HISTORICAL/COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
    Examples of Historical/Comparative Analysis
    Sources of Historical/Comparative Data
    Analytical Techniques

    Sometimes, social researchers operate very much like historians.  As a general difference, historians may tend to be more interested in chronicling particular events, while social researchers lean more in the direction of patterns in history.  There are many exceptions to this generalization on both sides, however.

    Often social researchers use the historical records of different societies, adding a comparative dimension to their analyses.

    Max Weber's study of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism is a well-known example of this genre.  Weber examined historical documents (such as religous tracts and sermons) from the early history of Protestantism, documenting the deterministic doctrines that led, indirectly, to the creation of capitalism. Whereas Karl Marx, another historical/comparative researcher, had argued that economic factors were the prime cause of social forms, Weber's study suggested that religious ideas could be the cause of economic forms.