ABSTRACT
This chapter explains how comparative research across borders can provide new insights and generalizations. It suggests some considerations that should take into account when designing comparative studies. Cross-national research must be designed in accordance with several considerations, including the framing of truly comparative questions, the use of equivalent measures, the choice of an appropriate sample, and the inclusion of observations that are independent from one country to another. Cross-national analyses allow us to evaluate political issues or systems with a comparative perspective, thus avoiding a narrow understanding of how things work. We are treating votes as measures of the more general concept of political participation. Almost by definition, this excludes the possibility that countries without regular and competitive elections provide their populations with a way to express satisfaction with, alienation from, or preferences for the government. In politics, social or cultural differences between nations can have an enormous influence on the political process.
