It might be countered that local theorising is appropriate for local data, even if the methods of collectionwerethesameacrossdifferentcountries.Traditionalinternationalcomparisonstudies conducted by a single research team are subject to the culturally specific interpretations and biasesoftheresearchers.Forexample,researchersbasedinacountrywherethenationaldebate reflectsanxietyaboutperformanceinexaminationscanbeexpectedtotakeadifferentapproach fromresearchersin acountry wheredebatereflects anxiety about theperceivedlack ofcreative problem-solving skills of school leavers. Nevertheless, if the focus and assumptions of the researchteamareclearlystated,andthemethodsadoptedareappropriatetothequestionsasked, we can have some confidence that any differences reported are empirically grounded.