ABSTRACT
German unification can be viewed as a case study when it comes to analyzing transformation processes. To understand and investigate these processes, this chapter follows two main goals. First, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of the historical setting. This introduction thus serves as an overarching chapter, giving a short overview of differences in political systems and ideology during the time of the German separation, the rapprochement and transformation process as well as discussions about possible causes for persisting differences. It will explain how the perspectives taken in the following parts and individual chapters tie together to form a picture of transformation processes in Germany.
Second, this chapter serves as a methodological guide through different statistical approaches that may be used to analyze societal and individual changes over time by pointing out common pitfalls of study designs and methods used in transformation research. After giving an overview of methods used in the past, the datasets and methods used in this volume are introduced. The chapter concludes with a critical discussion of past and present methods above and beyond the specific German context.
