Some social scientists use one or another methodological toolkit; many favor either empirical or interpretive approaches, qualitative or quantitative methods. In my research, I adopt a methodologically pluralist and epistemologically fluid sensibility, choosing tools based on the problems I'm studying. I have variously used quantitative analysis, network analysis, content analysis, critical discourse analysis, case studies, process tracing, participant observation, ethnography and historical analysis. I am particularly interested in the qualitative reasoning behind quantitative data.

Some of my work has focused on how IR scholars know what we know and how researchers can simultaneously study the world through scientific tools while remaining part of the world through public engagement. I have explored the validity of virtual measurements, the politics of civilian casualty data, the ethics and practice of field research, and the perverse side effects of experimental survey methods. In addition, I have pioneered a multi-method approach for studying transnational spaces.