Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences (Belfer Center Studies in International Security) - Softcover

George, Alexander L.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0262572222 ISBN 13: 9780262572224

Publisher: The MIT Press, 2005

Synopsis

The use of case studies to build and test theories in political science and the other social sciences has increased in recent years. Many scholars have argued that the social sciences rely too heavily on quantitative research and formal models and have attempted to develop and refine rigorous methods for using case studies. This text presents a comprehensive analysis of research methods using case studies and examines the place of case studies in social science methodology. It argues that case studies, statistical methods, and formal models are complementary rather than competitive. The book explains how to design case study research that will produce results useful to policymakers and emphasizes the importance of developing policy-relevant theories. It offers three major contributions to case study methodology: an emphasis on the importance of within-case analysis, a detailed discussion of process tracing, and development of the concept of typological theories. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences will be particularly useful to graduate students and scholars in social science methodology and the philosophy of science, as well as to those designing new research projects, and will contribute greatly to the broader debate about scientific methods.

About this title

Review:

--Charles Ragin, Professor of Sociology, University of Arizona

-- Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Ren?e Belfer Professor of International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

--Jack S. Levy, Board of Governors' Professor, Rutgers University

-- David Dessler, Associate Professor of Government, College of William and Mary

--Stephen Van Evera, Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

--Marc Trachtenberg, Professor of Political Science, University of California at Los Angeles

--Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr., Professor of International Studies, Cornell University

--Colin Elman, Executive Director, Consortium on Qualitative Research Methods, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Arizona State University

“ This is the sort of book scholars--and not just graduate students--will want to come back to over and over again.” --Marc Trachtenberg, Professor of Political Science, University of California at Los Angeles

" This superb book will improve enormously our disciplinary debates and help all of us in our research and teaching." --Peter J. Katzenstein, Walter S. Carpenter, Jr., Professor of International Studies, Cornell University

About the Author:

Alexander L. George was Graham H. Stuart Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Stanford University and the author or coauthor of many books, most recently Presidential Personality and Performance (1998). Andrew Bennett is Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University and the author of Condemned to Repetition? The Rise, Fall, and Reprise of Soviet-Russian Military Interventionism, 1973-1996 (MIT Press, 1999).

About this edition

• Publisher: The MIT Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0262572222
• ISBN 13: 9780262572224
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 331