An overview of the political science discipline focusing on definitions of the discipline, epistemologies of the discipline, the function of concepts and concept-building, modes of advancing and verifying theoretical propositions, and techniques used to provide data out of which theoretical propositions are constructed. Through these foci, a series of themes emerges: the interrelationship between subject matter and method, the consequently changing character of the discipline, the scientific aspects of political science, the role of creativity in advancement of the discipline, and the essential task of theory-building.