ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights relevant issues and problems related to the techniques and methods of comparative research. It is axiomatic to say that a great deal of what we know about public administration is a matter of agreement among researchers, observers, and practitioners. An effective framework is a necessary tool for dealing with various research challenges, including "how to distinguish the conditions under which there is greater variation across than within systems." Research strategies have often compared non-Western and Western systems in order to describe similarities and differences. At the ground level, comparative research requires descriptive information that expands breadth of coverage and increases accuracy of analysis. Cross-cultural analysis often takes researchers into unfamiliar territories; thus, the need for more descriptive information is inescapable. The fact remains that a major purpose of a comparative research strategy is to define general patterns from experiences across several cases, examined while maintaining a commitment to unequivocal specificity.
