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The main terrain of methodological disputes in the social sciences is empirical research, including the delineation of legitimate research questions, allocation of funding for projects, and employment in the profession. Yet we still lack practical answers to one of the most basic questions: How should researchers interpret meanings? The contributors take seriously the goals of both post-modernist and positivist researchers, as they offer detailed guidance on how to apply specific tools of analysis and how to circumvent their inherent limitations. Readers will understand what is at stake in selecting from discourse, speech acts, and semiotics – or even content analysis. Researchers will be able to decide when to combine tools drawn from different analytical traditions – perhaps discourse analysis to inform the construction of a dictionary for context-sensitive computerized coding. The results will be deeper interdisciplinary understanding and better research.
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Qualitative Methods in International Relations A Pluralist Guide Edited by Audie Klotz and Deepa Prakash Qualitative Methods in International Relations Research Methods Series General Editors: Bernhard Kittel, Professor of Social Science Methodology, Department of Social Sciences, Carl von Ossietzky Universität Oldenburg, Germany and Benoît Rihoux, Professor of Political Science, Université catholique de Louvain (UCL), Belgium In association with the European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR), Palgrave Macmillan is delighted to announce the launch of a new book series dedicated to producing cutting-edge titles in Research Methods. While political science currently tends to import methods developed in neighbouring disciplines, the series contributes to developing a methodological apparatus focusing on those methods which are appropriate in dealing with the specific research problems of the discipline. The series provides students and scholars with state-of-the-art scholarship on methodology, methods and techniques. It comprises innovative and intellectually rigorous monographs and edited collections which bridge schools of thought and cross the boundaries of conventional approaches. The series covers both empirical-analytical and interpretive approaches, micro and macro studies, and quantitative and qualitative methods. Titles include: Audie Klotz and Deepa Prakash (editors) QUALITATIVE METHODS IN INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS A Pluralist Guide Forthcoming titles include: Lane Kenworthy and Alexander Hicks (editors) METHOD AND SUBSTANCE IN MACRO-COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Research Methods Series Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0230–20679–3–hardcover Series Standing Order ISBN 978–0230–20680–9–paperback (outside North America only) You can receive future titles in this series as they are published by placing a standing order. Please contact your bookseller or, in case of difficulty, write to us at the address below with your name and address, the title of the series and one of the ISBNs quoted above. Customer Services Department, Macmillan Distribution Ltd, Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS, England Qualitative Methods in International Relations A Pluralist Guide Edited by Audie Klotz and Deepa Prakash Department of Political Science, The Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, USA Editorial matter, selection, Introduction and Conclusion © Audie Klotz and Deepa Prakash 2008 All remaining chapters © respective authors 2008 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence pe