Methodology for political analysis: A flexible approach based upon problems, mechanisms and causal inferences

Abstract

This article discusses some methodological premises including their limitations. If one of the main goals in the social sciences is to build knowledge as the backbone for the social or political scientists, the core of the work lies upon a series of circumstances that make data collection really difficult in order to get theoretical generalization, especially when the access to specific research sources is conflictive. The article also describes a research methodology to do political analysis by presenting a “handy and functional roadmap”, that allows social science professionals to organize data to generate immediate diagnosis. The most important proposal establishes the identification of “problems” to carry out the political analysis attached to the study of social mechanisms and actors. It is assumed that political analysis reaches depth when using an approach “based on problems” to manage all the information, to draw conclusions and even to attempt a prognosis looking at future decision making.

Key words: research methodologies in political science, political analysis, problem-based approach, research design, problems in social knowledge.