Research Design, Materials and Methods

This chapter provides an overview and discussion of design, materials and methods of the research reported in this book. The research is comparative in its outlook and combines multiple methods and materials. The book’s primary data are based on original country-based surveys and four holistic single case-studies carried out in 2014–2016. The survey data provide insights on the overall organization, management and performance of municipal park and road services across the four countries while the case-studies examine leading experiences with marketization in each country and provide lessons for theory and policy. In addition, the book draws upon several secondary data sources including national statistics, international statistics (OECD) and data and findings from other research publications.