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Het acroniem in de titel staat voor Qualitative Research in the Social Sciences in Europe. Euroqual is een programma van de European Science Foundation. Het loopt parallel aan het ESF-programma 'Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences' (QMSS). Het gaat hier om een zogenoemde Research Networking Program (RNP) van de European Science Foundation. Euroqual is een vijfjarig programma met een totaal budget van (momenteel) € 768.000. Dit 'momenteel' slaat op de financieringsstructuur van het programma. Aangezien de partners bijdragen aan het budget van een RNP, bepaalt het aantal partners de hoogte van het budget. Ten tijde van de eerste bijeenkomst van de stuurgroep was de ESF nog in onderhandeling met Frankrijk over deelname aan Euroqual. Het budget kan dus nog toenemen.

This book is a startling, controversial and original manifesto for a complete review of research methods and methodology in the social sciences and a must read for anyone involved in this area. Dat zegt de uitgever tenminste en er zit wel wat in.

The concern is with how the soc & econ structure of cities affects the degree of pol'al competition & how these factors in turn affect the degree of pol'al stability. Data derive from a comparative empirical study of the outcomes of the communal elections of 1952, 1958, & 1964, in 147 Belgian cities with a pop size of 10,000 or more in 1947. The following generalizations are noted: A general proliferation of election lists or parties participating in the elections from 1952 to 1964; a trend from 1-party control over the electoral college of thc city council toward coalition control; a net increase in the number of Catholic lists & a net decrease in the number of socialist & liberal lists participating; & an increase in the number of cities in which newer, smaller & non-traditional parties or lists participated in the electoral college of the city council. 3 measures of pol'al competition were used: (1) the average number of parties or lists that entered the communal elections of 1952, 1958 & 1964; (2) the average number of lists that received at least 10% of the vote in these 3 elections: & (3) the presence or absence of a coalition on the electoral college of the city council in 1952. 2 measures of pol'al stability were employed: (a) the degree of stability in the lists & parties participating, & (b) the degree of stability in the list or party controlling the electoral college of the city council. In general, measures of structural diff'iation, linguistic diversity, industr diversity, & soc heterogeneity (ie, the presence of a large Mc) are found to be positively related to the degree of competition in local pol. In turn, measures of each of these structural factors & measures of pol'al competition are negatively related to measures of pol'al stability. Regression analysis supports the interpretation that diversity & heterogeneity in the soc structure of cities--specifically, pop size, density, & the presence of many persons with high occup'al status--contribute to greater pol'al competition in local pol; but it was the degree of pol'al competition that most strongly affected the degree of pol'al stability. It is concluded that cities with a high degree of soc & econ heterogeneity have a greater amount of conflict & cleavage. This results in greater competition in the pol'al arena. 16 Tables. M. Maxfield.

Changes in computer science, information gathering, and the possibilities of the internet continue to vastly influence the way social sciences and humanities are dealing with data collection and analysis. The next KWALON Conference on Qualitative Data Analysis Software aims to organize the reflection on the implications of the recent innovations and trends. Developers and users of software have been invited to reflect on the developments of the past years, and to take them as a starting point for a discussion of the requirements for the future versions of QDA tools. We aim for a fruitful debate between developers and users. Apart from practitioners, trainers, and other end users, participants will include representatives from (in alphabetical order): ATLAS.ti, Cassandre, Dedoose, Feldpartitur, F4 analyse, MAXQDA, NVivo, DiscoverText, QDA Miner and Quirkos.

Abstract

Visuals in qualitative social science research

The visual is omnipresent in daily life. Though research is still mainly verbal by nature, visual studies and visual methods have become part of academic social research. This contribution intends to introduce visual methods to students and researchers who are not familiar with the possibilities. First, the reasons why researchers work with visuals are described. Next, following , ) we distinguish between visuals as data, as part of the data collection method and as output of research. Just like in any other research, autonomy, non-maleficence, beneficence and justice are the guiding principles when making choices during the research process.

The Dutch parliamentary election studies for the years 1973-1986 reveal that differences between men & women in political participation have been reduced to a minimal level, but still persist. Two hypotheses regarding these differences -- that women are less involved in politics than men, & that women experience more problems when trying to become politically active -- are supported by the evidence. Differences are small or nonexistent for participation in unconventional activities, but substantially greater for conventional ones. Working outside the home significantly enhances the participation of women, but does not affect that of men. Differences within each sex appear larger than differences between the sexes. Politically active men & women are relatively more leftist, & politically active men are favorable to the women's movement & to women's emancipation. 14 Tables, 1 Figure, 1 Appendix, 39 References. Modified HA

Discusses the impact of Hans Daudt's studies on political science research.

The bad reputation in the social sciences of social Darwinian theories is one of the main hindrances to paying attention to ethology, the biological study of behavior. Although developments in this area of research suggest interesting implications for political science, so far, very few political scientists have dealt with these matters. First, the biological way of thinking about behavior is introduced. The object & method of ethology are dealt with, & attention is paid to the problems of function, causation, & history of behavior of animal & man. The neo-Darwinian theory of evolution, which is fundamental to ethology & to the main argument presented here, is summarized. It is concluded that morphology & behavior are both evolutionary organisms. Next, man is considered in the perspective of evolution. The belief in a rigid distinction between nature & nurture is discussed. The modern biological view that the human capacity for making culture is genetically coded is accepted. In a second part, some aspects of this biological view of behavior, relevant to political science, are discussed. From a comparison of definitions in ethology & political science, it appears that social behavior is the most important problem in both disciplines. Social scientists usually study behavior as an autonomous subject while biologists integrate their vision of behavior in the larger context of evolution. There is a fundamental similarity between ethological concepts of social behavior & some recently developed conceptions of political behavior. It is argued that relinquishing the more traditional focus of political science on state-oriented or group-centered action is an important condition.

Since the 'argumentative turn' in policy analysis scholars have increasingly focused on discourse as an explanatory factor for the analysis policy processes. This has resulted in a proliferation of rich and deep qualitative discourse-analytical studies on a vast range of policy controversies. However, these studies have two important shortcomings: firstly, they offer limited possibilities for comparative research, because they lack an objectified and standardized measuring instrument. Secondly, according to some critics, these studies do not live up to scientific standards. This article presents a method based on a combination of content analysis and social network analysis which can be complementary to qualitative approaches, in order to answer to these shortcomings. It is exemplified by a limited case study on two debates within the policy domain of transport-mobility in Flanders. The article concludes with a discussion of a number of possible applications of the method within the broader discipline of political science. Adapted from the source document.

The possible contributions of sociobiology & ethology to the political sciences are critically examined. E. O. Wilson's Sociobiology: The New Synthesis (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard U Press, Belknap Press, 1975) is reviewed & the key concepts of his theory are presented. The group "Science for the People" criticizes Wilson's work as racist & supportive of the status quo; their complaints are rejected as biased & unjust. The last three IPSA congresses in Munich (1970), Montreal (1973), & Edinburgh (1976) show that attempts to relate biology & political sciences exist, though they are still rare. The sessions on "Biology & Politics" in the Montreal congress are presented as an example. Here, the emphasis is on the methodological contributions of ethology to political sciences. The concept of "social systems" is seen as a major contribution to the social sciences. It demands a stronger shift toward interdisciplinary works between political & biological sciences. W. Zimmerman.

Women and ethnic minorities are underrepresented in national parliaments around the world. Interestingly, in the Netherlands ethnic minority women are better represented than ethnic minority men and ethnic majority women. The Netherlands did not adopt gender quotas, but some parties implemented target numbers. Drawing on document analysis and interviews, this article explores whether parties that encourage women's representation are also likely to increase the number of ethnic minority representatives. It finds that party-specific factors such as a left or social democratic ideology, the institutionalization of gender and/or ethnicity within the party and the party's vision on group representation are intertwined. Parties that actively encourage women's representation are more inclined to openly acknowledge the importance of ethnic diversity. This especially favours ethnic minority women, who benefit from the strong embedding of gender. In the end gender determines the success of the ethnic card in political representation. Adapted from the source document.

In this contribution the authors review The limits of social science: Causal explanation and value relevance by Martyn Hammersley.