GLOBAL

POLITICS
METHODOLOGY
Global Politics include
many ways of producing
knowledge, but there are
4 main methods that are
used in a more common
way. These are:

- Measurement and Statistical

Analysis
- Questionnaires
- Interviews
- Case Studies
1. Measurements and Statistical Analysis

Researchers produce knowledge in Global

Politics by collecting quantifiable data such as
population, monthly income, number of
households, etc… from institutions such as
Govts, Firms, NGOs In order to gather these data
into statistical tables (often with time as a
variable)

E.g : The Gross domestic product

(GDP) is a knowledge in Global
Politics produced using the
statistical analysis method by
collecting the gross annual revenue
of a State.
1. ISSUES FACED WITH THE STATISTICAL ANALYSIS METHOD

The main issue faced with the statistical analysis method in Global
politics is the availability of data. It might be that it is impossible for
the data to be collected from a certain part of a population, or simply
that the institutions holding these data do not want them to be
released, which limits the amount of available data to create an
accurate statistical representation of a given focus of global politics.

An example of it can be how the Human

Development Index (HDI) cannot be measured for
certain countries (e.g Somalia) simply because the
data required remain unmeasured by the
government.
1. How researchers try to overcome this issue

Researchers try to
As an example, since
overcome this issue 2015, The Government of
by putting in place DRC established the
research institutions National Institute of
whose only job is to Statistics to gather
gather data in specific economic and social data
sectors and in a (e.g: literacy rate) related
frequent pace and for to the DRC
a given organization.
2. QUESTIONNAIRES

Researchers in Global
Politics also produce
knowledge through For example, in order to
questionnaires: They plan produce knowledge about an
a sets of questions that issue at a Community level (i.e
they ask certain groups of off of geographic limitation),
people to answer, and from researcher will usually set
the answer they get from
different individual
questionnaire that they will ask
households (or individual member of that community to
organizations), they drive answer in order to make a
conclusions that help them conclusion.
produce knowledge about
specific topics.
..SOME ISSUES CONNECTED WITH QUESTIONNAIRES
Possible biases of the answers.

questionnaires might not always be

perfectly accurate, as some people
Limited depth of informations. can either exaggerate or minimize
facts according to their own point of
Questionnaires often require view.
simplistic answers while realities
might be more nuanced than
those answers present them,
which often leads to the
production of generalized
knowledge that do not
accurately represent the reality.
HOW RESEARCHERS TRY TO OVERCOME THESE
ISSUES

Researchers try to ask

questions in a way that is
clear and concise to prevent
biased answers.
Researchers provide
appropriate and inclusive
response options to cover
every possible nuance of the
questions (e.g: multiple
choice online questionnaires .
3. INTERVIEWS

Knowledge in Global Politics can also be

produced from interviews with individuals.
Researchers can organize an interview with a
individual who is often a representative of a
bigger organization from which they are
reporting informations.

This can be seen every time a Government

representative is being interviewed or when any
important personality gets asked questions about
certain global issues in the medias. Press conferences
are also an other type of interview.
SOME ISSUES FACED WITH INTERVIEWS
Interviewed individuals tend to give their
own opinions of issues or to
miscommunicate their organization’s
informations, which results in the production
of a knowledge about a significant issue that
turns out to be an individual’s perspective.
Some interviews are done by people with agendas
whose intentions are to make the interviewed
individuals say things they did not want to and twist
their words. The knowledge thereby produced biased
and away from the reality.
HOW RESEARCHERS TRY TO OVERCOME THESE ISSUES
Before interviews, researchers make sure
that the organization and their representant
coordinate (by discussing the questions in
advance). That way, they make sure that the
knowledge produced in the public and
official interview will be accurate and
unbiased.

In general, manipulative interviewers have such a reputation.

Researchers make sure that the interviewers do not have the
reputation of twisting other people’s words, so that they can decide
whether or not to rely on the informations that are being revealed
in the interview.
4. CASE STUDIES
Lastly, Knowledge in Global Politics
can be produced through case
studies.
Researchers focus on a specific
issue narrowed to a specific level
of analysis. This can be by
observing a certain local
community, a given population, a
specific Country, a specific
Industry, a firm, an ethnic group,
etc… And from what they observe
in that case study, they drive
conclusions about the issue they
were focusing on and therefore
produce knowledge relative to that
issue.
-
- For example, some researchers
have conducted a Case Study in
Haiti to evaluate the impact of
Humanitarian Aid on local
developing economies.
- Some other researchers
conducted a case study in
Bangladesh and South Asia in
general to evaluate the impact of
the Global garment industry on
struggling garment workers.
…. SOME ISSUES FACED WITH CASE STUDIES

Knowledge created in case studies

are often narrowed.

By focusing on an issue and how it

affects a specific population ( or
community, organization, etc…),
researchers make conclusions and
present it as general global
conclusions or solutions that are
actually only specific to the case
they studied.
E.g : By only focusing on Haiti, some
researchers concluded that Aid was
detrimental to local economies whereas if they
had considered Eswatini, they would have
realized that Aid can actually be helpful to an
economy
…HOW RESEARCHERS TRY TO OVERCOME THIS
ISSUE
To overcome this issue, researchers try to include every possible
external factor that affect their case to a certain extent. This way,
they make sure that the knowledge they produce (i.e the conclusion
they make) takes into consideration all aspects of the issue they are
focusing on. Specifically to GP, this amounts to considering all level of
analysis and all possible global politics actors involved in the case
study.

This can be seen in a documentary about the

Global garment industry, where researchers were
not only focused on the impact it had in South
Asia but also evaluated how first world countries,
Multinationals and influential individuals were
involved in what was happening there.
 REFERENCES AND LINKS
1) Haiti Case Study Documentary on Aids
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxgpX39C2sk

2) DRC Statistical Yearbook

https://www.undp.org/fr/drcongo/publication
s/annuaire-statistique-rdc-2020

3) South Asia Case Study on the impact of the

Global garment Industry

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1zzZlLN
cSs

4) Benefits of Aids in Eswatini

https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/pressc
entre/pressreleaseandstatementarchive/2022
/september/20220923_PR_PEPFAR