This course introduces students to the nuts and bolts of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), an innovative set-theoretic technique that allows for comparisons of small, intermediate or large numbers of cases in order to identify necessary and/or sufficient conditions for an outcome. It is an attractive method for scholars who seek to model causally complex patterns … Continue reading Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) using R →

This workshop offers an intensive 4-day introduction to causal modeling with Coincidence Analysis (CNA), a novel configurational comparative method of data analysis geared towards causal complexity, which has seen a considerable uptick in applications in recent years (click here for references). No prior knowledge of CNA is required. In plenary lectures, the main developer of … Continue reading Introduction to Causal Data Analysis and Modeling with Coincidence Analysis →

The goal of this workshop is to provide a ground-up introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and fuzzy sets. Participants will get intensive instruction and hands-on experience with the fsQCA software package and on completion should be prepared to design and execute research projects using the set-analytic approach. For further details, please see link below.

Course syllabus:

Day 1

6:30-7:00, Introductory session:
Who is who? Why have you chosen this course? What do you expect to get out of it?
What are we going to do over the next two days? What are we not going to do?
7:00-8:00, Epistemological foundations of QCA:
What are the epistemological foundations of QCA?
Where is QCA positioned in relation to case-oriented and variable-oriented research?
8:00-9:30, Exercise
The essence of QCA: logical minimization (and truth tables)
To get an understanding of the very basics of QCA, we will carry out a QCA analysis by hand.
Once we get the basics of QCA, we will explore data with an Excel add-in.

Day 2

6:30-7:00, Conjunctural causation, equifinality, (data) asymmetry
What is conjunctural causation? What is equifinality? What is (data) asymmetry? Where do we see it in the world?
Whether/where do you expect conjunctural causation, equifinality, and/or (data) asymmetry in your field of research?
7:00-8:00, What can QCA be used for?
Data analysis, literature reviews, theory building, case selection, robustness tests
8:00-9:00, Further and future development of QCA as a method
Crisp set (cs) and fuzzy set (fs) QCA
Ongoing critique to QCA as a method
9:00-9:30, Open discussion, recap of the basic terminology and concepts:
Condition, outcome, conjunctural causation, equifinality, asymmetry, necessary condition, sufficient condition, logical minimisation.

Day 3

6:30-8:00, What ahve we learned so far?
Exploring more datasets using the Excel add-in.
8:00-8:30, How easy is it to use QCA?
Jeroen's experiences with using QCA in small and multi-year research projects.
8:30-9:30, The most common challenges when applying QCA (and how to deal with them)
Is the number of cases you have all that matters?
How many conditions can be included in the theoretical model?
What is limited diversity and what to do about it?

Day 4

6:30-7.30, Step 4: Calibration of Data
What is data calibration? Why is it so important (and often time consuming) in QCA?
How to Calibrate your data (for csQCA and fsQCA).
7:30-8:00, Open discussion, calibrating your own data
What challenges do you expect to encounter in callibrating your own data?
8:30-9:30, Important research design choices
Good practice to follow (a guideline)
Open discussion: where, why and how do you want to use QCA in your (future) research?
What are your hopes and concerns in applying QCA?

During the course, there will be the opportunity for participants to have a one-hour one-on-one meeting with the instructor outside class hours.

This master class is designed for participants who are familiar with the basics of QCA. Participants without any QCA experience or previous formal QCA training first complete the master-class, "Qualitative Comparative Analysis: An introduction" (July 1-4, online). The master class is a mix of lectures and exercises—the emphasis is on lectures, however (one of the … Continue reading Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): An Application in 10 Steps (Online 4 Days) →

• Covers the entire standard QCA workflow: choice of conditions; calibration; analysis of necessity; truth table building and processing; minimization and result interpretation; robustness assessment • We reproduce a published QCA study to go through each of these steps • Fully guided introduction to QCA research using RStudio (no prior knowlede required) • 5 days, … Continue reading “Intro to Qualitative Comparative Analysis”, 5-day remote workshop →

This workshop provides participants with a thorough introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Since its inception (Ragin 1987), QCA has gained recognition among social scientists as a case-based research method that is ideally suited to capture causal complexity. This essentially describes a situation where an outcome results from multiple pathways and different combinations of conditions. … Continue reading 28th Summer School in Social Science Methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Research Design and Application →