On Political Methodology

“Politimetrics” (Gurr 1972), “polimetrics,” (Alker 1975), “politometrics” (Hilton 1976), “political arithmetic” (Petty [1672] 1971), “quantitative Political Science (QPS),” “governmetrics,” “posopolitics” (Papayanopoulos 1973), “political science statistics” (Rai and Blydenburgh 1973), “political statistics” (Rice 1926). These are some of the names that scholars have used to describe the field we now call “political methodology.”1 The history of political methodology has been quite fragmented until recently, as reflected by this patchwork of names. The field has begun to coalesce during the past decade; we are developing persistent organizations, a growing body of scholarly literature, and an emerging consensus about important problems that need to be solved.