Observations upon research carried out by post-graduate students on the M.A Comparative European Social Studies. This article follows an earlier article (Lawrence and Reverda, Social Work in Europe, Vol. 5. No. 3, 1998) which discussed the origin and development of the MACESS course. This article explores the complexity of comparative research as a methodology for exploring social work as a contribution to developing European perspectives on Social Policy and Social Professional Work Theory and Practice.