"Utilizing a systematic, broad approach, Introduction to the Comparative Method With Boolean Algebra gives readers the logical foundations of comparison with guided applications and is the ultimate comparative method text covering each of the current and most important issues in the field. Author Daniele Caramani discusses the elements of scientific research, including Mill's methods, Boolean algebra, classification and typologization, and necessary and sufficient conditions, and how these apply to concrete research in the social sciences." "This text is indispensable for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students as well as researchers interested in methodology, behavioral and social sciences, history, and logic."--BOOK JACKET.

Charles C. Ragin’s The Comparative Method proposes a synthetic strategy, based on an application of Boolean algebra, that combines the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative sociology. Elegantly accessible and germane to the work of all the social sciences, and now updated with a new introduction, this book will continue to garner interest, debate, and praise.

This edited volume demonstrates the potential of mixed-methods designs for the research of social networks and the utilization of social networks for other research. Mixing methods applies to the combination and integration of qualitative and quantitative methods. In social network research, mixing methods also applies to the combination of structural and actor-oriented approaches. The volume provides readers with methodological concepts to guide mixed-methods network studies with precise research designs and methods to investigate social networks of various sorts. Each chapter describes the research design used and discusses the strengths of the methods for that particular field and for specific outcomes.

The SAGE Handbook of Political Science presents a major retrospective and prospective overview of the discipline. Comprising three volumes of contributions from expert authors from around the world, the handbook aims to frame, assess and synthesize research in the field, helping to define and identify its current and future developments. It does so from a truly global and cross-area perspective Chapters cover a broad range of aspects, from providing a general introduction to exploring important subfields within the discipline. Each chapter is designed to provide a state-of-the-art and comprehensive overview of the topic by incorporating cross-cutting global, interdisciplinary, and, where this applies, gender perspectives. The Handbook is arranged over seven core thematic sections: Part 1: Political Theory Part 2: Methods Part 3: Political Sociology Part 4: Comparative Politics Part 5: Public Policies and Administration Part 6: International Relations Part 7: Major Challenges for Politics and Political Science in the 21st Century

Direct, well-organized, and easy to follow, Q Methodology, Second Edition, by Bruce McKeown and Dan B. Thomas, reviews the philosophical foundations of subjective communicability (concourse theory), operant subjectivity, and quantum-theoretical aspects of Q as relevant to the social and behavioral sciences. The authors discuss data-gathering techniques (communication concourses, Q samples, and Q sorting), statistical techniques (correlation and factor analysis and the important calculation of factor scores), and strategies for conducting small person-sample research along Q methodological lines.

A concise, introductory text, Propensity Score Methods and Applications describes propensity score methods (PSM) and how they are used to balance the distributions of observed covariates between treatment conditions as a means to reduce selection bias. This new QASS title specifically focuses on the procedures of implementing PSM for research in social sciences, instead of merely demonstrating the effectiveness of the method. Using succinct and approachable language to introduce the basic concepts of PSM, authors Haiyan Bai and M. H. Clark present basic concepts, assumptions, procedures, available software packages, and step-by-step examples for implementing PSM using real-world data, with exercises at the end of each chapter allowing readers to replicate examples on their own.

The second edition of this popular textbook combines coverage of public policies in different countries with the conceptual and methodological frameworks for analysing them. This new edition pays particular attention to the international contexts of ideas, interests and institutions in which decision makers operate. In addition, it considers the bilateral, multilateral and transnational aspects of policy-making in today's interconnected world. This is a core text for introductory modules on undergraduate and postgraduate public policy, public management and public administration programmes. In addition, it will be useful for those courses that take a comparative approach to specific policy areas such as welfare, health and education. With a focus on enabling students to draw their own comparisons, it is the ideal choice for lecturers across the world. New to this Edition: - New and improved chapter structure places conceptual discussion before the empirical analysis, leading to a stronger emphasis on big picture questions throughout - Increased attention to contemporary relevant policy issues such as migration, climate change and security - Quantitative and descriptive data has been systematically updated