The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies

by Charles C. Ragin

Overview

Charles C. Ragin’s The Comparative Method proposes a synthetic strategy, based on an application of Boolean algebra, that combines the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative sociology. Elegantly accessible and germane to the work of all the social sciences, and now updated with a new introduction, this book will continue to garner interest, debate, and praise.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520957350
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	07/18/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	203
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Charles C. Ragin is Chancellor's Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine.

Table of Contents

Preface and Overview
Acknowledgements

1. The Distinctiveness of Comparative social Science
2. Heterogeneity and Causal Complexity
3. Case-Oriented Comparative Methods
4. The Variable-Oriented Approach
5. Combined Versus Synthetic Comparative Strategies
6. A Boolean Approach to Qualitative Comparison: Basic Concepts
7. Extensions of Boolean Methods of Qualitatve Comparison
8. Applications of Boolean Methods of Qualitative Comparison
9. The Dialogue of Ideas and Evidence in Social Research

Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Presents a methodological strategy designed to transcend [the] general approaches."

Social Forces

"Scarcely a word in this forcefully argued book is ill spent."

American Journal of Sociology