tools This course: Trying to make a balance between the two sides

To debate the merits of case studies versus statistical studies?  They are just two different styles of doing research  Two are equally important in the political science  We can combine features of each in our research (ex: Lisa L. Martin, 1992; Robert Putnam, 1993)  Neither quantitative nor qualitative research is superior to the other

Both quantitative and qualitative methods need to pay attention to the rules of scientific inference.  Social science is different from casual observation: the former seeks valid inferences by the systematic use of well-established procedures of inquiry.  Often, we only have limited information, and the social world changes rapidly.  Finally, we hope to get some knowledge, which is however always uncertain.

Defining Scientific Research Is China’s Public Diplomacy Effective? A Time Series Analysis of Public Favorability towards China in Six Countries “From the small number of Chinese studies that are also lacking in specialization, we fail to have any reliable and clear understanding of “what is the actual effectiveness of China’s public diplomacy.” There are two core reasons…The lack of clear and uniform criteria will directly affect our assessment of the effectiveness of China’s public diplomacy. The other reason is that relevant Chinese studies are lacking in scientific research design and an operable and repeatable process of empirical testing. The literature quoted above either does not provide any evidence or only generally uses examples as justification in evaluating whether or not China’s public diplomacy is effective. It does not have the basic ideas of research design such as making uniform criteria, clarifying operational indices, setting control groups, controlling interference factors, and avoiding selection bias, let alone the employment of modern social science research methods such as large sample statistical analysis.” EXAMPLE

Defining Scientific Research (1). The goal is inference.  Scientific research is designed to make descriptive or explanatory inferences on the basis of empirical information about the world.  Not just to collect facts, but requires the analysis to infer beyond the immediate data to learn about other unobserved facts.

(2). The procedures are public.  Scientific research uses explicit, codified, and public methods to generate and analyze data whose reliability can therefore be assessed. [The concern here is that if the method and logic of a researcher’s observations and inferences are left implicit, the scholarly community has no way of judging the validity of what was done.]

(3). The conclusions are uncertain.  By definition, inference is an imperfect process. Reaching perfectly certain conclusions from uncertain data is impossible.

(4). The content is the method.  The content of science is primarily the methods and rules.

Science and Complexity The purpose of using methodology is to make sense of social situations that we perceive as more or less complex. The value of political science depends in part on how well we can simplify reality, and our capacity to simplify depends on whether we can specify outcomes and explanatory variables in a coherent way.

Four Components of Research Design  Research question  The theory  The data  The use of the data

(1). Research question Where do research questions originate? How does a scholar choose the topic for analysis?  There is no rule for choosing which research project to conduct  Sometimes the chosen questions may have a personal and idiosyncratic origin, or personal inclination and values [The motivation]

While there is no rule for choosing a research question, ideally all research projects in the social science should satisfy two criteria:  Fist, a research project should pose a question that is “important” in the real world.  Second, a research project should make a specific contribution to an identifiable scholarly literature by increasing our collective ability to construct verified scientific explanations of some aspect of the world.

In short, a good research question should be relevant to either a real world problem, or an intellectual problem.

(2). The theory Definition: a social science theory is a reasoned and precise speculation about the answer to a research question. How to improve or evaluate a theory? First, choose theories that could be wrong. Second, to make sure a theory is falsifiable. Third, in designing theories, be as concrete as possible. [The principle of “parsimony” sometimes applied]

(3). The data Data are systematically collected elements of information about the world. Several ways to improve data quality: Record and report the process by which the data are generated. In order better to evaluate a theory, collect data on as many of its observable implications as possible. Maximize the validity of our measurements. [the unemployment rate to measure the state of the economy] Ensure that data-collection methods are reliable. [Reliability means that applying the same procedure in the same way will always produce the same measure.] All data and analyses should, insofar as possible, be replicable. [Replicability applies to data and the entire reasoning process used in producing conclusions]

(4). The use of existing data Several ways to improve the use of previously collected data: Whenever possible, we should use data to generate inferences that are “unbiased”. [applying the same methodology for analyzing and drawing conclusions from data across many data sets] Maximizing efficiency of using data. [Not just use our data but all the relevant information in the data]

II. What Is Qualitative Research?

Qualitative Research Genres Anthropology: Ethnomethodology, ethnoscience, and ethnography Sociology: Symbolic interactionism, and the Chicago School Philosophy: Concept analysis, sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, life histories, narrative analysis, and clinical methodology The critical traditions: Postmodern, post-structuralist, postcolonial perspectives, critical discourse analysis, feminist research, critical race theory, cultural studies, critical and performance ethnography, and autoethnography.  They all are derived from traditional and interdisciplinary scholarship

As Denzin and Lincoln (2000) write, “Qualitative research crosscuts disciplines, fields, and subject matters. A complex, interconnected family of terms, concepts, and assumptions surround the term qualitative research” (p.2).

Characteristics of Qualitative Research and Researchers Qualitative research: Takes place in the natural world Uses multiple methods that are interactive and humanistic Focuses on context Is emergent rather than tightly prefigured Is fundamentally interpretive The qualitative researcher: Views social phenomena holistically Systematically reflects on who he/she is in the inquiry Is sensitive to personal biography and how it shapes the study Uses complex reasoning that is multifaceted and iterative

Traditional Social Science vs. Traditional Qualitative research/A Critical Approach Traditional social science: the neutrality, and “knowledge is objective” assumptions Traditional qualitative research: (a) knowledge is not objective truth but is produced intersubjectively; (b) the researcher learns from participants to understand the meaning of their lives; (c) society is reasonably structured A critical approach: (a) knowledge is subjective but the society is essentially conflictual and oppressive; (b) to criticize the exclusion of knowledges and truths from traditional knowledge production; (c) the assumptions behind research questions must be questioned and reframed

Shared Four Critical Assumptions Research fundamentally involves issues of power; The research report is not transparent, but rather it is authored by a raced, gendered, classed, and politically oriented individual; Race, class, and gender etc. are crucial for understanding experience; Historically, traditional research has silenced members of oppressed and marginalized groups

Critical Qualitative Research Methods Narrative analysis Critical ethnography Action research Participatory action research Feminist theories Cultural studies