Guide to methods for students of political science / Stephen Van Evera

Stephen Van Evera greeted new graduate students at MIT with a commonsense introduction to qualitative methods in the social sciences. His helpful hints, always warmly received, grew from a handful of memos to an underground classic primer. That primer evolved into a book of how-to information about graduate study, which is essential reading for graduate students and undergraduates in political science, sociology, anthropology, economics, and history - and for their advisers.-How should we frame, assess, and apply theories in the social sciences? "e;I am unpersuaded by the view that the prime rules of scientific method should differ between hard science and social science. Science is science."e;-A section on case studies shows novices the ropes.-Van Evera contends the realm of dissertations is often defined too narrowly "e;Making and testing theories are not the only games in town.... If everyone makes and tests theories but no one ever uses them, then what are they for?"e;-In "e;Helpful Hints on Writing a Political Science Ph.D. Dissertation,"e; Van Evera focuses on presentation, and on broader issues of academic strategy and tactics.-Van Evera asks how political scientists should work together as a community. "e;All institutions and professions that face weak accountability need inner ethical rudders that define their obligations in order to stay on course."e;