Category Archives: Researchers’ corner

I’m at the Canadian Political Science Association meeting in Waterloo, Ontario, delivering a paper that makes the following argument:

Political case studies have unjustifiably acquired a reputation for being semi-anecdotal investigations of the small details of individual circumstances, research that is incapable of generating significant empirical or theoretical advances in knowledge. It is argued that the case study is, at best, a preliminary step, in that it may generate hypotheses that can later be tested using such “more reliable” methods as standardized questionnaires or statistical data. In the study of politics, however, that sequence of research initiatives may well work better in reverse. Continue reading →

In a series of previous posts, I’ve made the case that municipal governments are incapable of managing urban growth in a manner the supports city viability and is environmentally sustainable. I argue that the political clout necessary to resist development proposals that are good for particular developers’ bottom line but bad for the city only exists at the regional or national level.

I also presented a proposal for a research project designed to look at what options exist for urban development that supports city viability and sustainability. That research has now been funded by the Social Science and Humanities Council of Canada and I’m looking for two students to work full time for 10 weeks this summer to help me get the research underway.

For more information about this job and how to apply for it, check out the links above, and download the job announcement.

Case studies have unjustifiably acquired a reputation for being semi-anecdotal investigations of the small details of individual circumstances, research that is incapable of generating significant empirical or theoretical advances in knowledge. It is argued that the case study is, at best, a preliminary step, in that it may generate hypotheses that can later be tested using such “more reliable” methods as standardized questionnaires or statistical data. In the study of politics, however, that sequence of research initiatives may well work better in reverse.

Continue reading →