Introdução aos métodos de pesquisa em Relações Internacionais

In "Introdução aos métodos de pesquisa em relações internacionais," I offer an exploration of research methodologies specific to the field of International Relations (IR). The text serves as both an introductory guide to methods for students and researchers of IR and a thorough examination of the diverse methodologies that have shaped the discipline over time, tailored mainly for undergraduate students.

The book is divided into seven chapters, which might be divided into three broad sections: 1) an introductory section that presents main concepts, a historical perspective on the interaction between methods and theories, and an introduction to research design; 2) chapters dedicated to qualitative methods, including an initial perspective on basic assumptions and ontological variations within the qualitative tradition, as well as other chapters dedicated specifically to historical methods and ethnography; 3) chapters that introduce students to quantitative and mixed methods. I provide more detailed information on each chapter as it progresses.

The first chapter, “How Methods Permeated the Theoretical Debates in International Relations," brings an overview of the lack of methodological concerns in Brazilian IR scientific production and presents basic concepts used throughout the book, after debating how the different methodologies, epistemologies, and ontologies permeated the major debates of IR theories. I emphasize the historical significance of these methodologies in shaping IR as a discipline. These foundational perspectives are crucial for understanding how IR researchers approach problems and structure their studies.
The second chapter is dedicated to research designs. It starts by presenting their different definitions and basic components, building around the seminal works of King, Keohane, and Verba. After a brief discussion on the main challenges to achieving valid inferences, I conclude the chapter by specifying how different designs fit specific research questions, the sizes of samples, and how those variations connect to the different methodological approaches.

The following are dedicated to the qualitative methodology, the most used by Brazilian IR scholars. The fourth chapter, "Qualitative Methodology," includes an initial presentation of the avoiding common pitfalls and advantages of qualitative methods, as well as a brief presentation of qualitative techniques (e.g., process tracing, comparative historical analysis, qualitative comparative analysis). I also included a subsection dedicated to exploring the ontological variation of this methodological tradition, which is the richest in terms of diversity. Those methods are particularly praised for their ability to provide deep insights into causal mechanisms and the contextual significance of international events.

Chapters five and six (“Historical Method and Historicism” and “Dense Descriptions and the Application of Ethnography in International Relations”) support this claim, as they advance in two entire qualitative methods derived from two consolidated disciplines of the humanities.

In the chapter on quantitative methods, I first outline the principles for measuring social concepts and phenomena, transforming them into systematized information and numbers, and organizing a dataset. I also present their epistemological assumptions, as well as their applications in modeling and statistical analysis. Despite only overviewing this immense methodological tradition, it serves to introduce Brazilian students, who are usually unfamiliar with quantitative methods. This discussion is crucial for researchers looking to engage with large-scale international data and perform rigorous statistical analyses to test theoretical propositions.

In the last chapter, “Mixed Methods and Methodological Pluralism," I highlight this recent methodology that intends to merge two consolidated traditions and how it proposes to overcome the limitations of each. This methodological pluralism is presented as a means to enrich IR research, allowing for more comprehensive and nuanced analyses of international relations. The main challenge is to overcome the epistemological and ontological contrast between these two separated worlds.

In conclusion, I reiterate the importance of methodological rigor and theoretical depth in IR research, calling on Brazilian scholars for a continued dialogue to refine and expand the methodological tools available in the field. I also highlight the need for a larger concern regarding the use and teaching of methods in Brazilian undergraduate and graduate programs.