Typenbildung in der qualitativen Sozialforschung: Eine methodologische Analyse anhand ausgewählter Beispiele

Abstract: The generation of typologies is of great importance within interpretative social science. Yet there is little literature about the methodology of this kind of research and what there is, suggests that it is possible to understand how typologies are generated by comparing concrete empirical studies. In this paper we have done just that. Using four examples of qualitative empirical studies as models, we discuss the status of typologies in research design. The different forms of typologybuilding are explored through comparing and contrasting how this was done in the four studies. In this way, the contrasts and parallels between the different styles of typology generation are brought out and analysed. Our conclusion is that the extent to which typology building can be used in a clear and comprehensively comparable way is debateable. This is an important issue for researchers who make use of studies which use typologies.;