TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparative Methods for Premodern Cities
T2 - Coding for Governance and Class Mobility
AU - Smith, Michael
AU - Stark, Barbara L.
AU - Chuang, Wen Ching
AU - Dennehy, Timothy J.
AU - Harlan, Sharon
AU - Kamp-Whittaker, April
AU - Stanley, Benjamin W.
AU - York, Abigail
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016, © 2016 SAGE Publications.
PY - 2016/12/1
Y1 - 2016/12/1
N2 - We describe methods of coding and analyzing historical and archaeological data for comparative analysis of premodern cities. As part of a larger study of spatial access to urban services, we identify eight relevant contextual domains and define variables for each domain. Information from publications on each city is assembled, and the data are coded independently by three scholars and checked for agreement. To date, we have completed contextual coding for 15 cities. Here, we focus on methods to analyze relationships among variables within contextual domains using two example domains—Class Mobility and Governance. Key methodological points involve the problem of missing data, multiple tests with an appropriate correction, and the importance of variation among cases for effective analysis of a domain. Our interpretation of preliminary findings highlights a degree of independence between two different arenas of social life that may relate to collective action. Documentation of our procedures contributes to a growing body of systematic, comparative, cross-cultural analyses of mid-size samples. This study is distinctive in its focus on cities rather than cultures, societies, or polities.
AB - We describe methods of coding and analyzing historical and archaeological data for comparative analysis of premodern cities. As part of a larger study of spatial access to urban services, we identify eight relevant contextual domains and define variables for each domain. Information from publications on each city is assembled, and the data are coded independently by three scholars and checked for agreement. To date, we have completed contextual coding for 15 cities. Here, we focus on methods to analyze relationships among variables within contextual domains using two example domains—Class Mobility and Governance. Key methodological points involve the problem of missing data, multiple tests with an appropriate correction, and the importance of variation among cases for effective analysis of a domain. Our interpretation of preliminary findings highlights a degree of independence between two different arenas of social life that may relate to collective action. Documentation of our procedures contributes to a growing body of systematic, comparative, cross-cultural analyses of mid-size samples. This study is distinctive in its focus on cities rather than cultures, societies, or polities.
KW - class mobility
KW - coding
KW - governance
KW - premodern
KW - urban history
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U2 - 10.1177/1069397116665824
DO - 10.1177/1069397116665824
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84994153886
SN - 1069-3971
VL - 50
SP - 415
EP - 451
JO - Cross-Cultural Research
JF - Cross-Cultural Research
IS - 5
ER -