Studies of world history overlap substantially in their content and analysis with studies set at national, local and other levels. World history is more, however, than the accumulation of local and national knowledge, for it addresses patterns at a larger scale that may not be observable or explicable at more localized levels, and it addresses the linkages among localized and broader scales. As a result, certain of the methods and materials of world historians are common to historical studies in general, while others are distinctive and characteristic of global studies. This chapter presents an effort at identifying the distinctive methodological characteristics of world history: the range of its scope and scale, the balance of its various materials and methods, and the attention to how best to combine these elements of historical analysis.