Good point! Given the complex nature of issues involved, quantification may be a challenge. I believe case study approach might work to look into individual cases so that a pattern might be revealed in the long-run. It may be taken as a series of cross-sectional studies based on case approach, under a project of longitudinal quantitative studies where, say after ten years of research, you have over 100 cases where you can quantify your variables and find a trend.

A possible research entrée might be collectivism. Honour is important in collectivism and extended or joint families. The key question is: could it be that honour killings are a deviation of maintaining norms and values in collectivism.

That's an interesting thought Carl. Hofstede has talked about collectivism across cultures. Thanks!

Yes Khandoker, I have looked at the possibility of having a series of case studies over an extended period of time. However, longitudinal design seems to be a good option. Thanks!

Hi Hanif!! It's not just that HBV (honour-based violence) cases are few in number, its under-reported and survivors have a high privacy need. Further, in the West - and arguably particularly in the Stats, HBV is under-recognised and poorly defined.

I have twice investigated HBV - you can see the publications on my page. Both of the ones in the JIV are relevant to your interests. To get at case-studies, I used case-files sourced from an NGO. To get at attitudes and the interrelationship with family structure, I used an on-line survey, which I got distributed through a university and a jobsearch site. I was able to analyse the dataset in SPSS. I currently have quantitative data on 100 cases from residents of women's shelters which I am working with also. Perhaps you'd like to inbox me to discuss my research methodologies in greater detail.

Here are the relevant bits and pieces ---

Article "Honor," Collectivity, and Agnation: Emerging Risk Factors i...

Article For the Boys in the Family: 'Honour'-based violence and endogamy