Comparative Historic

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Comparative Historic
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Comparative Historic

• A collection of techniques and approaches used to
  study research with a historic time line or that
  is cross-cultural.
• Addresses the following types of questions
• How did major societal change take place?
• What fundamental features are common to most
  societies?
• Why did current social arrangements take a
  certain form in some societies but not in others?

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Key Question

• Is there a distinct comparative-historic method
  and logic, or is there just social research that
  happens to examine social life in the past or in
  several societies?

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When to do Comparative Historical Work

• When you need to study major social changes- ie.
  How did major social change take place?
• When you need to examine combinations of factors
  which can produce various outcomes.
• When you plan to reinterpret data to challenge
  old explanations and support new ones.
• When you need to compare cultures or time
  periods.

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Comparative Historical Research Can Be Organized
Along Three Dimensions

• Focus on one nation or group versus multiple
  groups or nations.
• How is time or history involved? (Time frame)
• Is the research based on qualitative or
  quantitative data? Both?

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Four types of Comparative Research

• Case Study Comparative Research -to compare
  particular societies or cultural units, not to
  make broad generalizations. Differences between
  treatment of elderly today in U.S. and Mexico...
• Cultural Context Research- study cases that are
  surrogates for types of societies or units.
• Cross national research- researchers measure
  variables across many nations.
• Transnational Research- uses multinational units-
  ie . Third world.

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Similarities to Field Research

• Recognize that the researchers point of view is
  an unavoidable part of the research.
  Interpretation always already is occurring in the
  data.
• Examine a great diversity of data.
• Grounded theory is often used-
• Both involve translation. The researchers
  meaning system usually differs from that of the
  people he or she studies, but he or she tries to
  penetrate and understand their point of view.
• Both focus on action, process, and sequence and
  see time and process as essential. Reality is
  created and changed by imposing restrictions on
  human choice (or working within material
  conditions).
• Generalization and theory are limited in field
  and comparative historic research. There are no
  fixed laws or tested hypotheses.

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Most Comparative Historic Researcher Note One
Must Remember

• Evidence is limited and indirect.
• Data distortion is a significant danger.
• Recognizes that because people are conscious, can
  learn, can change- that universal laws or
  generalizations should be limited.
• Tries to capture the array of options open to
  people during this time period.
• Causality is more contingent than determinist.
  This means often using a multi-causal approach
  like the work of Max Weber. Economic,
  demographic, cultural etc.
• Multiple layers are studied- surface meanings as
  well as hidden structures.
• Micro and macro are integrated. Social structure
  and the mundane are both important.
• Able to be both context specific and part of a
  general comparison.

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The Annales School- a research method associated
with French Historians.

• Four inter-related characteristics of their
  method-
• !) Synthetic, totalizing, holistic approach.
  Combines geography, ecology, economics,
  demography and culture.
• 2) The mentalities of the era are studied. The
  world view, perspective or fundamental
  assumptions about life.
• 3) Mixes concrete historical specificity and
  abstract theory. Theory takes the form of models
  or deep underlying structures which are causal
  organizing principles that account for everyday
  events.
• 4) Long-term structures or patterns. Changes in
  the way social life is organized.

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Steps to Comparative Historic

• Conceptualizing the Object of Inquiry
• Prepare the Evidence for Analysis
• Locating and Gather evidence/Data
• Evaluating quality of evidence
• Organize Evidence
• Synthesize the data
• Analyze the Data
• Write the Report
• Distribute the Report

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Conceptualizing the Object of Inquiry

• what are you going to study?
• You may need to start by reading about the era to
  get a sense of the period.
• Avoid a Baconian fallacy- named for Francis Bacon
  it means assuming that a researcher operates
  without any preconceived questions, hypotheses,
  ideas, assumptions, theories, paradigms,
  postulates, prejudices, or presumptions of any
  kind.

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Prepare the Evidence for Analysis

• Locating and Gather evidence/Data
• Evaluating quality of evidence
• Organize Evidence
• Synthesize the data

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Types of Historical Evidence

• Primary Sources-original documents, letters,
  memos, official reports, newspaper articles,
  diaries, clothing, photographs etc. Usually
  housed in archives
• Secondary sources- books by historians, others
  studies. The limitations of secondary sources
  are that one depends on the quality of that
  researchers data.
• -The values and theories of the researcher will
  affect the work
• The historians selection procedure is not known.
• -Organization of evidence can be a problem.
  Narrative history obscures debates, evidence
  selection etc.
• Running Records- files or existing statistical
  documents maintained by organizations. Ie.
  Church membership logs, town council info. Etc.
• Recollections- the words or writings of
  individuals about their past lived experiences
  based on memory. Oral history.

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Research with Primary Sources

• External Criticism- is the document authentic? A
  forgery?
• Internal criticism- an examination of the
  documents contents to establish credibility.
• Is it first hand information? Is it accurate?
  What is the writers bias?
• Bowlderization- a deliberate distortion designed
  to protect moral standards or furnish a
  particular image.

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Quantitative Concerns

• 1. Your analysis is only as good as your data.
  Make sure you have the best and most appropriate
  data possible.
• 2. Make sure you have considered who was
  included in the record and who may not have been.
• 3. If you have any doubt include this in your
  analysis.
• 4. Choose the best type of comparison to
  illuminate your point. Even if you are not
  explicitly comparing your data to anything,
  people will implicitly compare it to todays
  world.

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Qualitative Concerns

• 1) What types of things are written and
  preserved?
• 2) Only some things are preserved
• 3) You will see it through the lens of todays
  world.

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Types of Equivalence

• Lexicon Equivalence- is the correct translation
  of words and phrases, or finding a word that
  means the same thing as another word. Two
  languages provide an example. Can also include
  regional colloquialisms.
• Conceptual Equivalence- the ability to use the
  same concept across divergent cultures or
  historical eras. Ie. Homosexuality is hard
  because historically the concept has changed.
• Measurement Equivalence- means measuring the same
  concept in different settings. Is the same
  measurement measuring the same concept in
  different settings.

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Analyze the Data

• The analysis
• Quantitative Data
• Hypothesis Testing
• Qualitative Data
• Textual Analysis

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Write the Report

• Be sure to consider the intended audience.

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Distribute the Report

• Distribute the report to the appropriate sources.