This textbook provides an overview of qualitive and quantitative methods used in different social sciences to investigate defence issues.

Recently, defence issues have become of increasing interest to researchers in the social sciences, but they raise specific methodological questions. This volume intends to fill a gap in the literature on defence studies by addressing a number of topics not dealt with sufficiently before. The contributors offer a range of methodological reflections and tools from various social sciences (political science, sociology, geography, history, economics and public law) for researching defence issues. They also address the increasingly important question of data and digitalization. The book introduces the added value of quantitative and qualitative methods, and calls for a cross-fertilization of methods in order to facilitate better research on defence topics and to fully grasp the complexity of defence in the 21st century.

This book will be of much interest to students, researchers and practitioners of defence studies, war studies, military studies, and social science research methods in general.

About the Author

Delphine Deschaux-Dutard is an Associate Professor in Political Science at the University Grenoble Alpes, France. She is also a researcher at CESICE and Vice-Dean for International Relations at the Faculty of law at the same institution.

Reviews

'If you still believe the old canard that defence studies are lacking in rigor or merely policy analysis about "bombs and bullets", think again. Delphine Deschaux-Dutard and her contributors pointedly show that this stereotype is not to be taken seriously. They take us on a lively journey through a wide range of indispensable methodological tools, both qualitative and quantitative, to study defence issues rigorously. Research Methods in Defence Studies will be a reference for scholars and students of defence and equally useful to practitioners who need the right methods to grasp the complexity of their rapidly changing profession. The interdisciplinary breath of the book alone is worth the price of admission.'-- Pascal Vennesson, Professor of Political Science, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University

"There is now a very rich academic literature in the social sciences on warfare and the armed forces in the early twenty-first century. However, although a diversity of methods have been used by scholars in this field, there has been no systematic attempt to interrogate the methodology of military inquiry. This indispensable and comprehensive volume now fills that gap. It explores in vivid detail a variety of methodologies across the disciplines from geography, law to sociology. It will be required reading for any serious student of military affairs."-- Professor Anthony King, Chair in War Studies, University of Warwick

'If you still believe the old canard that defence studies are lacking in rigor or merely policy analysis about "bombs and bullets", think again. Delphine Deschaux-Dutard and her contributors pointedly show that this stereotype is not to be taken seriously. They take us on a lively journey through a wide range of indispensable methodological tools, both qualitative and quantitative, to study defence issues rigorously. Research Methods in Defence Studies will be a reference for scholars and students of defence and equally useful to practitioners who need the right methods to grasp the complexity of their rapidly changing profession. The interdisciplinary breath of the book alone is worth the price of admission.'-- Pascal Vennesson, Professor of Political Science, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University

'There is now a very rich academic literature in the social sciences on warfare and the armed forces in the early twenty-first century. However, although a diversity of methods have been used by scholars in this field, there has been no systematic attempt to interrogate the methodology of military inquiry. This indispensable and comprehensive volume now fills that gap. It explores in vivid detail a variety of methodologies across the disciplines from geography, law to sociology. It will be required reading for any serious student of military affairs.'-- Professor Anthony King, Chair in War Studies, University of Warwick

'This reviewer would highly recommend this book to anyone in the field of defence studies. It is simple and engaging enough to hold the attention of first-year university students. It is detailed enough to benefit seasoned academicians. Perhaps most useful, it is practical enough to benefit those in the defence industry.'--Jeremy Lamoreaux, Defence Studies, Vol. 21(3)

Book Information
ISBN 9780367187866
Author Delphine Deschaux-Dutard
Format Paperback
Page Count 224
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 403g