In preparation for a graduate seminar on political science publishing, I had the pleasure of re-reading Gary King’s very useful “Publication, Publication,” published in PS: Political Science and Politics in 2006. Readers will know that I have lately criticized King’s vision of political science, as it applies to “big data” ...
Read More »Monthly Archives: November 2015
Naming, Framing and Shaming
The US bombing of a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) this month in Kunduz Afghanistan, which killed 22 people including staff and patients, has variously been described as an ‘unfortunate accident’, ‘collateral damage’, and a ‘war crime’. The labelling of this event can be seen as a function ...
Read More »The Opportunity Cost of Conflict: Statistically Comparing Israel and Synthetic Israel
What would Israel’s economy have looked like without the Palestinian Intifadas? Scholars have long debated the impact of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on Israel’s economy. Some point to Israel’s long-term growth trajectory and conclude the conflict has little or no impact on Israel’s economy, while others argue the conflict has a ...
Read More »Sharing the Blueprint: Preregistration in Political Science
Political science research has become increasingly transparent over the past few decades, with rising emphasis on procedures such as data sharing and replication projects. At this time, many journal editors have signed the public statement on Data Access & Research Transparency, in a wish to further this commitment to open ...
Read More »Obama’s Democratic Legacy
Writing on book on Abraham Lincoln, which I am doing for Rowman & Littlefield’s Modernity and Political Thought series, may seem ill-advised given the number of volumes on the 16th president of the United States already extant. On the other hand, given the unstable combination of Lincoln’s iconic status and ...
Read More »Further Thoughts on DA-RT
What’s up with DA-RT? What happened regarding DA-RT at the APSA meeting in San Francisco? Is it true, as one prominent editor has been quoted, that DA-RT is a fait accompli, and that “the train has already left the station?” In recent weeks I have been repeatedly asked these questions. ...
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