The article is devoted to a very interesting methodological paradigm, which has its own history and the high importance in a number of Social Sciences - Institutional, which is influenced by social changes and needs in their understanding was further developed in the form of appearance of new institutional paradigm, actively used in modern political science knowledge.
- ; Peer-reviewed journals are the cornerstones to communicating scientific results. They play a crucial role in quality assurance through the review process, but they also create opportunities for discussions in the scientific community on the implications of the results or validation of methods and data. This requires that journals adhere to commonly accepted scientific standards and are open about their editorial policy. Norwegian scientists experience problems in getting research on minke whales accepted for publication where the data have been collected in association with commercial whaling. The journal Biology Letters refuses to publish papers based on data from the Norwegian whale register while publically claiming a sole focus on scientific quality. Although there are good arguments for claiming that clearly unethical research should not be rewarded with scientific publications, one also has to realize that some fields of research are beset with unresolved ethical and cultural debates. In these cases, it is to the benefit of the progress of science, and indeed society, to be open about the issues and support arguments through scientific studies. Political or cultural censoring of scientific information will in any case jeopardize the role of journals in quality assurance of scientific research and undermine the credibility of science as a supplier of objective and reliable knowledge.
Peer-reviewed journals are the cornerstones to communicating scientific results. They play a crucial role in quality assurance through the review process, but they also create opportunities for discussions in the scientific community on the implications of the results or validation of methods and data. This requires that journals adhere to commonly accepted scientific standards and are open about their editorial policy. Norwegian scientists experience problems in getting research on minke whales accepted for publication where the data have been collected in association with commercial whaling. The journal Biology Letters refuses to publish papers based on data from the Norwegian whale register while publically claiming a sole focus on scientific quality. Although there are good arguments for claiming that clearly unethical research should not be rewarded with scientific publications, one also has to realize that some fields of research are beset with unresolved ethical and cultural debates. In these cases, it is to the benefit of the progress of science, and indeed society, to be open about the issues and support arguments through scientific studies. Political or cultural censoring of scientific information will in any case jeopardize the role of journals in quality assurance of scientific research and undermine the credibility of science as a supplier of objective and reliable knowledge. ; publishedVersion
The conceptual history of politics in post-WWII (West-) Germany is connected to the history of academic political science. From the Bundestag plenary debates (beginning in September 1949) both the controversies on the political science itself and the contributors of both contemporary scholars and the 'classics' of the understanding of politics can be studied. The digitalisation of parliamentary debates opens up new chances for conceptual research in this regard. The article studies the conceptual commitments in the use of the discipline titles (Politikwissenschaft, Politische Wissenschaft, Politologie, Politikforschung, Politische Theorie, also political science) and actors (Politologe, Politikprofessor, Politstudent etc), and looks at who is mentioned in debates, for example, political scientists in early West Germany (Dolf Sternberger, Theodor Eschenburg, Wilhelm Hennis), and political theorists (Max Weber, Carl Schmitt, Hannah Arendt), Formulae from Weber's Politik als Beruf seem to be most frequently evoked in the Bundestag. ; peerReviewed
Readers of Thomas H. Greene's article, "Values and the Methodology of Political Science," may have detected a theme of importance to political philosophy, a theme which, however, the author did not explicitly identify. Greene divided his essay into five parts: the first, third, and fifth parts contain what I believe to be an argument in favour of the reconciliation of social science and political philosophy; the second and fourth parts are devoted, in some measure, to a criticism of two contemporary political philosophers, Eric Voegelin and Leo Strauss. Greene argues, in effect, that the reconciliation of political philosophy with social science will have taken place when political philosophy is understood within the categories of social science, specifically within "Robert Merton's categories of theoretical range" (p. 274). The truth of Greene's argument depends, in part at least, upon the correctness of his understanding of Voegelin and Strauss. Correlatively, his argument is vitiated to the extent that he has not understood what Voegelin and Strauss have written about politics and theory and why, on the basis of such writings, they object to social science. What the author does not consider, but which ought to be considered, is the possibility that if social scientists and political philosophers have little of creative import to say to each other, it may be for sound reasons.
AbstractIn the last decades, 'research design' has become a strategic topic across political science. An emerging discourse relies on it to encompass paradigmatic oppositions and cultivate a pluralist approach to causation. As an introduction to the special issue on the topic, we offer an outline of the roles that the discipline recognizes to design in its relation to models and contend that, in a time of fascination for predictors, political science pluralism allows for balancing interpretability and validity of findings at once.
In keeping with practices elsewhere in Europe, Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Ireland have in recent decades adopted access policies for non-traditional students (not recent school leavers). This paper assesses a particular initiative to facilitate access to HEIs to non-traditional students. However, due to the initiative's origins as a non-accredited certificate for asylum seekers and refugees, specific attention will be paid to the immigrant community. This paper assesses the details of a new programme in Irish politics and political leadership for non-traditional students in Ireland. It will present the curriculum and document the teaching strategies that were selected while exploring the role for universities and political science departments, in particular in facilitating integration. Student-centred learning provides the overarching framework for the curriculum. Three teaching approaches – KWL, service learning, and enquiry- or problem-based learning – have been selected as the pedagogical underpinnings of this Certificate programme. The paper explores all three approaches and provides examples of how these will be employed. Finally, this paper concludes with a discussion of how the programme could be adapted in other jurisdictions and its uses in integrating citizens from new communities across European democracies.
