Field Research in Political Science

Diana Kapiszewski is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at Georgetown University. Lauren M. MacLean is Associate Professor in the Department of Political Science at Indiana University. Benjamin L. Read is Associate Professor in the Politics Department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

• 1. Field research in political science: practices and principles; 2. A historical and empirical overview of field research in the discipline; 3. Preparing for fieldwork; 4. Managing in the field: logistical, social, operational, and ethical challenges; 5. Thinking outside the (archive) box: discovering data in the field; 6. Interviews, oral histories, and focus groups; 7. Site-intensive methods: ethnography and participant observation; 8. Surveys in the context of field research; 9. Experiments in the field; 10. Analyzing, writing, and retooling in the field; 11. The future of field research in political science.

'This outstanding book is a must-read for political science scholars, from faculty members contemplating a new project, to doctoral students exploring dissertation topics, to undergraduates embarking on their first research projects. A masterly analysis of how field research contributes to our understanding of politics, the book synthesizes a broad range of literature and also draws on the field experience of the authors. Despite the diversity of approaches to field research in the discipline, authors not only identify a common core of principles and practices but also suggest how they might be deepened and sharpened.' Elisabeth Jean Wood, Yale University, Connecticut