New Books in Political Science Colette Einfeld and Helen Sullivan, "How to Conduct Interpretive Research: Insights for Students and Researchers" (Edward Elgar, 2025)
Jan 27, 2026
Helen Sullivan, a public policy dean and interpretive research scholar, and Colette Einfeld, a postdoc and former supervisee focused on methods for early-career researchers. They talk about why they co-edited a book, choosing diverse contributors, defining interpretive research, embracing messiness and emotion, learning interpretive language, and hopes for the field’s future and AI’s role.
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From PhD Frustration To A Book
- Colette described the moment she decided to write a book after struggling alone with interpretive PhD training.
- She wanted future students to feel supported and not isolated in grappling with interpretive methods.
Context Shapes Interpretivism
- Helen argued interpretive research must connect method to context and geography, not only canonical texts.
- She deliberately sought contributions beyond Europe and North America to show interpretivism's global variety.
Multiple Paths Into Interpretivism
- The editors accepted multiple definitions of interpretivism and let authors define their own stance.
- They balance respect for canonical traditions with openness to different entry points into interpretive work.
