A Sea Change in Political Methodology (original) (raw)

Shifting debates on what constitutes " science " reveal competing claims about methodology. 2 Of course, in its origin the term " science " means " knowledge, " and researchers obviously hold a wide spectrum of positions on how to produce viable knowledge. Within this spectrum, we compare two alternative meanings of science, advanced by scholars who seek to legitimate sharply contrasting views of qualitative methods. This comparison points to a sea change in political science methodology. 3 1 This article draws on the Introductions to Parts I and II of Brady and Collier, Rethinking Social Inquiry: Diverse Tools, Shared Standards, 2nd edn. (Lanham, MD.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2010). 2 Morgan (1996) provides a broad overview of rival views of science, encompassing the natural, biological, and social sciences. 3 For our own work, we share David Freedman's (2010a) view of plurality in scientific methods, and we also recognize social versus natural science as partially different enterprises. Yet the two can and should strive for careful formulation of hypotheses, intersubjective agreement on the facts being analyzed, precise use of data, and good