Sie befinden Sich nicht im Netzwerk der Universität Paderborn. Der Zugriff auf elektronische Ressourcen ist gegebenenfalls nur via VPN oder Shibboleth (DFN-AAI) möglich. mehr Informationen...
When Less is More: Selection Problems in Large- N and Small- N Cross-National Comparisons
Ist Teil von
International sociology, 2005-06, Vol.20 (2), p.133-152
Ort / Verlag
Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications
Erscheinungsjahr
2005
Link zum Volltext
Quelle
Applied Social Sciences Index & Abstracts (ASSIA)
Beschreibungen/Notizen
The problem of case selection is a crucial but often overlooked issue in comparative cross-national research. The article discusses methodological shortcomings and potential solutions in selecting cases. All comparative research of social entities, whether quantitative or qualitative, faces the problem of contingency, the fact that the potential pool of cases has been pre-selected by historical and political processes. In large-N cross-national studies the use of inference statistics is problematic since random selection is rarely given and the cases represent a highly stratified set. In small-N case studies, however, the selection of cases is a deliberate choice based on the theory-driven comparative method. The epistemological and methodological problems of both comparative approaches are discussed and evaluated.