Crossroads in European Union Studies
(2015) p.3-17- Abstract
- EU studies is at a crossroads where the many disciplinary interests in Europe meet, as well as temporally where the past weaknesses of methodology meet the future challenges of a new research agenda on Europe. These weaknesses emanate from a number of traditional research design dichotomies in EU studies:
Research ontology. Do we approach our research through rationalist or constructivist assumptions about EU affairs?
Research epistemology. Is our ultimate knowledge ambition to formulate explanatory theories capturing EU affairs? Or is our research a process of conceptual (re)constructions aimed at understanding EU affairs?
Research methodology. Do we best capture EU affairs through positivist and deductive research... (More) - EU studies is at a crossroads where the many disciplinary interests in Europe meet, as well as temporally where the past weaknesses of methodology meet the future challenges of a new research agenda on Europe. These weaknesses emanate from a number of traditional research design dichotomies in EU studies:
Research ontology. Do we approach our research through rationalist or constructivist assumptions about EU affairs?
Research epistemology. Is our ultimate knowledge ambition to formulate explanatory theories capturing EU affairs? Or is our research a process of conceptual (re)constructions aimed at understanding EU affairs?
Research methodology. Do we best capture EU affairs through positivist and deductive research strategies, or through interpretative and inductive processes?
Research methods. Do we prefer quantitative or qualitative research methods and data?
We need to deal with, and seek to overcome, such traditional dichotomies to meet the future challenges of a new research agenda on Europe. Scholars within EU studies have thus become increasingly preoccupied with epistemological issues when conducting research on EU affairs (for discussions, see Manners, 2003; Jupille, 2006). (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/aa3d7f7f-ff80-44e4-9418-8694821e12f2
- author
- Lynggaard, Kennet ; Löfgren, Karl and Manners, Ian LU
- publishing date
- 2015-07-07
- type
- Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- European integration, research strategy, research methods, European Union
- host publication
- Research Methods in European Union Studies
- editor
- Lynggaard, Kennet ; Manners, Ian and Löfgren, Karl
- pages
- 15 pages
- publisher
- Palgrave Macmillan
- ISBN
- 978-0-230-36305-2
- 978-1-137-31696-7
- DOI
- 10.1057/9781137316967_1
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- id
- aa3d7f7f-ff80-44e4-9418-8694821e12f2
- date added to LUP
- 2021-02-22 11:46:25
- date last changed
- 2021-10-08 02:22:20
@inbook{aa3d7f7f-ff80-44e4-9418-8694821e12f2, abstract = {{EU studies is at a crossroads where the many disciplinary interests in Europe meet, as well as temporally where the past weaknesses of methodology meet the future challenges of a new research agenda on Europe. These weaknesses emanate from a number of traditional research design dichotomies in EU studies:<br/>Research ontology. Do we approach our research through rationalist or constructivist assumptions about EU affairs?<br/><br/>Research epistemology. Is our ultimate knowledge ambition to formulate explanatory theories capturing EU affairs? Or is our research a process of conceptual (re)constructions aimed at understanding EU affairs?<br/><br/>Research methodology. Do we best capture EU affairs through positivist and deductive research strategies, or through interpretative and inductive processes?<br/><br/>Research methods. Do we prefer quantitative or qualitative research methods and data?<br/><br/>We need to deal with, and seek to overcome, such traditional dichotomies to meet the future challenges of a new research agenda on Europe. Scholars within EU studies have thus become increasingly preoccupied with epistemological issues when conducting research on EU affairs (for discussions, see Manners, 2003; Jupille, 2006).}}, author = {{Lynggaard, Kennet and Löfgren, Karl and Manners, Ian}}, booktitle = {{Research Methods in European Union Studies}}, editor = {{Lynggaard, Kennet and Manners, Ian and Löfgren, Karl}}, isbn = {{978-0-230-36305-2}}, keywords = {{European integration; research strategy; research methods; European Union}}, language = {{eng}}, month = {{07}}, pages = {{3--17}}, publisher = {{Palgrave Macmillan}}, title = {{Crossroads in European Union Studies}}, url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/9781137316967_1}}, doi = {{10.1057/9781137316967_1}}, year = {{2015}}, }