Comparative-Historical Methodology in Political Sociology

Abstract

Debates about the methodology of comparative and historical work have raged since its inception. They are in part a function of the difficulties encountered in this type of work — data from the past are not only incomplete but samples are biased and several types of methods (experiments, surveys, observational techniques) cannot be used. Unfortunately, many of the methodological debates have been waged between advocates of one type of data (e.g., quantitative, archival) or one particular methodology (e.g., Mill's methods, game theory) interested in pushing for its broader (or even universal) use. Our approach in this chapter is to explore the strengths and weaknesses of several different types of data and methods and to try to outline the conditions in which each will be most useful.