The course is organised around three hour lecture/seminar
slots each week. The purpose of the lecture is to provide an introductory
overview to important topics and themes. The purpose of the seminar is to
discuss these issues, so enhancing your understanding of the topic. In order
for this to happen, it is imperative that you carry out the specified reading
in advance of seminar classes.
In
the remainder of the course outline below you will find an overview of the
lecture subjects covered in this module. Each subject is accompanied by a class
topic, setting out key issues for discussion and debate, plus a reading list,
which for your convenience is divided between 'essential' and 'supplementary'
reading.
This
module is delivered on a PASS/FAlL, basis. In order to pass the module, you are
required to:
The structure of scientific enquiry, epistemic dependence,
paradigms and scientific revolutions, inductive and deductive reasoning,
logical positivism, post-foundationalist methodologies.
Reading:
George Couvalis, The Philosophy of Science (London:
Sage, 1997) especially the introduction.
John Hardwig, "Epistemic Dependence", Journal
of Philosophy, July 1985,82(7),335- 49. Reprints
Alisdair MacIntyre, "Epistemological Crises, Dramatic
Narrative and the Philosophy of Science" The Monist, July 1977,
60(3), 453- 72. Reprints
Alfred I. Tauber ( ed. ), Science and the Quest for
Reality (Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1997).
Nancy Cartwright, The Dappled World. A study of the
Boundaries of Science (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999).
Nicholas Rescher, The Limits of Science (Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1999).
John D. Barrow, Impossibility. The Limits of Science and
the Science of Limits (London: Vintage, 1999).
John Horgan, The End of Science (London: Abacus,
1998).
Paul Feyerabend, Against Method: Outline of an
Anarchistic Theory of Knowledge (London: Verso, 1978).
Paul Feyerabend, Science in a Free Society (London:
New Left Books, 1978).
Karl Popper, The Logic of Scientific Discovery (1972).
Karl Popper, Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of
Scientific Knowledge (London: Routledge, 1969).
Imre Lakatos, The Methodology of Scientific Research
Programmes (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1978).
Thomas Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1970)
Social Science orthodoxies, problems in social science
research, inter-paradigm 'debates' and the nature of social science truth
claims, the social role of ideologies, normative theories.
Reading:
(supplemental list supplied at start of term).
What is behaviouralism? Development of behavioural analysis.
Key concepts: empirical theory; explanation; falsifiability and tautologies
Behaviouralist approaches suggest that there 'the truth' can
be revealed through analytical study of observable phenomena. Is this always
the case?
Reading:
Baldwin, D.A. (Ed.) (1993) Neorealism and neoliberalism:
the contemporary debate, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
Barnes, S and Kaase, M. et al (1979) Political
action, London: Sage
Budge, I and Fairlie, D. (1983) Explaining and predicting
elections: issue effects and party strategies in twenty three democracies, London:
Allen and Unwin
Budge, I and Laver, M. (1992) Party policy and government
coalitions, London: Macmillan
Heath, A. et al (eds) (1994) Labour's last chance?
The 1992 general election and beyond, Aldershot: Dartmouth
Keohane, R.O. (1984) After hegemony: cooperation and
discord in the international political economy, Princeton, NJ: Princeton
University Press
Rosenau, J.N. (1969) International politics and foreign
policy: a reader in research and theory, New York: Free Press
Sanders, David (1995) 'Behavioural analysis' in, D. Marsh
and G. Stoker (eds) Theory and methods in political science, London:
Macmillan, pp.64- 73.
Development of rational choice theory: Downs and spatial
theory of voting; Olson and the logic of collective action; Riker and Niskanen
and rational choice approaches to bureaucracy. RCT and International Relations
What are the limits/constraints to assumptions about
rationality?
Do rational choice approaches suit some areas of social
science enquiry more than others?
Reading:
Arrow, K.J. (1951), Social Choice and Individual Values, New
York: John Wiley.
Black, D. (1948), "On the Rationale of Group decision
Making", Journal of Political Economy, vol. 56, pp. 23-34.
Chong, D. "Rational Choice Theory's Mysterious
Rivals", Critical Review, vol. 9, nos. 1- 2, pp. 37-57.
Downs, A. (1957) An Economic Theory of Democracy, Boston,
MA: Harper & Row.
Fiorina, M.P. (1981) Retrospective Voting in American
National elections, New Haven:
Yale University Press.
Frey, B.S. and Schneider, F. (1978) "A
Politico-Economic Model of the United Kingdom", Economic Journal, vol.
88, pp. 243-53.
Friedman, J. (1995), "Economic Approaches to
Politics", Critical Review, vol. 9, nos. 1- 2, pp. 1-24. .
Green, D.P. and Shapiro, I. (1994), Pathologies of
Rational Choice Theory: A Critique of Applications in Political Science, New
Haven: Yale University Press.
Laver, M. and Schofield, N (1990), Multiparty Government,
Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Laver, M. and Shepsle, K.A. (1996), Making and Breaking
Governments: Cabinets and Legislatures in Parliamentary Democracies, Cambridge;
Cambridge University Press.
Lohmann, S. (1995), "The Poverty of Green and
Shapiro", Critical Review, vo1. 9, nos. 1- 2, pp. 127-154.
Meltzer, A.H. and Richard, S.F. (1981), "A Rational
Theory of the Size of Government", Journal of Political Economy, vo1.
89, pp. 914-27.
Monroe, K.R. (1991), "The Theory of Rational Action:
What is it? How Useful is it for Political Science", in W. Crotty (ed), Political
Science: Looking to the Future, Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University
Press.
Mueller, D.C. (1989), Public Choice 11, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press.
Niskanen, W.A. (1971), Bureaucracy and Representative
Government, Chicago: Aldine Atherton.
Nordhaus, W.D. (1975), "The Political Business
Cycle", The Review of Economic Studies, vo1. 42, pp. 169-90.
Olson, M. (1965), The Logic of Collective Action, Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press.
Olson, M. (1965), The Rise and Decline of Nations:
Economic Growth, Economic Rigidities and Stagflation, New Haven: Yale
University Press.
Peltzman, S. (1980), "The Growth of Government", Journal
of Law and Economics, vo1. 23, pp. 209-88.
Sen, A.K. (1977), " Rational Fools: A Critique of the
Behavioural Assumptions of Economic Theory", Philosophy and Public
Affairs, vo1. 6, pp. 317-44.
Tullock, G. (1976), The Vote Motive, London:
Institute for Economic Affairs.
Tullock, G. (1988), Wealth, Poverty and Politics, Oxford:
Basil Blackwell.
Traditional institutionalist approaches and their problems.
The evolution of new institutionalism. The three "new"
institutionalisms: historical institutionalism; rational choice
institutionalism; sociological institutionalism
What sorts of insights does new institutionalism highlight
in our depiction and understanding of the world, that other approaches do not?
Reading:
Gorges, M.J. (2601) 'New Institutionalists Explanations for
Institutional Change: A Note of Caution' in Politics Vo1. 21 (2) pp. 137-45.
Hall, P.A and C.R. Taylor (1996) 'Political Science and the
Three New Institutionalisms' in Political Studies. Vo1. 44 (5) pp.
936-57.
Hall, P .A. and C.R. Taylor (1998) 'The Potential of
Historical Institutionalism: a Response to Hay and Wincott' in Political
Studies. Vo1. 46 (5) pp. 958-962.
Hay, C. and D. Wincott (1998) 'Structure, Agency and
Historical Institutionalism' in Political Studies. V ol. 46 (5) pp.
951-57.
Immergut, E.M. (1998) 'The Theoretical Core of the New
Institutionalism' in Politics and Society. Vol. 26 (1) pp. 5-34.
Jepperson, R.L. (1991) 'Institutions, Institutional Effects
and Institutionalism' in Powell W.W. and P.J. DiMaggio, (Ed's) The New
Institutionalism in Organisational Analysis. Chicago: Chicago University
Press. pp.143-63.
Kato, J. (1996) 'Review Article: Institutions and
rationality in Politics -Three Varieties of Neo-Institutionalists' in British
Journal of Political Science. Vol. 27 (?) pp. 553- 582.
Koeble, T .A. (1995) 'The New Institutionalism in Political
Science and Sociology' in Comparative Politics. Vol. 27 (2). Pp. 231-43.
Knill, C. and A. Lenschow (2001) 'Seek and Ye Shall Find:
Linking Different Perspectives on Institutional Change' in Comparative
Political Studies Vol. 34 (2) pp. 187-215.
Lowndes, V. (1996) 'Varieties of New Institutionalism: A
Critical Appraisal' in Public Administration. Vol. 74 (?) pp. 181-197.
Mule, R. (1999) 'New Institutionalism: Distilling some 'Hard
Core' Propositions in the Works of Williamson and March and Olsen' in Politics.
Vol. 19 (3) pp. 145-151.
Radaelli, C.M. (1995) 'The role of knowledge in the Policy
Process' in Journal of European Public Policy. Vol. 2 (2). Pp. 159-83.
Searing, D. (1991) 'Role, Rules and Rationality in the New
Institutionalism' in American Political Science Review. Vol. 85 (4) pp.
1239-60.
Why compare? One, few or many: inference and comparison
Rather than talk about comparative method, which can be a
bit boring, we will discuss a topic in comparative politics. The topic that we
will look at is the question of the relationship of inequality to violence and
revolution. The reading on this topic below is divided up into studies of large
numbers of cases (Large N), small numbers of cases (Small N) and case studies.
Try and dip into all of them. The case studies listed are all on the Russian
revolution, which is the case I know best. Feel free to use or consult other
sources.
Reading:
Comparative politics method:
Bealey, Frank., Chapman, Richard A. and Sheehan, Michael
(1999) Elements in Political Science, Edinburgh: Edinburgh University
Press, section Two, pp. 75-137
Collier, D. (1991) 'New perspectives on the comparative
method', in, Rustow, Dankwart A. and Erickson, Kenneth Paul (Eds) Comparative
political dynamics, New York: Harper Collins
Dogan, M. and Pelassy, D. (1984) How to compare nations:
strategies in comparative politics, Chatham, Nl: Chatham House Publishers
Lane, Jan-Erik and Ersson (1994) Comparative Politics, Oxford:
Polity Press
Mackie, Tom and Marsh, David (1995) 'The comparative method'
in, Marsh, D. and Stoker, G. (eds) Theory and methods in political science, London:
Macmillan, pp.173-187
Peters, Guy B. (1998) Comparative Politics, London:
Macmillan
Sanders, D. 91994) 'Methodological considerations in
comparative cross-national research', International Social Science Journal, 46
Wiarda, Howard J. (1991) 'Concepts and models in comparative
politics' in, Rustow, Dankwart A. and Erickson, Kenneth Paul (Eds) Comparative
political dynamics , New York: Harper Collins
Revolution, political violence and inequality:
Large N studies :
Gurr, T.R. (1968) A causal model of civil strife', American
Political Science Review, 62: 1104-1124
This paper can be accessed through JStor, which you can
reach through the eJournals page on the library home page. When you get to
JStor, click browse and then political science followed, by American Political
Science Review. Alternatively you can go straight to APSR at JStor through the Politics
and Public Administration Resources for UL Students page (http://www.ul.ie/~govsoc/politics/journal.html).
This page has links to all of the online journals that we subscribe to through
the library. The paper's actual url at JStor is:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0554%28196812%2962%3A4%3C11
04%3AACMOCS%3E2.0.CO%3B2-E
Lichbach, M. (1989), An evaluation of "does economic
inequality breed political conflict" studies', World Politics, 41:
431-70
Small N studies :
Skocpol, T. (1979) States and social revolution, Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press
Skocpol, T. (1983) 'States and revolutions: France, Russia,
China', in D. Held et al (eds) States and societies, Oxford: Blackwell
Case studies :
Acton, E. (1990) Rethinking the Russian Revolution, London:
Edward Amold
Carr, E. (1979) The Russian Revolution: from Lenin to
Stalin 1917-1929, London: Macmillan
Fitzpatrick, S. (1982) The Russian Revolution, Oxford:
Oxford University Press
Read, C. ( 1986) From Tsar to Soviets: the Russian people
and their revolution, 1917-21, London: UCL Press
Service, R. (1997) A History of Twentieth Century Russia,
Harmondsworth: Penguin
Lecture 8: Quantitative methodologies
An
introduction to quantitative approaches outlining its many strengths and
limitations.
Does quantitative research miss the point?
What is wrong with 'number crunching'?
Reading:
Bell, J. (1999) Doing Your Research Project. Library
300.72
Denzin, N.K. (1989) The Research Act. Library 301.072 DEN
Judd, C., Smith, E. & Kidder, L. (1991) Research
Methods in Social Relations. Library 300.72 RES
Punch, K. (1998) Introduction to Social Research. Library
300.72
Christine Brown & Keith Lloyd (2001) 'Qualitative
methods in psychiatric research', Advances in Psychiatric Treatment. 7:
350-356. Reprints or @
http:/ /apt.rcpsvch.org/cgi/content/full/7 /5/350
Alderson, P. (1998) 'The importance of theories in health
care', British Medical Journal. 317: 1007-10. Accessible via www.bmj.com
Creswell, J. W. (1994) Research design: qualitative
and quantitative approaches. London: Sage Publications.Library & Bookstore
300.72/CRE
Spector, P.E. (1981) Research Designs. London: Sage. Library
300.72.
Bra, J. (1992) Mixing methods: qualitative and
quantitative research. Library 300.72/BRA.
Kelley, D.L. (1999) Measurement made accessible: a research
approach using qualitative, quantitative, California: Sage Publications.
Library 001.422/KEL
Punch, K. (1998) Introduction to social research:
quantitative and qualitative approaches. London: Sage. Library 300.72/PUN
A review of this important technique, which although
possibly lacking an aura of glamour, remains a crucial tool. This form of
analysis after all was the primary method of Marx, Weber and Durkheim. The
focus of this lecture will move beyond the written word, to encompass other
media that can be studied.
Suicide in Ireland: an exploration through official
statistics.
Beyond written records: where to go and is it worth it?
Reading:
O'Kelly, C. (1983). "Gender Role Stereotypes in Fine
Art: A Content Analysis of Art History Books". Qualitative Sociology, 6
(2): 136-148.
Durkheim, E. (translation 1952) Suicide: a study in
sociology. London: RKP .
Examine any of the many works of/on Marx, Durkheim and
Weber.
Dollar, C.M. (1974) Historian's guide to statistics, New
York: Krieger Pub. Co, Library & Bookstore 907.2
William, O.A. (1972) The Dimensions of quantitative research
in history. Princetown University Press. Library 907.2
An exploration of interview and group discussion methods
with particular emphasis on the standpoints of 'positivists', symbolic
interactionists and ethnomethodologists.
More than meets the eye. What can we glean from an
interview?
Should researchers wear white coats or blue denim?
Reading:
Barbour, R.S. (2001) 'Checklists for improving rigour in
qualitative research: a case of the tail wagging the dog?', British Medical
Journal. 322: 1115- 7. Accessible via www.bmj.com ,
Green, J. & Brit ten, N. (1998) 'Qualitative research
and evidence based medicine', British Medical Journal. 316: 1230-2. Accessible
via www.bmj.com
Pope, C. & Mays, N. (1995) 'Qualitative Research:
Reaching the parts other methods cannot reach', British Medical Journal. 311:
42-45. Accessible via www.bmj.com
Mays, N. & Pope, C. (1995) 'Qualitative Research: Rigour
and qualitative research', British Medical Journal. 311: 109-112. Accessible
via www.bmi.com
Britten, N. (1995) 'Qualitative Research: Qualitative
interviews in medical research', British Medical Journal. 311: 251-253.
Accessible via www.bmj.com
Kitzinger, J. (1995) 'Qualitative Research: Introducing
focus groups', British Medical Journal. 311: 299-302. Accessible via www.bmj.com
Mays, N. & Pope, C. (2000) Assessing quality in
qualitative research', British Medical Journal. 320: 50-2. Accessible via www.bmj.com
Pope, C., Ziebland, S. & Mays, N. (2000) Analysing
qualitative data', British Medical Journal. 320: 114-6. Accessible via www.bmi.com
Dixon-Woods, M. & Fitzpatrick, R. (2001) 'Qualitative research
in systematic reviews', British Medical Journal. 323: 765-766. Accessible via www.bmj.com
Williams, C. and Heikes, E. J. (1993). "The Importance
of Researcher's Gender in the In- Depth Interview: Evidence from Two Case
Studies of Male Nurses". Gender & Society. 7 (2):
280-291.
An introduction to this fascinating subject, outlining both
its imperialist beginnings and its more recent work.
Is seeing understanding?
The effects of being observed
Reading:
Denzin, N.K. & Lincoln, Y.S. (1998) Strategies of
qualitative inquiry. London: Sage. Short Loan 300.72/DEN
Denzin, N.K. (1997) Interpretive ethnography: ethnographic
practices for the 21st century. London: Sage. Short Loan305.8/DEN
Hammersley, M. (?) Ethnography: principles in practice. New
York: Routledge. Short Loan 306/HAM
Lambert, H. & McKevitt, C. (2002) Anthropology in health
research: from qualitative methods to multidisciplinarity', British Medical
Journal. 325: 210-213. Accessible via www.bmj.com
Savage, J. (2000) 'Ethnography and health care', British
Medical Journal. 321: 1400-2. Available via www.bmj.com
Russell, B.J. (1994) Research methods in anthropology:
qualitative and quantitative approaches. London: Sage publications. Library
306.072
Lecture
12: Action research & that which might be called 'feminist research'
An exploration of the issues surrounding these newer forms
of research, with particular emphasis on the ethics and judgements associated
with these and other forms of research.
Class topic
Is most research unethical?
What is 'feminist' research?
Reading:
Smith, R. (2001) 'Measuring the social impact of research',
British Medical Journal. 323: 528. Available via www.bmj.com
Macaulay, A.C., Commanda, L.E., Freeman, W.L., Gibson, N.,
McCabe, L., Robbins, C.M. & Twohig, P .L. (1999) 'Participatory research
maximises community and lay involvement', British Medical Journal. 319: 774-8.
Available via www.bmj.com
Meyer, J. (2000) 'Using qualitative methods in health
related action research', British Medical Journal. 320: 178-81. Accessible via www.bmj.com
McNiff, J., Lomax, P. & White, J. (1996) You and your
action research project. New York: Routledge. Library 371.102072/MCN
Reinharz, S. (1992) Feminist methods in social research. New
York: Oxford University Press. Library 362.82920941
Mayna, M. (1994) Researching women's lives from a feminist
perspective. London: Taylor & Francis. Library 305.42072/MAY
See also Resources for feminist research- Library Abstracts
016.30542 (Vol. 8, no.1-)
Bowes, A. M. (1996) 'Evaluating an Empowering Research
Strategy: Reflections on Action-Research with South Asian Women', Sociological
Research Online, vol. 1, no.1, http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/1/1/1.html
Puwar,
N. (1997) 'Reflections on Interviewing Women MPs', Sociological Research
Online, vol. 2, no. 1, http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/2/1/4.html
Humphries, B. (1997) 'From Critical Thought to Emancipatory
Action: Contradictory Research Goals?', Sociological Research Online, vol.
2, no.1, http://www.socresonline.org.uk/socresonline/2/1/3.html.