Using cases in political science: reflections on Keith Dowding’s ‘The Philosophy and Methods of Political Science'

Abstract

This short response presses further on considerations about the N of cases and so-called qualitative and quantitative evidence in political research. I ask whether Dowding’s critique of the claims of causal process-tracing is relevant to case studies as they appear in real-life political science. I argue that choosing a case is an integral part of performing a case study and case studies in reality are always situated within research designs that are attentive to a case’s relationship to others. Dowding’s work in my view could be complemented by a further elaboration of its
pragmatic implications for how we consider and favour certain approaches to sampling and types of data in our field. In widening the debate, I ask why systematic reviews and meta-analyses are conspicuous by their absence in political science. Finally, I return to a discussion of what this means for disciplinary culture and cumulative advancement of disciplinary knowledge.

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ORCID for Matthew Ryan: orcid.org/0000-0002-8693-5063

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