There is a lot of literature on comparative educational research methodology, but not very much research on how comparative research is carried out in the field of educational research. Comparative research is of special interest in view of an emerging European educational research area, because one could assume that the topics and the ways how comparative research is done vary according to cultural and national contexts. This paper empirically reconstructs the modes of how comparative issues have been dealt with within past ECERs. It aims at constructing a typology of comparative views and topics drawn from abstracts of papers presented at the past four European Conferences on Educational Research. In addition it asks whether the national (institutional) affiliation of authors is related to the way of how comparative research is carried out. The research results could contribute to the discussion of shapes, modes and directions of a revitalised EERA network ‘Comparative Research’.