DLF's Comparative Method Class

Few Good Reasons to Study Comparative Methods:

Comparative analysis is highly rewarding intellectually. Through comparisons we learn about ourselves. Try to live a year in London. You will more probably, learn more about yourself and your culture, than you'll learn about the English.
Some of the best works in the field of political science are using the comparative method. For some examples, see, list of major studies in the comparative politics
If you decided to do comparative analysis, you better do it properly. Learning comparative methods is going to give your practical tools for analysis and research.
comparative analysis, especially, cross-national comparative analysis may make us less ethno-centric !. It broadens our horizons and make us, potentially, more enlightened.
learning from the experience of others. Wise is one who learn from the experience of others!.

Comparative analysis is more demanding intellectually and more challenging in its demand to study a variety of contexts and cases.
The status of quantitative methods in important quarters of the discipline is higher than the status of qualitative methods.
Comparative cross-national analysis requires you to travel to foreign countries - something that costs a lot of money
Comparative cross-national analysis requires you to learn foreign languages - a very difficult task

Could you please think about other reason to learn (or not to learn?) comparative methods?. Tell me: levi@poli.haifa.ac.il

Do you have difficulties with some words? Use the Webster Dictionary on-line