ABSTRACT
Research involves the collection of information for some specific purpose associated with answering questions, solving problems, or generating understandings. Research into social activity—whether political or economic—is social science research. The choice of a research topic is intensely personal. Choices are made consciously, half-consciously, subconsciously, and unconsciously, and the quality of the research, in the long run, may well correspond to the kinds of choices researcher have made. Language can be a total barrier to the successful conduct of any research, but especially to the conduct of comparative research, where frequently more than one accent, dialect, or language is needed. The chapter considers some of the practical problems associated with the pursuit of comparative research. There are several prerequisites to maintaining comparability in research. First, the subject must define a universe that has a corresponding and measurable object. Second, the objects being compared ought to have both geographic and intellectual proximity.
