Constructivist methods: a plea and manifesto for pluralism

My aim in this article is to improve the methodology of the modernist constructivistapproach and to provide a more coherent, rigid, and systematic constructivist framework forresearch. I do this by combining the methods of process tracing, discourse analysis, andcounterfactuals. In addition, I aim to provide clearer methodological criteria for the evaluationof constructivist research by modifying some of the positivist criteria and adding the criterionof contextual validity. I assert that a more coherent methodology will strengthen and improveconstructivist study and may contribute to better communication between constructivist andpositivist scholars.