COMPARATIVE RESEARCH METHOD: CHARACTERISTICS, STEPS - SCIENCE - 2025

The comparative research method is a systematic procedure for contrasting one or more phenomena, through which they seek to establish similarities and differences between them. The result should be to obtain data that lead to the definition of a problem or to the improvement of knowledge about it.

In the last 60 years, the comparative method of investigation has acquired a particular strength in the investigations of the social sciences. Especially since the seventies of the last century, comparative techniques have been improving and establishing themselves in the field of political and administrative studies.

As the years have passed, more academics and scholars have made use of this type of method. However, despite this relative recent boom, this comparative technique is not new, it has been used since ancient times for historical analysis.

Particularly in the field of political science there are many thinkers who have developed many of their theories and postulates using this procedure. Among them we can mention Aristotle, Machiavelli and Montesquieu, who used the comparative method of scientific investigation in their social studies.

Likewise, in public management there are cases where comparative studies have enriched the knowledge of this discipline. This enrichment has been both nationally and internationally.

This method is among the resources most used by researchers as well as the experimental and statistical methods.

characteristics

Empirical generalization and hypothesis verification

The fundamental objective of the comparative research method is empirical generalization and hypothesis verification. Through this you can understand unknown things from the known.

This allows to explain and interpret them, generate new knowledge and highlight the peculiarity of known phenomena and similar cases.

Small number of samples

The comparative research method is particularly effective when applied to the study of small samples. There is no agreement regarding what is considered a small sample. Some state that it should be between two and twenty, while others state that fifty is the maximum number.

Now, this limitation in the samples comes from the very nature of the problems to be studied and the number of hypotheses that can be handled.

The circumstance of the phenomena of the social sciences investigated require a study limited in time and space, which leads to a small and finite number of cases (samples).

Selection of samples based on the dependent variable

This characteristic is a consequence of the previous one. When working with a small number of samples, the selection should be based on the variables that are consequence.

That is, you must work with the variables that are responsible for the phenomenon. Those that characterize the phenomenon in time and space that are studied.

In contrast, if the number of samples increases, the selection should be made through statistical methods. This contingency would then introduce a level of uncertainty that would prevent comparative study.

On the other hand, this form of selection allows it to be done without a strict sequential order. In this way, the researcher can go back in the process and reformulate hypotheses (not yet finished the study) that guarantee results adjusted to the initial definitions.

Mid-range level of abstraction

In comparative studies, the concepts are mostly concentrated in the middle part of the scale of abstraction defined by Giovanni Sartori (1924-2017). Sartori was an Italian political and social scientist who made many contributions to the development of political science.

This scale was proposed at the beginning of the seventies of the 20th century with the intention of solving the prevailing conceptual chaos in the social sciences. According to Sartori, a concept (unit of thought) can be empirical or theoretical. Comparative studies must be done with empirical concepts.

The selection of such concepts eliminates the possibility of ambiguities within the investigation. On the other hand, the definition of empirical concepts has two parts, the connotation (intention) and the denotation (extension), whose values ​​are inverse on the Sartori scale. This means that while one of them increases, the other decreases.

Steps of the comparative research method

Identification of the problem and issuance of pre-hypotheses

The activation of an investigation process is generated by the existence of a specific problem that can be of a diverse nature.

It is advisable to start guiding the investigations from the beginning by launching pre-hypotheses. These can be confirmed by research and even superseded by it.

Configuration of the theoretical structure

The configuration of the theoretical structure consists of the search and review of previous works and studies made for the purpose of the research. Through this configuration, the initial hypothesis is elaborated.

This conceptual framework allows defining the characteristics and properties of the cases to be contrasted. Thus, the variables that will be compared in each of the cases are completely defined.

Delimitation of the object

When the comparative research method is used, it is convenient at the beginning to define the object of the study. In other words, the reality or part of the reality that is going to be studied must be delimited.

This will facilitate the analyzes, since the greater the scope of the object, the more complex the investigation will have.

Method delimitation

Depending on the type of problem or phenomenon to be investigated, there will be an optimal method adjusted to its characteristics. Similarly, depending on the expectations about the results, it could be that one method guarantees better conclusions than others.

On the other hand, the early definition of the method will help to establish in advance the methodological resources that should be available and to make the corresponding planning.

Criteria for the selection of the sample

In this step the criteria for the selection of the sample (case study) are defined. The cases chosen must be perfectly comparable. According to specialists, it is convenient to carefully program this step.

Selection criteria must be rigorous. This strictness is the only way for there to be comparative homogeneity.

Analysis of the cases

This part corresponds to the comparison of the selected variables. All samples are examined, classified and evaluated.

This comparison (or juxtaposition) is intended to establish the differences or similarities between them. This will help to make proper comparisons of the samples.

Likewise, in the step corresponding to the analysis of cases, it will be verified whether comparative homogeneity was respected and whether the hypotheses raised are relevant and demonstrable.

Explanation and interpretation

This is the final step in the entire investigation process. Through the explanation, the relationship between the results of the fact under investigation with other known facts is established. This explanation must be easily corroborated every time it is desired.

On the other hand, interpretation is related to prediction. In other words, if the conditions under which the studied problem occurs are repeated, it is predictable that the results obtained will be similar.

Examples

Comparative research in prostitution studies: challenges and opportunities

In 2014, within the framework of a world congress on Sociology, Isabel Crowhurst from Kingston University presented a comparative research on prostitution studies.

First, his work role begins with a critical vision regarding this type of study. More specifically, it describes the analysis of prostitution from a comparative perspective in social sciences, exploring the methodological approaches used and the scales of analysis adopted.

Likewise, the consideration (or lack thereof) of the changing meanings of the concepts and practices related to prostitution and cultures is addressed in all the units of analysis compared.

The paper asks what lessons have been and can be learned from comparative analysis in this field, and whether further work is needed to refine this methodological approach in prostitution studies.

Second, a project is presented on "Comparing prostitution policies in Europe: understanding the scales and cultures of governance".

There you can observe its foundations, challenges and opportunities found in conducting comparative and multidisciplinary prostitution investigations in practice.

Comparative study of the relationship of cognitive and non-cognitive factors with the academic success of foreign master's students

In 2004, Lisa A. Stephenson used the comparative research method to carry out her thesis. Their study examines ways to improve the predictability of academic success in selection and admission procedures for foreign students, compared to US citizens and permanent residents.

First, the related literature was examined. Then, ten predictor variables were selected to determine their relationship with four measures of academic success.

These were: grade point average, the total number of semesters taken, total number of approved credits, and the probability of completing the master's degree.

Among their results, it was observed that there was no significant relationship between total mean TOEFL scores and academic success. But a significant relationship was found between gender and academic success. L

On the other hand, age did not seem to have a significant effect on the academic success of foreign students. However, this factor was significant for US citizens and permanent residents.

In addition, a significantly positive effect was found between financial support from the University and academic success. Full-time enrollment also had a positive effect on academic success for permanent residents and U.S. citizens, but not for foreign students.

Comparison of human resource management practices in Austria, Germany and Sweden

Michael Muller, Niklas Lundblad, Wolfgang Mayrhofer, Magnus Söderström conducted a study in 1999 using the comparative research method.

Its objective was to analyze the explanatory power of the universalist perspective versus the cultural one of human resource management (HRM). To do this, they used examples from Austria, Germany and Sweden.

Thus, for comparison, they relied on the results of the European Human Resource Management Cranet-E surveys. A statistical analysis of these results indicated that the differences between countries are important.

As the researchers expected, the differences were larger between the two Germanic countries and Sweden than between Austria and Germany. Some differences were cultural, while others were more institutional. However, at least one result also supports a universalist perspective.

In all three countries, human resources specialists have delegated responsibilities in line management. One implication of this study is that European economic integration has not yet led to European human resource management.

On the other hand, it was found that companies operating in different European countries have not yet adapted their human resources policies to the particular national context.

Comparative study of child welfare systems: orientations and concrete results

Using the comparative research method, Neil Gilbert conducted an analysis of child welfare systems in 10 countries in 2012. He identified three broad functional orientations - child protection, family service, and child development - around defining the problem, the mode of intervention and the role of the state.

On the one hand, it found that changes in policies and practices since the mid-1990s suggest the possibility of a functional convergence between these systems with moderate versions of child protection and family service guidelines incorporated within the more comprehensive approach to child development..

Also, an analysis of administrative data on one important outcome revealed that in the last decade nine of the 10 countries experienced an increasing rate of out-of-home placements.

In addition, a critical examination of the data illustrated the need to determine how rates are calculated, what is included in these counts, and what the figures mean to fully understand the implications of this trend.

References

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2. Ramos Morales, LL (s / f). Comparative method: details and characteristics. In Journal of Political Science. Taken from revcienciapolitica.com.ar.
3. García Garrido, JL; García Ruiz, MJ and Gavari Starkie, E. (2012). Comparative education in times of globalization. Madrid: Editorial UNED.
4. Olivera Labore, CE (2008). Introduction to Comparative Education. San José: EUNED.
5. Crowhurst, I. (2014, July 17). Comparative Research in Prostitution Studies: Challenges and Opportunities. Taken from isaconf.confex.com.
6. Stephenson, LA (2004). A comparative study of cognitive and non-cognitive factors relationship to academic success for foreign master's students. Taken from drum.lib.umd.edu.
7. Muller, M.; Lundblad, N. and Mayrhofer, W. (1999, February 01). A comparison of human resource management practices in Austria, Germany, and Sweden. Taken from journals.sagepub.com.
8. Gilbert, N. (2012). A comparative study of child welfare systems: orientations and concrete results. In Children and Youth Services Review, Vol. 34, No. 3, pp. 532-536.
9. Mills, M.; Van de Bunt, GG and Bruijn de, J. (s / f). Comparative Research. Persistent Problems and Promising Solutions. Taken from euroac.ffri.hr.