Contents -- Acknowledgments -- 1. Research Design and the Accumulation of Knowledge -- 2. Big Questions, Little Answers: How the Questions You Choose Affect the Answers You Get -- 3. How the Cases You Choose Affect the Answers You Get: Selection Bias and Related Issues -- 4. How the Evidence You Use Affects the Answers You Get: Rigorous Use of the Evidence Contained in Case Studies -- 5. How the Approach You Choose Affects the Answers You Get: Rational Choice and Its Uses in Comparative Politics -- 6. Conclusion -- Appendix A -- Appendix B -- Appendix C -- Bibliography -- Index.