Fallon, Swiss, and Viterna (2012) conduct a thorough literature review on women’s legislative representation and democracy in order to contextualize the study’s methodological approach, distinguishing studies that used a quantitative approach and those that used a qualitative approach. Of the qualitative studies, they say that “They examine the historical developments leading to the transition, the negotiation of gender within the transition process, and the resulting institutions, laws, and discourses that shape women’s political opportunities post-transition.” (p. 383) What term best describes the type of research being used in the qualitative literature?
a. historical events research
b. historical process research
c. cross-sectional comparative research
d. comparative historical research
e. none of these