Collaborative comparisons: A pragmatist approach towards designing large-scale, comparative qualitative research

This article draws lessons for organizing and designing large-scale qualitative comparative research in turbulent, rapidly evolving, real-world settings. The challenge to the researcher is that such studies need to meet conflicting requirements of rigor, relevance, and responsiveness. Recognizing that in such settings scientific research cannot be insulated from its environment, the article discusses a pragmatist approach to comparative research design. Using the case of the SolPan project (Solidarity in Times of a Pandemic), a large-scale and longitudinal qualitative comparative study of people's experiences during the Covid pandemic, the article presents basic principles of pragmatist research design, such as problem-orientation, design-in-action, and the use of a plurality of evidence. It then argues that interpretation is at the heart of all comparison, and that large-scale qualitative comparative research combines the detailed contextual richness of interpretive explanation, the systematicity, robustness and transparency of large-N comparative analysis, and the flexibility of emergent design. We describe the design and methodology of SolPan and illustrate this with an empirical example. First, we argue that research design and project organization are continuous and reframe comparative research design as generative organization. Second, we describe the use of computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software to assist in analysing large amounts of interview data. In the final section we describe some of the limitations of this large-scale qualitative comparative research.Copyright © 2022 The Authors

Systems Theory and Algorithmic Futures: Interview with Elena Esposito

By introducing us into core concepts of Niklas Luhmann's theory of social systems, Elena Esposito shows their relevance for contemporary social sciences and the study of unsettled times. Contending that society is made not by people but by what connects them - as Luhmann does with his concept of communication - creates a fertile ground for addressing societal challenges as diverse as the Corona pandemic or the algorithmic revolution. Esposito more broadly sees in systems theory a relevant contribution to critical theory and a genuine alternative to its Frankfurt School version, while extending its reach to further conceptual refinement and new empirical issues. Fueling such refinement is her analysis of time and the complex intertwinement between past, present and future - a core issue that runs throughout her work. Her current study on the future as a prediction caught between science and divination offers a fascinating empirical case for it, drawing a thought-provoking parallel between the way algorithmic predictions are constructed today and how divinatory predictions were constructed in ancient times.

Ethical Reasoning During a Pandemic: Results of a Five Country European Study.

Introduction: There has been no work that identifies the hidden or implicit normative assumptions on which participants base their views during the COVID-19 pandemic, and their reasoning and how they reach moral or ethical judgements. Our analysis focused on participants' moral values, ethical reasoning and normative positions around the transmission of SARS-CoV-2.Methods: We analyzed data from 177 semi-structured interviews across five European countries (Germany, Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and the United Kingdom) conducted in April 2020.Results: Findings are structured in four themes: ethical contention in the context of normative uncertainty; patterns of ethical deliberation when contemplating restrictions and measures to reduce viral transmission; moral judgements regarding "good" and "bad" people; using existing structures of meaning for moral reasoning and ethical judgement.Discussion: Moral tools are an integral part of people's reaction to and experience of a pandemic. 'Moral preparedness' for the next phases of this pandemic and for future pandemics will require an understanding of the moral values and normative concepts citizens use in their own decision-making. Three important elements of this preparedness are: conceptual clarity over what responsibility or respect mean in practice; better understanding of collective mindsets and how to encourage them; and a situated, rather than universalist, approach to the development of normative standards.