Malici and Smith engage students first with pressing political questions and then demonstrate how a researcher has gone about answering them, walking them through real political science research. Each chapter shows the process of developing a research question.

Akan Malici is Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. He authored When Leaders Learn and When They Don't (SUNY, 2008) and The Search for a Common European Foreign and Security Policy (Palgrave, 2008). He co-authored U.S. Presidents and Foreign Policy Mistakes (Stanford, 2011) and Role Theory and Role Conflict in U.S.-Iran Relations (Routledge, 2016) and co-edited of Re-thinking Foreign Policy Analysis (Routledge, 2011). He teaches classes in International Politics and Research Methodology.

Elizabeth S. Smith is Professor of Politics and International Affairs at Furman University. She received her Ph.D. in American politics with a minor in political psychology from the University of Minnesota. She has taught research methodology for many years. Her work appears in The Journal of Political Science Education, Polity, Political Psychology, The Handbook for Teaching Social Issues, the American Education Research Journal and in Competition in Theory and Practice (Sense Publishers 2009).

Preface 1. Why Do We Need A Science Of Politics? [Elizabeth S. Smith and Akan Malici] 2. How Do We Get A Science Of Politics? [Akan Malici And Elizabeth S. Smith] 3. The Comparative Case Study Method: "Uncivil Society" In the Arab Uprisings [Zaid Eyadat] 4. Field Research: Navigating Politically Sensitive Research in China [Katherine Palmer Kaup] 5. Interviewing In Political Science Research: Who Resists Injustice? [Kristina Thalhammer] 6. Critical and Interpretive Research: Understanding Torture's Popularity in The United States [Brent J. Steele] 7. Statistical Research: Lack of Citizenship, The Achilles' Heel of Latino Political Power [Adrian D. Pantoja And Sarah Allen Gershon] 8. Survey Research: Religion and Electoral Behavior in The United States, 1936-2016 [Lyman A. Kellstedt And James L. Guth] 9. Public Policy and Program Evaluation: Does High School Type Affect College Success? [David J. Fleming, Joshua M. Cowen, And Deven Carlson] 10. Content Analysis: Congressional Communication Through Broadcast and New Media [C. Danielle Vinson] 11. Field Experiments: Wired To Mobilize: The Effect of Social Networking Messages On Voter Turnout [Holly Teresi And Melissa R. Michelson] 12. Normative And Ethical Considerations Of Political Science Research [Elizabeth S. Smith And Akan Malici]