Interview Research in Political Science

Published by Cornell University Press 2013

Interview Research in Political Science

Edited by: Layna Mosley

https://doi.org/10.7591/9780801467974

Overview
Contents

About this book

A vital resource for graduate students in political science that provides discipline-specific training in selecting interviewees, conducting interviews, and using the data thus collected.

Author / Editor information

Layna Mosley is Professor of Political Science at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is the author of Global Capital and National Governments and Labor Rights and Multinational Production.

Reviews

Mosley (Univ. of North CarolinaChapel Hill), author of books on labor rights and on global capital, offers an edited volume on methodological aspects of interviews in political science.... The content of this volume, in terms of the balance between positivist and interpretative-oriented approaches, mirrors the current state of the discipline, centered at the positivist end of the spectrum. The contributors address challenges associated with interview evidence: gaining access to interview subjects, sampling the right set of respondents, convincing others of the reliability and validity of interview data, and ensuring that research is conducted ethically. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate and research collections.

Benjamin Read, University of CaliforniaSanta Cruz, author of Roots of the State: Neighborhood Organization and Social Networks in Beijing and Taipei:

Interview Research in Political Science is a timely and immensely valuable resource. Political scientists use interviews more than any other field research technique, yet interviews are a method that is rarely taught, and there's great demand for ideas and advice. The chapters contain imaginative, thoughtful, and savvy examples of ways in which experienced scholars use interviews, including how they prepare, how they conduct the interview, and how they incorporate what they learn into their research programs, often in combination with other methods. Within a general theme of seeking rigor in interview research, the book provides a range of perspectives and approaches, and usefully addresses topics including sampling strategies and ethical considerations. Although it is targeted to political science, colleagues in many other disciplines will also find much of benefit here.

Israel Solorio Sandoval:

Apart from its value for filling a gap in the literature, this book has one additional merit: it reflects the epistemological diversity within the discipline, facilitating a dialogue between the positivist and interpretivist scholars. Overall, the book is a valuable source for understanding the key challenges behind interview-based research—such as ethics, sampling, validity, and reliability—and also contains practical advice for coping with interviews in the different stages of research.

Topics

Frontmatter Publicly Available Download PDF	i
Contents Publicly Available Download PDF	v
Preface Publicly Available Download PDF	vii
List of Contributors Publicly Available Download PDF	ix
Introduction. “Just Talk to People”? Interviews in Contemporary Political Science Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	1
Part 1. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS: RESEARCH DESIGN, ETHICS, AND THE ROLE OF THE RESEARCHER
1. Aligning Sampling Strategies with Analytic Goals Julia F. Lynch Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	31
2. The Ethical Treatment of Human Subjects and the Institutional Review Board Process Sarah M. Brooks Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	45
3. The Power of the Interviewer Lauren M. MacLean Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	67
4. How to Report Interview Data Erik Bleich and Robert Pekkanen Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	84
Part 2. ADDRESSING THE CHALLENGES OF INTERVIEW RESEARCH
5. Crafting Interviews to Capture Cause and Effect Cathie Jo Martin Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	109
6. Using Proxy Interviewing to Address Sensitive Topics Melani Cammett Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	125
7. Working with Interpreters Lee Ann Fujii Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	144
8. The Problem of Extraterritorial Legality William Reno Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	159
Part 3. PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER: THE VARIED USES OF INTERVIEW DATA
9. Capturing Meaning and Confronting Measurement Mary Gallagher Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	181
10. Elite Interviewing in Washington, DC Matthew N. Beckmann and and Richard L. Hall Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	196
11. Lessons from the “Lobbying and Policy Change” Project Beth L. Leech, Frank R. Baumgartner, Jeffrey M. Berry, Marie Hojnacki and David C. Kimball Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	209
12. Using Interviews to Understand Racial Group Identity and Political Behavior Reuel R. Rogers Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	225
Appendix: Sample Materials for Interview Research Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	245
Notes Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	271
References Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	281
Index Requires Authentication Unlicensed Licensed Download PDF	299

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