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Research on Research: A Decade of Quantitative and Field Research on International Organizations

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 May 2009

Chadwick F. Alger
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Extract

Writing in 1966, I examined the degree to which changes in research methods in political science are affecting research on international organizations and made some suggestions for extending the use of more rigorous empirical methods in international organization research. This effort stimulated a desire to make a more systematic inquiry. Reported in that paper are the results of a systematic survey of fourteen journals and eleven international relations readers which have been published over the past decade. The survey identified some 300 works on international organizations, 61 of which are based on quantitative analysis and field work. This study reports data obtained from coding these works on nine characteristics and provides examples of major findings. The purpose is to help the community of scholars engaged in this work to see where our collective activity is heading in the hope that this will enable us to make more effective use of the limited skills, time, and money available.

Type
Research Article
Information
International Organization , Volume 24 , Issue 3 , Summer 1970 , pp. 414 - 450
Copyright
Copyright © The IO Foundation 1970

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References

1 Alger, Chadwick F., ‘”Methodological Innovation in Research on International Organizations”, in Robinson, James A. (ed.), Political Science Annual, 1969–1970, Vol. 2. (Indianapolis, Ind: Bobbs-Merrill, 1969), PP. 209–240Google Scholar.

2 For a more comprehensive annotated bibliography see Yalem, Ronald J., “The Study of International Organization, 1920–1965; A Survey of the Literature”, Background, 05 1966 (Vol. 10, No. 1), pp. 1–56CrossRefGoogle Scholar.

3 The 61 selected works are listed in Appendix A, pp. 445–447. Carol Soroos conducted die search for material (Richard Tobin also helped in die early stages) and did all die coding. She was assisted by Norman Miller in die compilation of data. Michael Leavitt supervised data processing. Lucille Mayer produced die paper including die preparation of tables and contributed at every stage of research and writing. This research was supported by a grant from die Carnegie Corporation to the International Relations Program of Northwestern University. This is a revised version of a paper presented to die American Political Science Association annual meeting in New York in September 1969.

4 In searching book reviews in twelve of the fourteen journals that include reviews 473 of those found dealt with works on international organizations: American Political Science Review (111), Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (73), International Social Science Journal (13), Journal of Conflict Resolution (48), Journal of International Affairs (21), Journal of Peace Research (7), Journal of Politics (84), Midwest Journal of Political Science (23), Public Opinion Quarterly (6), Western Political Quarterly (44), World Politics (31), and International Organization (12).

5 Readers examined were: International Political Communities; An Anthology (Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday 8t Co., 1966)Google Scholar; Falk, Richard A. and Hanrieder, Wolfram F. (ed.), International Law and Organization: An Introductory Reader (Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1968)Google Scholar; Falk, Richard A. and Mendlovitz, Saul H. (ed.), The United Nations, Vol. 3 of The Strategy of World Order (New York: World Law Fund, 1966)Google Scholar; Gregg, Robert W. and Barkun, Michael (ed.), The United Nations System and Its Functions: Selected Readings (Princeton, N.J: Van Nostrand, 1968)Google Scholar; Kaplan, Morton (ed.), The Revolution in World Politics (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1962)Google Scholar; Kay, David A. (ed.), The United Nations Political System (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1967)Google Scholar; Kriesberg, Louis (ed.), Social Process in International Relations (New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1968)Google Scholar; Miller, Linda B. (ed.), Dynamics of World Politics: Studies in the Resolution of Conflict (Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Prentice-Hall, 1968)Google Scholar; Rosenau, James N. (ed.), International Politics and Foreign Policy: A Reader in Research and Theory (New York: The Free Press, 1961)Google Scholar; James N. Rosenau (1968); Rosenau, James N. (ed.), International Politics and Foreign Policy: A Reader in Research and Theory (New York: The Free Press, 1961)Google Scholar; Rosenau, James N. (ed.), International Politics and Foreign Policy: A Reader in Research and Theory (rev. ed; New York: The Free Press, 1969)Google Scholar; Singer, J. David (ed.), Quantitative International Politics: Insights and Evidence, Vol. 6 of International Yearbook, of Political Behavior Research, ed. by Eulau, Heinz (New York: The Free Press, 1968)Google Scholar.

6 Judge, A. J. N., “Multinational Business Enterprises: A New Category of International Organizations”, International Associations, 01 1969 (21st Year, No. 1), pp. 3–11Google Scholar.

7 Hadwen, John G. and Kaufmann, Johan. How United Nations Decisions Are Made (2nd ed; New York: Oceana Publications, 1962)Google Scholar and Kaufmann, Johan, Conference Diplomacy (New York: Oceana Publications, 1968)Google Scholar.

8 There is no assumption here that international organizations are the most important transnational activity or the only kind of such activity inadequately researched.