Methodologies for comparative social policy analysis

This chapter reviews and takes stock of the research effort and the methodology
employed in comparative social policy analysis reported in the Journal of
European Social Policy (JESP). We trace the evolution and development of
comparative methodology, empirically analysing trends in JESP since the first
issue was published in February 1991, while situating comparative analysis
within the broader theoretical trends and European social policy debates.
We focus on methods and substance, looking at how major techniques and
approaches have been applied in comparative social policy over time. The key
questions driving our analysis are: What is the scholarly use of comparative
methods in social policy over the last three decades? How has the comparative
methodology helped us to better understand the role, nature, and outcomes
of European social policy? Where is comparative methodology heading for
the future? JESP is the leading European journal in the field of social policy
(with close ties to ESPAnet), and is therefore well suited for such an empirical
review of comparative methodologies for social policy analysis.
The purpose of this chapter is to highlight and focus on the main trends
in the use of the comparative method, using comparative research articles
published in JESP to guide us. The first part sets the scene; it does so by providing
an outline of the comparative turn in social policy research, and defines
what we mean by the comparative method. For the literature review we have
developed a Comparative Journals Database of research articles that includes
the work published in JESP, from which data for JESP are extracted to support
our analysis set out below. Here we examine how the comparative method has
been used in the pages of JESP before going on to consider how the comparative
methods helps us to better understand the role, nature, and outcomes of
European social policy. We include a qualitative analysis of the comparative
articles, and then focus on the methodological characteristics of the most cited comparative articles – the 'greatest hits' of JESP. We conclude by highlighting
potential future trends on the basis of our analysis.