| Course information | |
|---|---|
| Period | Block 2 |
| Timeline | February |
| Number of ECTS | 5 ECTS |
| Coordinators | Dr Bahar Sakizlioglu and Dr Sofia Pagliarin |
| Methodology | Lectures, tutorials, workshop, Q&A |
Course description
In our globalised urban world, comparative research has become increasingly relevant to examine different contexts simultaneously, often across the Global North and South. Used for in academic research and policy work, comparative urban research identifies meaningful similarities and differences across multiple cases and singles out common patterns that might be key for policy learning across contexts. Used for in both academic research and policy work, comparative urban research identifies meaningful similarities and differences across multiple cases and singles out common patterns that might be key for policy learning across contexts. Moreover, the “comparative turn” in urban studies highlighted the importance to question how urban theory is often produced in the knowledge centres of the Global North (and how it often derives from single case-studies), and how researchers of and in the Global South can enrich urban theory through the plurality, relationality, and situatedness of urban experiences from a postcolonial perspective.
The advanced methods course Comparative urban research introduces students to comparative research from a conceptual and methodological point of view, and tailors it to the specific challenges and characteristics of comparative urban research. First, the course discusses different traditions and approaches to comparison and their implications for what, how and why we compare, including the most used comparative research designs. Second, the course offers training on two main methodological approaches for comparative urban research, namely multiple case studies and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Students will learn how to perform conceptually and methodologically rigorous multiple case studies research, and will learn both the conceptual and basic technical skills to perform Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) by using R.
Building on prior training in qualitative methods and research design, students engage in critical reading, discussion and hands-on workshops. As an advanced methods course, the Comparative urban research course helps students develop the skills to design a feasible and theoretically grounded comparative framework for their thesis projects and
equips them with basic practical skills to perform empirical comparative research for their thesis. As comparative research is often interdisciplinary, we will discuss what this entails for students when engaging in comparative work for their theses, especially regarding the collection and triangulation of different sources and types of data.
Learning objectives
After completing the course, students will be able to:
- Explain the rationale, traditions, and key debates shaping comparative urban research, including the implications of the comparative turn and postcolonial critiques of urban knowledge production.
- Critically evaluate major comparative research approaches, including experimental, relational, and configurational designs, and assess their strengths and limitations in urban research.
- Critically assess published comparative urban studies, evaluating their theoretical grounding, methodological choices, case selection, and claims to generalisation or policy learning.
- Design a feasible, theoretically informed, and methodologically coherent comparative research framework.
- Acquire methodological skills to design and to implement comparative urban research empirically by using the multiple case studies approach and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).
Course content and structure
The course is structured around three core questions that underpin comparative urban research: Why compare? What to compare? and How to compare? It moves from conceptual and epistemological debates about the comparative turn in urban studies, to questions of case selection and research design, and finally to hands-on methodological training. The tutorials are designed to consolidate each step through applied exercises and critical discussion to ensure that students translate conceptual debates into practical research skills relevant to their thesis projects.
The course consists of 16 sessions in total: one introductory session, eight lectures, five tutorials, a final workshop, and concludes with a closing session and Q&A dedicated to the individual assignment.
Introduction to the Course: An overview of the course aims, structure, assessment, and expectations.
Session 1: Why Compare? The Comparative Turn in Urban Studies: The session introduces the history of and the rationale for comparative approaches in urban studies.
Tutorial 1: Students analyse selected key papers and discuss why and how authors mobilise comparison. The session focuses on identifying comparative logics, questioning assumptions about generalisation, and reflecting on the politics of comparison.
Session 2: What to Compare? Units, Scales, and Objects of Comparison: The session focuses on what constitutes a unit of comparison and examines scalar and relational approaches to defining cases, including questions of “given” vs. “found” cases.
Tutorial 2: Students evaluate different possible units of comparison, scope, scale, and levels of comparative analysis in given comparative work.
Session 3: How to Compare (I): Comparative Logics and Research Strategies: This session focuses on different strategies for comparison in urban studies, introducing major approaches including experimental, relational, and configurational designs covering their epistemological assumptions and implications for research design.
Tutorial 3: Through exercises, students identify different approaches to comparative urban research and discuss which comparative logic best fits different research questions.
Sessions 4–5: How to Compare (II): Multiple Case Study Design: This session introduces multiple case study design in urban studies, covering the rationale, case selection strategies, data collection, and analytical procedures.
Tutorial 4: Students develop a draft multiple case study design related to their thesis interests, outlining research questions, case justification, data sources, and analytical strategy.
Sessions 6–8: How to Compare (III): Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): These sessions focus on the logic of systematic and configurational comparison through Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Students learn both the conceptual foundations and the basic technical skills to perform QCA using R.
Tutorial 5: Hands-on workshop in which students practice QCA through exercises in R and engage in critical discussion of the strengths and limitations of QCA in urban research.
Final Workshop (group assessment): Designing Comparative Research
Students present and discuss their mini comparative research designs, reflecting on the why, what and how of comparison in addition to positionality, ethics, and challenges in comparative inquiry. The students work in peers for this workshop, which is evaluated as a group assignment.
Closing Session and Q&A concludes with a collective reflection on the students’ learning during the course, followed by a Q&A session focused on individual assessment.