Chapter 1: Introduction: the Basics of Social Science Research Designs; Deductive and inductive research; Explanatory and interpretative research designs; Deductive, explanatory research designs and their core components; Research design choices: x-centered and y-centered projects; Quality criteria for social science research; Chapter 2: Detecting Puzzles and Selecting Good Research Questions; Research questions' essentials; How to find empirical puzzles and select a good explanatory research question; Feasibility; How to make choices: selecting good research questions; Chapter 3: Working with Theories; Why do we need theories for explanatory social science projects?; Selecting theories: how many and which ones do we need?; Working with theories: how to develop and select hypotheses?; Making choices: which and how many theories and hypotheses to use?; Chapter 4: Qualitative,

Quantitative, and Mixed-Method Projects--How to Make the Choice; Advantages and disadvantages of quantitative and qualitative projects; Mixed-method combinations: Advantages and challenges; Qualitative,

Quantitative and mixed-method projects -- How to make a choice?; Chapter 5: How to Select Cases; What is a case?; Case selection: An essential task for comparative research; How many and which cases should be selected?; Making choices: How to select cases?; Chapter 6: Making Choices between Methods of Data Collection; The measurement of variables; Overview of data sources and methods of data collection; Databases and compendiums; Primary Sources: Documents; Interviews; Surveys and questionnaires; Focus groups; Participant observation; The importance of triangulation; The importance of data management; Summary -- Choices on data collection; Chapter 7: Making Choices between Qualitative Methods of Data Analysis; Types of Comparisons in Qualitative Case Studies; Process-tracing; Summary: Choosing between methods of qualitative analysis; Chapter

8: Making Choices between Quantitative Methods of Data Analysis; Detecting variable types and describing variables; Choosing between linear and logistic regression analysis; Choosing between advanced methods of quantitative data analysis; Chapter 9: Making Choices in Writing and Sharing Research; Writing techniques; Disseminating research outputs