Comparative studies permit criminologists to share theoretical and practical interests and to confront similarities among the patterns of crime and the responses to crime in various nations. They can thereby gain a more reliable and profound understanding of the issues that concern them and can free themselves of parochial thinking that mistakes notions of cultural superiority for scientific truths. Comparative studies highlights the contrasts between different human situations and social structures and underscore the need to check generalized concepts against empirical evidence. Comparative criminology is an effort in macroanalysis in that it shows how an activity relates to the broad setting in which it occurs. However, the comparative methodology also needs a microapproach, because ethnic and cultural factors do not necessarily correspond to political boundaries. For criminological research to be systematic and productive over the long term, there must be continuity in the recruiting, training, and specialized activities of those engaged in this research. In any country, the nature and functions of criminology depend on the sociocultural conditions that shaped the legal and educational institutions. Other issues facing criminologists are whether to emphasize theoretical or applied research and whether criminology is an independent discipline or a specalization. Notes and an annotated bibliography of 22 references are provided.