Qualitative Comparative Analysis: An Introduction to Research Design and Application

by Patrick A. Mello, Tobias Ide (Contribution by), Matthew A. Andersson (Contribution by), Sarah K. Harkness (Contribution by), Marij Swinkels (Contribution by)

Overview

Qualitative Comparative Analysis: An Introduction to Research Design and Application is a comprehensive guide to QCA. As QCA becomes increasingly popular across the social sciences, this textbook teaches students, scholars, and self-learners the fundamentals of the method, research design, interpretation of results, and how to present findings.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781647121457
Publisher:	Georgetown University Press
Publication date:	12/01/2021
Pages:	240
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Patrick A. Mello is a visiting scholar at the Willy Brandt School of Public Policy at the University of Erfurt and privatdozent at the TUM School of Governance of the Technical University of Munich. He is the author of Democratic Participation in Armed Conflict: Military Involvement in Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq, winner of the 2015 Dissertation Award from the German Political Science Association. His articles have appeared in journals such as Foreign Policy Analysis, European Journal of International Security, and the British Journal of Politics and International Relations.

Table of Contents

List of Boxes, Figures, and Tables

Preface

Acknowledgments

1. Introduction

What Is Qualitative Comparative Analysis?

How To Use This Book

The QCA Research Cycle

A Brief History of QCA

Trends in QCA Applications

Book Outline

Notes

2. Research Design

Research Questions

Uses of QCA

Case Selection

Condition Selection

Multi-Method Research Designs

A Survey of Empirical Applications

Notes

3. Set Theory

Crisp and Fuzzy Sets

Set Operations

Truth Tables

Necessary and Sufficient Conditions

Assessing Set Relations

Notes

4. Causation and Causal Complexity

Theories of Causation in the Social Sciences

Causal Complexity

Causal Analysis

Notes

5. Calibrating Sets

Measurement and Calibration

Calibration Procedures

Types of Data

The Direct Method of Calibration

Calibration: Applied Examples

Common Misconceptions about Calibration

Good Practices of Calibration

Notes

6. Measures of Fit

Set-Theoretic Consistency

Set-Theoretic Coverage

Proportional Reduction in Inconsistency

Relevance of Necessity

Notes

7. Set-Theoretic Analysis

Analyzing Necessary Conditions

Truth Table Construction

Truth Table Analysis

Solution Terms

Counterfactual Analysis

Notes

8. QCA Variants

Multi-Value QCA

Temporal QCA

Two-Step QCA

Fuzzy Set Ideal Type Analysis

Related Methods and Approaches

Notes

9. QCA and Its Critics

Analytical Robustness

Comparisons with Other Methods

Formalization and Algorithms

Causal Analysis and Solution Terms

Recognizing QCA’s Strengths and Limitations

Notes

10. Conclusion

Good Research Practice

Documenting and Communicating QCA Results

QCA Resources

The Way Ahead

Notes

Appendix: Link to Online R Manual

Glossary

References

Index

About the Author

What People are Saying About This

Claude Rubinson

Deftly navigating decades of methodological advancement, discussion, and debate, Mello produces a clearly written and well-reasoned guide to understanding QCA and how to conduct it effectively. Researchers from all disciplines will be well served by Qualitative Comparative Analysis: An Introduction to Research Design and Application, which teaches those new to the method how to do it well and provides a comprehensive reference for experienced QCA researchers.

Benoît Rihoux

A diverse set of empirical illustrations, a clear presentation of QCA as a research approach, and a sharp but yet accessible hands-on presentation of QCA protocols from A to Z: this textbook is a great companion for anyone seriously engaging with QCA.

Benoît Rihoux

A diverse set of empirical illustrations, a clear presentation of QCA as a research approach, and a sharp but yet accessible hands-on presentation of QCA protocols from A to Z: this textbook is a great companion for anyone seriously engaging with QCA.

Charles C. Ragin

Patrick Mello offers a thorough but approachable introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). He grounds his presentation of the approach in a discussion of the QCA research cycle, offering important analytic insights for novices and experts alike. Mello also includes 'behind-the-scaffolding' infoboxes where authors of published QCA studies comment on their analytic strategies.

Gary Goertz

A well-written, lucid textbook dealing with all the essentials that one needs to do a QCA analysis. Just the right amount of technical details to get the basic ideas across but easily understandable to those interested in learning QCA or brushing up on recent developments. A user-friendly R manual accompanies the book, allowing one to quickly start doing analyses.

Editorial Reviews

Mello’s book especially stands out from other publications on QCA in three different areas: the chapters on research design (Chapter II), QCA and its critics (Chapter IX) and the online ‘R Manual’ that accompanies the publication. These elements are especially interesting given the fact they are not discussed in many texts on QCA, thus filling an additional gap in the literature on the method.

Political Studies Review