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A specter is haunting political science. It is the specter of methodological perfectionism. This dogma places methods before substance and imposes a narrow spectrum of accept-able methods on the discipline

This paper describes a technique for the collection and analysis of observational data using a specially configured stereo tape recorder and a dual-channel amplifier-recorder for a paper printout. The technique has been used to compare trainer operations to real-life operations, and in field studies to evaluate console designs, activity rates, and percentage of time devoted to various activities.

▪ Abstract  When experimental designs are infeasible, researchers must resort to the use of observational data from surveys, censuses, and administrative records. Because assignment to the independent variables of observational data is usually nonrandom, the challenge of estimating causal effects with observational data can be formidable. In this chapter, we review the large literature produced primarily by statisticians and econometricians in the past two decades on the estimation of causal effects from observational data. We first review the now widely accepted counterfactual framework for the modeling of causal effects. After examining estimators, both old and new, that can be used to estimate causal effects from cross-sectional data, we present estimators that exploit the additional information furnished by longitudinal data. Because of the size and technical nature of the literature, we cannot offer a fully detailed and comprehensive presentation. Instead, we present only the main features of methods that are accessible and potentially of use to quantitatively oriented sociologists.