Richard
Berthoud and Maria Iacovou
Institute
for Social and Economic Research, University of Essex
Paper
commissioned by the UK Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) as a
contribution to the sixth national social science conference, November 2002.
Available
online as PDF file [44p.] at:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/esrccontent/downloaddocs/diverse_europe.pdf
"....
This paper has three main objectives. First: to make a convincing case for the
importance of cross-national comparative research. Authors argue that an
understanding of the different lifestyles and processes within Europe is
essential, not only for the growing number of policymakers working at the EU
level, but also for policymakers and scholars working at the national level,
for whom comparative research provides a useful backdrop against which to view
policies and processes in their own country.
The
second objective is to highlight the methodological issues facing the
comparative social scientist. Some, such as the different characteristics of
small- and large-scale studies, are also faced by researchers working at the
national level. Others, such as the nature of 'country effects', are unique to
cross-national research.
Third,
the paper surveys a few key areas - family structure, employment and incomes -
in which comparative research methods have been applied.
Their
analysis uses newly available 'micro-quantitative' data, which allow
comparisons of individuals and households both within
and across countries. Much of the data also has a longitudinal aspect,
describing the same people repeatedly at successive
points in their lives. This makes it possible to chart patterns of social
change over time. ..."
Sixth
ESRC National - Social Science Conference - November 2002
Report
available online as PDF [35p.] at:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/esrccontent/downloaddocs/conf2003.pdf
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