Chapter 3: The Method of Structured, Focused Comparison - Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences

The method and logic of structured, focused comparison is simple and straightforward. The method is / I structured" in that the researcher writes general questions that reflect the research objective and that these questions are asked of each case under study to guide and standardize data collection, thereby making systematic comparison and cumulation of the findings of the cases possible. The method is "focused" in that it deals only with certain aspects of the historical cases examined. The requirements for structure and focus apply equally to individual cases since they may later be joined by additional cases.
The method was devised to study historical experience in ways that would yield useful generic knowledge of important foreign policy problems. The particular challenge was to analyze phenomena such as deterrence in ways that would draw the explanations of each case of a particular phenomenon into a broader, more complex theory. The aim was to discourage decision-makers from relying on a single historical analogy in dealing with a new case.