bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Women as Littérateurs in the Premodern Period
Authors: Ali Samer M. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Scholars in the West have been reluctant to acknowledge the surprising literary production of women in Arabo-Islamic history, for a wide variety of reasons, some of which are racial. But paradoxically the paucity of scholarship becomes further reason to stereotype Muslims as backward. This chapter moves beyond biases and begins with the premise that littérateurs (udabāʾ) explicitly thought of literature as a means of educating the young and cultivating leadership. This shift in conception has major implications for research on women. This chapter addresses the many reasons why Islamicate women produced literature, and explores issues of reception and circulation in salons, and their consequences for educating women. Before the modern era, salons were the venue where audiences could learn about and engage heritage. In effect, the chapter shows how literature by women emerged, developed, and evolved, and the ways that professionals and amateurs curated heritage in order to educate girls and women and cultivate excellence and even leadership.
Accidental Cumulation in Studies of Clientelism, Vote Buying, and Governance
Authors: Golden Miriam A. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
The current focus of political science and political economy research in less developed countries lies with problems of governance, with a strong focus on clientelism and specifically on vote buying. With the exception of the Metaketa research on information campaigns, investigations into these topics have proceeded without formal coordination and, for the most part, via individually designed case studies. Despite this disjointedness and informality, some findings seem to have cumulated. This chapter argues that the main novel results to have emerged from this research stream come from uncovering new facts rather than articulating new causal questions or providing new answers to established questions. Thanks to the use of relatively standardized survey instruments and improved sampling methods, case studies now provide precise quantitative estimates of the frequency of vote buying. However, the wide range of new data points suggests rethinking our understanding of previous causal investigations into vote buying may be necessary.
Challenges that Proprietary Research Poses for Meta-Analysis
Authors: Green Donald P. , Leavitt Thomas , Markovits Daniel 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
The social sciences in general and political science in particular have seen marked improvements in research transparency. Data-sharing, pre-analysis plans, and results-blind reviewing have helped improve the trustworthiness of research findings, which in turn has facilitated credible research syntheses. At the same time, the rapid growth of proprietary research conducted by or on behalf of private entities presents a new set of challenges. Proprietary research seldom adheres to best practices in terms of open data, pre-registration, or pre-analysis plans; moreover, results from an undisclosed set of studies may be selectively released to the public in order to advance the interests of the research sponsors. This chapter addresses the problems of inference that arise when meta-analysts attempt to synthesize a research literature that comes exclusively or partly from proprietary sources. The authors’ approach invokes a model of how proprietary organizations choose to disclose their results. Uncertainty over the parameters of this model implies that proprietary research should be down-weighted. This broad analytic argument is illustrated with reference to two experimental literatures on voter mobilization, one involving Facebook’s banner ads and another involving handwritten letters to voters. The chapter concludes by outlining procedural changes that can decrease the threat selective reporting poses to inference.
Mixed-Methods and Causal Mechanisms
Authors: Barnes Jeb , Weller Nicholas 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
The use of mixed-methods research to study causal mechanisms has become quite common in political science. However, there is little guidance about how to navigate the ontological, methodological, and epistemological issues that confront scholars attempting to use mixed-methods to learn about causal mechanisms. This chapter lays out how these different issues are related to each other, and how the choices we make for any one issue affect the choices across the other issues. The authors argue mixed-methods projects about causal mechanisms need to consider the following three issues: (1) a definition of mechanism; (2) the contribution of the large and small-N research approaches; and (3) a strategy for the aggregation of findings using either formal or heuristic Bayesian logic. The chapter sketches how these choices fit together and explores their breadth. It ends with some thoughts about the future of mixed-method, causal mechanism research and areas for further elaboration.
The Inferential Value of Pluralism
Authors: Strother Logan , Hitt Matthew P. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Identifying structural breaks in time series data—that is, pinpointing the moment(s) when the underlying data-generating process of a series changes—is centrally important for testing many types of theories in the social sciences, but also carries significant risks. Proper identification of structural breaks is critical for any time series analysis that investigates the effect of exogenous changes on some variable of interest. Yet the application of these methods is fraught with complex methodological tradeoffs. This chapter gathers data on universe of the Supreme Court’s “landmark” cases decided since 1970—146 cases in all—and finds no consistent evidence that any of these decisions caused a significant increase in media coverage to the underlying issue. When working in applied settings with the types of time series data typically available to social scientists, the chapter shows that extant methods for estimating and modeling with multiple unknown structural breaks frequently give rise to conflicting inferences. It uses the Court’s decision in City of New London v. Kelo to illustrate the importance of convergent validity in structural break analysis. The chapter ultimately argues that a pluralistic approach to the detection of structural breaks in data that span relatively short time horizons typical in applied research better suits the inferential challenge these data pose.
Methodologies for “Political Science as Problem Solving”
Authors: Samii Cyrus 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
The problem-solving approach to Political Science organizes research programs into three phases. First, one uses normative analysis and empirical description to establish a “problem”—that is, an observed fact pattern that violates one’s normative principles. Second, one uses observational-causal empirical methods to establish what types of mechanisms perpetuate the problem. Third, one designs and tests interventions aimed at mitigating the problem. Each of these phases draws in various ways on observational and experimental methods, descriptive and causal evidence, and on theory. The problem-solving approach is a way to let ethics, social utility, empirical rigor, and analytical precision guide the determination of research questions.
What Type of Data Are Images?
Authors: Webb Williams Nora 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Images are an intriguing source of data for social scientists. Increasingly, the phrase “images as data” implies big data, digitized images, and quantitative analyses with elements of machine learning. This perspective, however, obscures the many other ways to conceive of what images are as data for social scientists. For example, big data, machine learning image researchers rely on labeled data to build classification algorithms. The process of labeling the data is essentially content analysis, a familiar tool to qualitative researchers. Thus, quantitative analyses are built on qualitative approaches, and both are a potentially valid way to use images to better understand the world. This chapter reviews current trends in images-as-data research while considering how the complicated nature of meaning derived from images lends itself to a pluralistic research approach. The chapter provides four guiding questions to use when embarking on or evaluating image research in political science.
Quantitative Content Analysis
Authors: Boydstun Amber E. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Quantitative content analysis methods are some of the most important tools in the political communication scholar’s evolving methodological toolkit. And with the rise of digital content and computational methods, it is more important than ever that these methods are treated with the same theoretical and methodological rigor that should be demanded of every other method. A meta-analysis shows the rising frequency of quantitative content analysis scholarship, but with disturbingly low rates of validity/reliability reports. This chapter offers suggestions for best practices to increase the validity, reliability, and transparency of this work. It closes by drawing attention to the exciting increase in availability of data and methods but also the resulting role that resources—both financial and technological—might play in defining the scope of questions content analysis scholars can ask and answer.
Pluralist View on Inequality from Luxemburg Income Study (LIS)
Authors: Checchi Daniele , Paradowski Piotr R. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
The authors start by reviewing the history of the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS), originating from an interdisciplinary project involving economists, sociologists, and political scientists, centered on the cross-country perspective in inequality analysis. They then conduct a meta-analysis of the papers produced by scholars who have taken advantage of the data availability, showing how the theme of income/wealth inequality has been differently addressed in the research conducted thank to free availability of LIS data. The analysis is based on 268 LIS/LWS working papers produced since 2013 by LIS data users. Inequality analysis, an elusive and multidimensional concept, cannot become prerogative of a specific discipline or school of thought, favoring a pluralist approach to the topic. As a consequence, we present how four academic communities (economists, sociologists, social policy, and political scientists) adopt different methodological perspectives in terms of unit of analysis (the individual, the household, or the community), heterogeneity (by gender, age, race, education), outcomes (income, wealth, consumption, education, employment, and work hours, fertility), institutional framework (household, firm, local labor markets, nations) and methodological approach (poverty, inequality, income shares).
Gender, Sex, and Methodological Pluralism
Authors: Ondercin Heather L. 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Sex and/or gender are complex and evolving concepts where our theoretical understanding does not always map onto how they are employed in the political world. This complexity creates a series of challenges for scholars. A pluralistic methodological approach benefits the study of gender, sex, and politics. This article demonstrates the different methodological approaches employed by gender and politics scholars and the methodological approaches that have yet to be fully integrated into the subfield. Drawing on our theoretical understanding of sex and gender, this article argues that scholars need to clarify our theorizing and measurement of gender and/or sex. In particular, attempts to separate the concepts of sex and gender overlook how politics defines and constructs sex-based categories. More careful theorizing should lead to stronger connections between our theoretical understanding of gender and our methodological choices and empirical measures of gender and/or sex. This article concludes by offering recommendations to guide research on gender and politics.
Methodological Pluralism in Political Science
Authors: della Porta Donatella , Keating Michael 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
This chapter reviews contributions to the debate on methodological pluralism in the light of developments since the publication of our Approaches and Methodologies in the Social Sciences. Reviewing the debates on ontologies, epistemologies, approaches, methodologies, and methods in the social sciences we point to a nuanced and complex picture of multiple positions that do not easily align around a main conflict line. The pluralist perspective rejects the idea that the various choices are as exclusive as sometimes presented. It challenges the natural science analogy on the grounds that the natural sciences are misrepresented and that social science is in any case different. It argues that there is no determinate relationship such that one school will consistently choose the same options all the way through from epistemology to method. Assumptions about how we can capture the reality—and how much of it—vary in more subtle ways. It is possible to encompass much of the field, not by imposing a single paradigm, but rather by setting certain standards of argumentation and debate while recognizing that there are differences in approaches and types of evidence. These do not inevitably constitute fundamentally different worldviews, but nor at they necessarily all compatible. While methodological pluralism is sometimes reduced to “mixed methods” which can entail mere combinations of data sources, the aim is to address a broader challenge by showing how approaches may be combined or synthesized all the way through the continuum.
An Introduction to Neural Networks for the Social Sciences
Authors: Lin Gechun , Lucas Christopher 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Social scientists now regularly employ computational models, most often to create proxy variables for theoretical concepts that are difficult to observe directly. This chapter discusses how the application of these models differs from traditional quantitative methods common to the social sciences. It then introduces a particular method—neural networks—by building from a model familiar to social scientists: logistic regression. To build intuition about how neural networks flexibly approximate complex functions, the chapter compares the performance of logistic regression to neural networks in a simple simulation. It then further demonstrates the flexibility of neural networks by introducing convolutional and recurrent neural networks and their application to image and text classification, respectively. Throughout, the chapter relates approaches to machine learning with neural networks to common statistical practices in social science. It concludes with a discussion of new methodological challenges posed by reliance on neural networks and open areas of research.
Interest Groups
Authors: Mach André , Eichenberger Steven 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
This chapter recounts the historical development of the Swiss system of interest intermediation. It discusses the central role of interest groups in the Swiss political system. After their creation at the end of the nineteenth century, the major economic interest groups (business interest associations and trade unions) could rely on the financial support of the federal state to fund their secretariat. They helped an incipient federal state extend its reach and thus forged themselves a key role in the Swiss political system, which was strengthened throughout the twentieth century. Even nowadays, they dispose of considerable resources in comparison to political parties, in terms of finance, membership, and expertise, and actively intervene in the different phases of the Swiss decision-making process. The chapter is structured as follows: after a first section on the creation of the major Swiss interest groups, it analyses the institutionalization of their relations with the political authorities at the federal level and the intertwining of the public and private spheres. It then examines their influence in the major political arenas (administration, parliament, and direct democracy). The next section presents and discusses the relevance of the neo-corporatist model applied to Switzerland. Finally, the last section delves into recent changes since the 1990s, marked by important changes in the organization and political strategies of interest groups in a context of growing globalization and mediatization of Swiss politics.
Implementation and Evaluation of Public Policies
Authors: Balthasar Andreas 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
In Switzerland, policy implementation is determined by the strongly federalist structure of the state. Two factors are decisive. First, bottom-up federalism assigns responsibility to the cantons for all tasks that the constitution does not explicitly allocate to the federal state. This means that the cantons are responsible for designing and implementing key tasks such as education or health care. Second, the cantons are also in charge of implementing many policies designed on the federal level, such as agricultural or migration policy. The pronounced Swiss federalism leads to implementation models and intensities that may vary greatly from canton to canton. Implementation research assesses this phenomenon differently. On the one hand, it has been shown that federalism can contribute to increasing the acceptance and effectiveness of policy measures through canton-specific implementation. On the other hand, federalism can cause implementation deficits or even non-implementation of national policies in the cantons. This impairs the equal treatment of citizens in Switzerland. The Swiss ‘federalist laboratory’ offers opportunities to identify and test different implementation models. The diversity of implementation in Switzerland also provides an excellent basis for evaluation research. Cantonal comparative studies make valuable contributions to assessing the effectiveness of policy measures. In addition, the Swiss federal constitution stipulates the obligation to have the effectiveness of laws systematically evaluated. This has facilitated an in-depth scientific reflection on the contribution of evaluation as an instrument of legitimacy and control in a democratic state.
Switzerland and the European Union
Authors: Wasserfallen Fabio 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Switzerland has a unique relationship with the European Union (EU). Through more than 120 bilateral agreements, Switzerland is integrated into parts of the single market, is an associate member of Schengen and Dublin, and participates in multiple EU programmes. This model of integration has been developed over the last three decades but remains highly contested, as the EU is one of the most salient topics in Swiss politics. Moreover, the recent developments in the EU and Switzerland politically alienated both sides. This chapter provides an analysis of Swiss integration into the EU, the politicization of the EU in Switzerland, and the perspective of the EU on the joint relations. The final part highlights how the relationship further deteriorated. Despite all the difficulties, however, both sides have a vital interest in comprehensive and deep relations.
Research, Technology, and Innovation Policies
Authors: Baschung Lukas , Leresche Jean-Philippe 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
A multi-level governance approach is necessary to understand the small but very successful Swiss research and innovation system. Switzerland has taken a liberal political approach to its development, whereby the federal government has left the competence for research policy to its regional governments and to a stronger politically coordinated research system with an unusually high number of actors that are divided territorially and functionally. In parallel, although Switzerland is not a member of the European Union, it has succeeded in integrating itself into the European Research Area, which has positively contributed to its innovation capacity. However, due to political conflicts with the European Union, the well-balanced Swiss governance system of the research and innovation field and the field’s high capacity are seriously threatened.
The Political Culture of Switzerland in Comparative Perspective
Authors: Freitag Markus , Zumbrunn Alina 
Published: December 2023

AbstractThis chapter focuses on political culture in Switzerland and in an international comparison. It starts with a discussion on political culture as an object of research, followed by a brief summary of measurement and available data on political culture. Finally, we survey political culture in Switzerland and compare the results with other European countries. Switzerland is especially interesting as an object of investigation, since it consists of three linguistically, culturally, religiously, and regionally different groups and can thus be seen as a microcosm of Europe. Following the research tradition of Almond and Verba, we define political culture as a ‘particular distribution of patterns of orientation toward political objects among the members of the nation’ and investigate attitudes toward the system as a whole (polity culture), attitudes toward the political process (politics culture), and attitudes toward political issues (policy culture). Evaluating survey data, we reach the following two main findings: First, attitudes toward democracy and the political system, as well as toward the institutions and actors in the political process, have been characterized by a high degree of stability in Switzerland over the past decades. Second, our analysis shows that Switzerland has a particularly strong approval of democracy and is characterized by a high degree of trust and political participation compared with other European countries. Switzerland, with its particularly pronounced direct democracy, is thus a haven for a political culture with a great deal of support and trust.
An Outside Perspective on Swiss Politics. How Successful is Switzerland’s Political System?
Authors: Obinger Herbert 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
From a comparative perspective, this concluding chapter looks at the performance and the legitimacy of the Swiss political system. It is argued that Switzerland, more than almost any other country in the world, has realized the ideal of government by the people and for the people. Nowhere else do citizens have such extensive opportunities to participate in the political decision-making process, and there are very few countries that have a similarly strong track record as Switzerland across all policy areas. The unique rights of citizens in political decision-making and the excellent performance of the political system are closely related. In conjunction with consensus democracy, they generate an extraordinarily high degree of input and output legitimacy, which is the root cause for political stability and peaceful coexistence in a multi-dimensionally fragmented society.
Switzerland
Authors: Linder Wolf , Mueller Sean 
Published: December 2023

Abstract
Contrary to widespread assumptions, Switzerland has not always been as peaceful, prosperous, and politically inclusive as it appears today. This chapter analyses how the Swiss polity achieved the political integration of a society that consisted of peoples speaking different languages, practising different religions, and possessing different cultural origins. Achieving national unity in 1848 was accompanied by violence and conflict between the constituent cantons. At the intersection of three main European cultures (French, German, Italian) and torn between Catholicism and Protestantism, the path to societal integration was a long and troublesome one. Proportionality and power-sharing were critical elements for success. This chapter discusses their evolution and explains their effects on political integration. While each institutional change came with integration benefits for specific groups, none of them was achieved without a struggle that, in some cases, lasted for decades. We conclude with the question of what significance Switzerland, as a ‘paradigmatic case of political integration’, may have for other socially fragmented societies.