DOI
DOI: 10.4337/9781782549529

Summary
The chapter researches the methods that political scientists should adopt when investigating phenomena related to complexity and complex sciences. Its goal is answering this question: “does the study of complexity require new methods derived from other disciplines, or do we simply incorporate an understanding of complexity in well-established social science methods?”. As other studies already demonstrated, traditional statistical linear analysis fails to provide an adequate account of complexity. Thus, different methods are needed to properly model, design and understand issues related to complexity. However, the chapter does not completely discard traditional methods of political science, but it rather suggests to “enhance” them with insights from complexity thinking. Case study, qualitative and deductive researches are still valuable and can produce important results, but they should be combined with methods from the hard sciences. In this context, an important role is played by computational modelling. The authors suggest a New Toolbox for political scientists consisting of:
- Visualization and presentation of data;
- Understand data not as dry observations but as emergent from systems of agents interacting;
- Describing systems and data and trying to understand sub-phenomena;
- Learning about the systems that give rise to such data;
- Building models or simulations and the altering key parameters and assumptions.
Finally, the article presents some examples of models capturing relevant human behavior complex phenomena arising from networks and social systems (Watts and Strogatz “Small World Network”, Agent-Based Models).

Relevance for Complex Systems Knowledge
The article presents an interdisciplinary methodology able to expand the explanatory power of political science theories and investigations. It provides sound scientifical explanation, as well as innovative methodologies. The authors explicitly claim to advocate “creative pattern-based thinking” to combine models from different sciences in order to open up new perspectives for enquiry. Researchers are also encouraged to look for inspiration by adopting insights from other disciplines (e.g. biology, physics, ect.) and incorporate them in the line of inquiry that better suits them. The goal is to combine qualitative and quantitative research methods in a way that makes them more proficient.

Point of Strength
- It presents several methodological examples;
- It embeds quantitative and qualitative method analysis;
- It provides an explicit guideline for political scientists on how to carry research related to complex phenomena.