Many researchers started investigating the characteristics of political violence due to the seriousness of its consequences. Unfortunately, the methodological approach to that investigation often lacks the high standards of scientific rigour. The article's authors briefly discuss the theoretical roots of the attempts of understanding political violence, with an emphasis on how these starting points are reflected in existing operationalizations. The authors also tackle the issues originating from the relation between an individual's attitudes and actual behaviour in the context of political violence, the psychometric characteristics of the available instruments, the importance of detecting specific forms of political violence, the tension between the desire to be truthful and the tendency towards giving socially acceptable answers, and the seriousness of the consequences that can arise from a reckless public presentation of results. The authors present cases from recent literature showing the significance of each of the potential risk factors. The article concludes by recognizing the importance of a multimethod approach to investigating political violence and the benefits of such an approach.
