Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences (Belfer Center Studies in International Security) Illustrated Edition

I'm a doctoral candidate and was "stuck" trying to figure out how to treat several historical case studies in my dissertation. This book got me going again as it clearly explains case study methodology. Although written from a political science perspective, it's not overly "poly-sci-ish" and is, mercifully, free of jargon. It would be useful for students working in history or sociology, and especially those pursuing an interdisciplinary approach, as well as political science students. I highly recommend this resource.

My advisor recommended it to me and so I read it, first the individual chapters relating to my methodology and then the book in its entirety on my kindle. It's a must to keep for every researcher to understand the process of research itself.

Alexander George and Andrew Bennett's Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences is a very detailed analysis of case study methods that argues that case studies belong on the same footing as statistical methods and formal models when constructing political science research rather than the separation that currently exists. Having the different methods separate tends to ignore the benefits the individual methods can provide the researcher when conducting their research projects.The only thing that concerns me is the authors concern themselves with policy-relevant research. While many academics have that hope that their research will prove relevant to Presidents and Prime Ministers, there's certainly plenty of them who question whether policy makers would even read it.With that said, George and Bennett's book is a vital resource for the graduate student embarking on case study research. I mention specifically graduate students because the sometimes heavy and verbose language may make this sleeping medication for undergraduate insomniacs.Because of the depth and completeness the authors give the subject matter, this is not a book to be read once then hidden away in the back of the library, but something that should be put on the desk for reference during those stubborn research papers and dissertation work.

Book material is solid and helpful but the publisher did not include 10 pages. It goes from p. 68 to 79 and it's not a misprint of page numbers. There's a whole subsection missing.

Excellent resource for research using case study. There are many articles written about CBPR but not enough on the case study approach to research.

One of the top to case study works that I have on the shelf.

This is by far the best book on social science case study development!

This book is very helpful f you are pursuing graduate or doctorate work and need to improve your writing and research skills. Very good for people who struggle with literature reviews.