Abstract

SOTOMAYOR, Arturo C.. Qualitative Methods in Contemporary Political Science: Advancements, Agendas and Challenges. Polít. gob [online]. 2008, vol.15, n.1, pp.159-179. ISSN 1665-2037.

Qualitative methods have recently experienced a revival in political science, with a rich literature developing and disseminating their many uses in the field. This article describes the trajectories and analyzes the contributions of four recent books in qualitative methods. The common issues binding all these publications include case selection, timing and sequence in political processes, and the debate between qualitative and quantitative methods. The article argues that although much of this literature provides valuable tools for pursuing rigorous research, it continues to be differentiated and underdeveloped vis-à-vis quantitative methods. These books under review perform a valuable service to social scientists, both for the problems they raise but leave unsolved, as for the solutions they offer.

Keywords : qualitative methods; case studies; causal processes; quantitative and qualitative methods debate; research design.

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