ExtractIt can be argued that all research and all analysis are intrinsically comparative. Comparing the responses of one group of people in a survey with another, highlighting rhetorical differences in political speeches and identifying the varying use of signifiers in car adverts are just three examples, and countless others could be cited. This argument is, in our view, largely true, but it has an underlying problem, and this is that it is rather too general. When we talk about comparative research and comparative analysis in this chapter we are referring specifically to research and analysis that foregrounds comparison as a key defining feature of its rationale and design. We can identify two key dimensions of comparison: Temporal – comparisons across time and Spatial – comparisons across space and geographical distance. Before engaging with these two strands in detail, however, we shall discuss how temporal and spatial comparisons are deeply intertwined,...