Strategies of Political Inquiry

The essays in this volume, written by leading political scientists, express discontent with the prevailing basis of political studies.

They find that the acceptance of a logical positivist view of what makes a valid theory has led to a concentration on questions of method.

How to describe political relationships quantitatively, how to measure and compare patterns of policy and behaviour: these are the kind of topics that have concerned researchers not dedicated solely to qualitative methods.

They are seeking, still, an empirical foundation for political science, clear cut and consistent patterns that are repeated often enough in the data to need theories to account for them.