Doing Research: Methods of Inquiry for Conflict Analysis

Doing Research: Methods of Inquiry for Conflict Analysis is the first research methods text devoted to conflict analysis and resolution. It begins with a discussion of the philosophical foundations for doing research, providing guidelines on how to develop research questions and how these questions can be addressed with various methodologies. The book presents a wide-ranging treatment of both quantitative and qualitative approaches to the design and analysis of problems of conflict. The approaches covered include experiments, simulations and models, surveys, single and comparative case studies, ethnographies, content analysis, narrative analysis, evaluation research, action research, and research consulting. These approaches come alive in a variety of applications culled from the published literature. A concluding chapter provides an integration of the various methodologies, including their complementary strengths. Throughout the book, author Daniel Druckman illustrates the value of a multi-method approach to doing research on conflict analysis and more generally across the social sciences.