Conceptual "Stretching" Revisited
Adapting Categories in Comparative Analysis
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3250993 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Donald Collier (0000-0003-4087-1559, University of California, Berkeley), David Collier, James E Mahon (0000-0003-1200-4095, Williams College) |
| Year | 1993 |
| Volume | 87 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 845-855 |
| Publication date | 1993-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Political Science Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0003-0554 • E-ISSN: 1537-5943 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2938818 |
| OpenAlex | W2147658458 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 349 |
| References cited | 27 |
When scholars extend their models and hypotheses to encompass additional cases, they commonly need to adapt their analytic categories to fit the new contexts. Giovanni Sartori's work on conceptual "traveling" and conceptual "stretching" provides helpful guidance in addressing this fundamental task of comparative analysis. Yet Sartori's framework draws upon what may be called classical categorization, which views the relation among categories in terms of a taxonomic hierarchy, with each category having clear boundaries and defining properties shared by all members. We examine the challenge to this framework presented by two types of nonclassical categories: family resemblances and radial categories. With such categories, the overly strict application of a classical framework can lead to abandoning to category prematurely or to modifying it inappropriately. We discuss solutions to these problems, using examples of how scholars have adapted their categories in comparative research on democracy and authoritarianism
Authoritarianism · Categorization · Conceptual framework · Data mining · Democracy · Epistemology · Hierarchy · Management · Management science · Political science · Politics · Relation (database · Social science · Sociology · Task (project management · Computer Science · Cross-Cultural and Social Analysis · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · Psychology · Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research
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| Unique citing works | 349 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 10,91 |
| Citation span | 1994 - 2026 (33) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | Yes |
| Citation types | Neutral: 346 |