Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-mlc7c Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T06:10:25.807Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Avoiding the Trivialization of Political Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 December 2016

Abstract

I extensively agree with Lieberman’s main argument and especially with his recommendations to graduate students and journal editors, which come at a critical time for our discipline’s development and future relevance. However, I depart from Lieberman on two issues. First, I argue that the research cycle is circular, and not teleological as Lieberman implies. For instance, randomized control trial (RCT) studies could be the start (and not the end) of a research cycle that leads to more descriptive and qualitative analysis in order to improve our understanding of causality. Second, I believe that the size of effects in RCT studies does matter, among other reasons because small effects might be symptoms of defective conceptualization of the main research problem.

Type
Reflections Symposium
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Baiocchi, Gianpaolo, Heller, Patrick, and Silva, Marcelo. 2011. Bootstrapping Democracy: Transforming Local Governance and Civil Society in Brazil. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Falleti, Tulia G. and Lynch, Julia. 2009. “Context and Causation in Political Analysis.” Comparative Political Studies 49(9): 1143–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falleti, Tulia G. and Riofrancos, Thea. 2015. “Endogenous Participation: Prior Consultation in Extractive Economies.” Presented at the Asociación de Estudios Bolivianos (AEB) VIII International Conference. Sucre, Bolivia. July 20–24.Google Scholar
Grossman, Guy and Baldassarri, Delia. 2012. “The Impact of Elections on Cooperation: Evidence from a Lab-in-the-Field Experiment in Uganda.” American Journal of Political Science 56(4): 964–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hall, Peter A. 2003. “Aligning Ontology and Methodology in Comparative Politics.” In Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences, ed. Mahoney, J. and Rueschemeyer, D.. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Humphreys, Macartan, de la Sierra, Raul Sanchez, and der Windt, Peter van. 2012. “Social and Economic Impacts of Tuungane: Final Report on the Effects of a Community Driven Reconstruction Program in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.” Columbia University. Available at http://www.oecd.org/countries/democraticrepublicofthecongo/drc.pdf, accessed June 28, 2016.Google Scholar
Mukherjee, Siddhartha. 2016. “The Improvisational Oncologist.” New York Times Magazine, May 12.Google Scholar
Teele, Dawn L. and Thelen, Kathleen. 2016. “Gender in the Journals.” PS: Political Science and Politics.Google Scholar