Burnham et al. (2004)

Burnham et al. (2004) Research Methods in Politics.

Citation: Burnham, Peter, Gilland, Karin, Grant, Wyn and Layton-Henry, Zig (2004) Research Methods in Politics, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

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Burnham et al. (2004): Research design establishes priorities of research; describes hypotheses to be tested; lists research question(s); specifies evidence needed to convincingly test hypotheses and data needed to answer questions. Researcher identifies a phenomenon or problem that raises question. Research design has two functions: develop or conceptualise an operational plan; and ensure that procedures within plan provide valid, objective and accurate answers.

Burnham et al. (2004:145): “If theory-building and/or hypothesis development are one’s purpose, then it often makes sense to deliberately select cases that seem to fit will into a general pattern, and then extend the conclusions from the case to the general pattern. […] Sometimes selecting a case that does not seem to fit well into a general pattern can also contribute to theory-building, by showing precisely how and why certain cases deviate from the norm in some significant way.”

Burnham et al. (2004:171): Use of memoirs “must try to judge whether the writer has successfully battled with the ever present tendency to magnify his or her own importance in a given set of circumstances.”