Interpretation and Method: Empirical Research Methods and the Interpretive Turn

by Dvora Yanow (Editor), Peregrine Schwartz-shea (Editor)

This book demonstrates the relevance, rigor, and creativity of interpretive research methodologies for political science and its various sub-fields. Designed for use in a course on interpretive research methods, or as a second text in a course in which the instructor seeks a balance between positivist and interpretive approaches, the book situates methods questions within the context of broader methodological questions - specifically, the character of social realities and their "know-ability." Exceptionally clear and well-written chapters provide engaging discussions of the methods of accessing, generating, and analyzing social science data, using methods ranging from reflexive historical analysis to critical ethnography. Reflecting on their own research experiences, the expert contributors offer an inside, applied perspective on how topics, evidence, and methods intertwine to produce knowledge in the social sciences.

472 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[DrWJK]

Political science is currently dominated by the Positivist Paradigm. Those guys make models of human political behavior. They accept false assumptions like all people choose rationally; that is, they robotically choose in their own self-serving interests. The positivists have no sense of human agency. They are unaware of the fact that humans make their own meanings about their world, and act upon those meanings. Positivists think that they are being "scientific" when they make causal hypotheses, and then do studies to show that political events are "caused," like gravity causes things to fall. But this book recognizes all the foolishness of positivism, and presents an alternative approach for doing political science. They call it "interpretivism." Since people act upon their self-made meanings, the interpretivist can strive to understand why folks do the things they do by interpreting the moving meanings. This requires empathy. Various methods are available to interpretivists. These include interviews and participant observation. Much more is discussed in this classic textbook.