The department places a high value on good social scientific methods skills, which can include both qualitative and quantitative techniques.  All doctoral students except those whose primary field is political theory complete a non-exam field in methods.  This field consists of three courses: PS204 - research design and data collection;  PS205 - empirical measurement of concepts and statistical analysis; and PS206 - multivariate statistical models. 

Beyond the required sequence, the department offers: PS 207 advanced multivariate analysis; PS 208 - causal inference, PS 209 - game theory and modelling; and PS 231 - comparative methods.  The department also participates in the university's Optional PhD Emphasis in Quantitative Methods in the Social Sciences , which provides further training and certification. 

Faculty with particular methodological interests include:

Aaron Belkin: Counterfactual reasoning
Kathleen Bruhn: Comparative methods
Garrett Glasgow: Quantitative methods
M. Kent Jennings: Research design and survey research
Cynthia Kaplan: Comparative methods
Robert Rauchhaus: Formal theory
Heather Stoll: Quantitative and qualitative methods
M.S. Weatherford: Quantitative methods, logic of social science