ABSTRACT

Social research is rich in methods for analysing societal differences. Yet, although qualitative characteristics are a key component to understanding such differences, the analysis of qualitative data remains a major methodological challenge in most social research, particularly when aiming to compare more than a few cases. The article proposes an innovative method for systematic comparison of qualitative data (SCQual), applying Weber’s original idea of ideal types as a tool to measure and compare societal differences. This method allows for the quantification of qualitative data, thereby enabling systematic analysis and repeatable comparison of the qualitative characteristics of societal differences for a relatively large number of cases. Developed for the comparative analysis of essential characteristics of social orders, particularly comparative welfare state analysis, SCQual may also be applicable to other areas of social research.

摘要

社会研究有丰富的分析社会差异的方法。然而，尽管定性特征是理解此类差异的关键组成部分，但在大多数社会研究中，对定性数据的分析仍然是一个主要的方法挑战，尤其是在旨在比较多个案例时。文章提出了一种创新的定性数据系统比较方法（SCQual），应用韦伯的理想类型的原始思想作为衡量和比较社会差异的工具。这种方法允许对定性数据进行量化，从而能够对相对大量案例的社会差异的定性特征进行系统分析和可重复比较。为对社会秩序的基本特征进行比较分析而开发，