Introduction to the Comparative Method with Boolean Algebra

Comparison is a fundamental principle of science as well as a basic element of everyday life. It is a spontaneous mental process, so that “[t]hinking without comparison is unthinkable” (Swanson, 1971, p. 145). Daily we compare lines in shops (shorter or longer), the weather from one day to the next (better or worse), the size of clothing articles (larger or smaller), the arrival of trains (earlier or later). Simple terms like “densely populated” make implicit comparisons (Smelser, 1976, p. 3). In the social sciences, researchers compare the quality of life between cities, the stability of governments across countries, economic behavior between social groups, and the impact of rituals on social cohesion. With classification (Bailey, 1994, in this same series), comparison is one of the crucial conceptual processes making the world intelligible.