C01-02PM: Comparative Research Designs

This PhD-level course is designed to enable you to build, consolidate and implement the comparative research design (CRD) that best meets your needs — ‘comparative’ being defined as: comprising at least two ‘cases’ or units of analysis.

After this course you will be able to: (1) rigorously and critically reflect on all steps of your comparative research project, and find pragmatic solutions to your CRD challenges; (2) clarify your research goals and your ‘casing’ (defining your cases); (3) choose the most appropriate case selection strategy, among multiple possible alternative strategies, from basic to more advanced (in particular taking the time dimension and nestedness into consideration); (4) choose the most appropriate strategy for data collection, management and analysis – considering case-based qualitative, systematic comparative (QCA) and statistical types of analysis; and (5) write up the full ‘research design’ section of your comparative project.

The course is interactive, with an alternation of lecture-based sessions (always open to questions/discussion), short presentations by participants and brainstorms in sub-groups followed by de-brief in plenary. The instructor also guarantees at least one 1 to 1 appointment with each participant in addition to the 15 teaching hours. The whole course is designed to provide individualized guidance to each and every participant.

The purpose of this PhD-level course is to provide hands-on, interactive training on all aspects that enable you to build, consolidate and the implement the comparative research design (CRD) that best meets your needs — ‘comparative’ being defined in broad sense of: comprising at least two ‘cases’ or units of analysis. The 5 days of the course cover, in a logical sequence, all concrete steps enabling you to build and implement a robust CRD throughout your research project.

Day 1

Comparative research is framed in the broader context of ‘comparative approaches’. This requires the unpacking of some core epistemological issues underpinning scientific comparison. ‘Why compare’, why go explicitly comparative in a given research project? One core focus is placed on the different potential goals of comparison, with published examples.

Day 2

We locate CRDs vis-à-vis other research designs. We also lay out all the practical steps of a robust CRD, with a focus on the major arbitrations to be made. We also have a first look at a first set of “step 1” operations that lie upstream of case selection, such as the formulation of the research question(s) and hypotheses (if applicable), the correct use of concepts for the purpose of comparison, the number of cases one will be able to manage, and the choice between cross-system (e.g. cross-country or cross-firm) or within-system (e.g. within-country or within-firm) case selection.

Day 3

We pursue the examination of the ‘step 1’ operations, and deepen the question of ‘what is a case’ (casing) within a CRD, with an emphasis on some core arbitrations such as depth v/s breadth, cross-case diversity and the relative comparability of cases. Then we start to systematically examine all the main options for the core ‘step 2’ set of operations: case selection. We first envisage basic case selection strategies, from very small N to very large N, and following different selection criteria, and examine the pro’s and con’s of each strategy.

Day 4

Examining further the case selection operation, we turn to more advanced case selection strategies, in particular taking into consideration issues of time/sequence and of multilevel/nested phenomena, i.e. bringing in ‘case complexity’. The pro’s and con’s of each strategy is also discussed. Then we move on to hands-on ‘tricks of the trade’ on how to systematically and rigorously collect data (‘step 3’) and manage data (‘step 4’) in a comparative research – including ways to trouble-shoot and to make adjustments in terms of case selection, if need be.

Day 5

Finally, we examine different ways to engage in comparative data analysis (‘step 5’), envisaging three main families of options: (1) case-oriented and ‘qualitative’ analyses, (2) Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) for systematic cross-case comparison, as well as other less formalized cross-case analysis tools, and (3) statistical/quantitative analyses. The pro’s and con’s of each one is examined, as well as the potential and difficulties of sequencing different data analyses in a mixed- or multi-method design. We particularly discuss the potential of sequencing QCA with single case studies, in small- or intermediate-N designs. Then we wrap up by revisiting some of the core points – with a focus on key strengths and pitfalls of CRDs. We conclude via an open interactive session, discussing points still to be clarified, points of debate or disagreements, remaining Q&A’s, etc.

The course is interactive, with alternating lecture-based sessions (always open to questions/discussion), short presentations by participants (each participant has the opportunity to present his/her project) and brainstorms in sub-groups followed by de-brief in plenary. The instructor also guarantees at least one 1 to 1 appointment with each participant in addition to the 15 teaching hours. The whole course is designed to provide individualized guidance to each and every participant.

This course is open to all advanced students, researchers and practitioners aiming at bringing their research to the next level. It is particularly designed for those engaged in a comparative research project and facing concrete challenges in designing and/or implementing their project. Little specific prior knowledge is required. Any prior training in qualitative and/or quantitative methods is an asset, but by no means a requirement. The participant should simply be willing to reflect openly about his/her research design – one of the take-home messages of the course being: “there is no one-size-fits-all CRD”.

This description is subject to change at the discretion of the Instructor.

2 Credits

For completion of all work before and during the course, as outlined by the Instructor, and 90% participation and attendance of the course.

2 Additional Credits

Course specific extra assignments. These can include submitting assignments before the course, daily assignments, and/or a final assignment to be completed after the course as decided by the Instructor.  This description is subject to change at the discretion of the Instructor.