Methodological Reflections and Data Sources

In this chapter, we will start with some general methodological considerations about the design of longitudinal network databases. Then, we will look at the data sources and data collection methods that are required to construct the empirical basis of the subsequent investigations. Chapter 4 is divided into two sections: Section 4.1 focuses on methodological issues related to the construction of network datasets. Section 4.2 provides a description of the raw data sources and data collection methods that were used to construct a unique longitudinal laser industry database.