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. 2024 Jul 12;26(5):448-465.
doi: 10.1080/13876988.2024.2362712. eCollection 2024.

Comparative Measurement of Citizens' Perceptions of Local Policies: A 3MC (Multinational, Multicultural, Multiregional) Approach

Mara A Yerkes  1 , Katharina Meitinger  2 , Karen van Hedel  1
Affiliations

Comparative Measurement of Citizens' Perceptions of Local Policies: A 3MC (Multinational, Multicultural, Multiregional) Approach

Mara A Yerkes et al. J Comp Policy Anal. .

Abstract

Comparative social policy research continues to face considerable methodological challenges. Scholars particularly struggle to capture sub-national policy variation in comparatively reliable ways, including subjective perceptions of local policies. Local-level variation increases the need for conceptual and methodological attention to comparability across differing national, cultural, and linguistic settings. The article outlines a conceptually grounded approach relying on the 3MC (multinational, multicultural, multiregional) method to measure and compare individual perceptions of local policies cross-nationally. Often applied in cross-national survey research, a 3MC approach can help address methodological challenges inherent in comparative policy research and improve cross-national studies of local policy differences.

Keywords: 3MC approach; comparative social policy; local policy; social sciences; subjective policy perceptions; survey research.

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Conflict of interest statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

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