Offering students and researchers in the behavioural and social sciences a brief and accessible introduction to the comparative method, it is ideal for students of public administration, policy, sociology, political science, social psychology, and international relations. It provides readers with basic guidelines for comparative research by addressing all key methodological issues.

Definition

“Il n'y a rien que l'esprit humain fasse si souvent que des comparaisons.”

—Encyclopédie, Volume Three (1753).

Comparison is a fundamental principle of science as well as a basic element of everyday life. It is a spontaneous mental process, so that “[t]hinking without comparison is unthinkable” ...

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