Summer School in Social Research Methods: Advanced Applied Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)
2022-06-27 - 2022-07-01 | Radboud University, Houtlaan 4, Nijmegen, 6525 XZ, Netherlands
The central aim of the course is to enable participants to put in practice state-of-the-art QCA empirical research. Apart from learning how to apply QCA in the best possible way, discussions in class will address from a set-theoretic point of view general methodological issues, such as robustness tests, theory evaluation, case selection strategies, or the role of time and temporality in descriptive and causal inference. Core topics: Enhanced Standard Analysis; QCA Robustness Test Protocol; clustered data; Set-Theoretic Theory Evaluation; Set-Theoretic Multi-Method Research (SMMR); various analytic strategies for integrating the temporal dimension into QCA; standards of good practice.
This course is offered as part of the Summer School in Social Research Methods which is developed and coordinated by MethodsNET in collaboration with the Nijmegen School of Management, Radboud University. MethodsNET is a global methods excellence network that offers world class training in social research methods, through its top instructors from renowned universities worldwide. This course of the Summer School in Social Research Methods has a unique approach: the morning is fully dedicated to the course topics mentioned in the course description. In the afternoon, you can choose to take part in a rich set of extra optional training activities to broaden or deepen your skills and knowledge.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): A set-analytic approach to studying organizational configurations
2022-06-30 - 2022-07-05 | Online
This 3-day online PhD course is part of the ERIM Summer School of the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University. The course introduces you to the nuts and bolts of QCA. It is structured in six sessions (each ½ days) covering the history of QCA, the logics of case selection and research designs, small-N QCA, large-N QCA, configurational research in management, and advanced topics in QCA. Throughout the course, we will also explore opportunities for you to use QCA for your own research. After the course, you should be familiar with the history of QCA and current advanced topics in QCA, understand the logic of set-analytic methods, and develop a configurational research design for your own research field.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): A Set-Analytic Approach to Studying Configurations (2022 Annual Meeting of the Academy of Management)
2022-08-07 08:00 - 10:30 (America/Chicago) | Seattle Convention Center, 705 Pike Street, Seattle, WA, 98101, United States
The PDW includes 3 Parts, all will be organized in a Hybrid Interactive Session with opportunities for on-site participants in Seattle (Seattle Convention Center, Tahoma 3 – The Conference Center- Level 3) as well as online participants via Zoom. Participants who wish to receive a list of recommended pre-readings and resources may contact Johannes Meuer (johannes.meuer@the-klu.org) before the meeting. Participation in this PDW is open to all conference attendees and requires no registration (except for Part 3).
Part 1 serves management researchers and practitioners with no or only little knowledge of, and experience with, QCA who want to learn the basic “nuts and bolts” of QCA and configurational logic and understand if this might be the right tool for their research project. Part 2 serves more advanced management researchers and practitioners interested in current methodological issues and advances in QCA. Part 3 serves all participants who seek to discuss their ongoing QCA research with other participants and the PDW organizers. To participate in Part 3, please submit an extended abstract of 1,500-2,000 words to Johannes.meuer@the-klu.org by 16 July 2022. Your abstract should summarize your study’s topical area, theoretical background, research gap and question, and include details about the data, analytical strategy (for empirical papers), and preliminary results. Please also indicate your target journal and add a few questions that you would like the reviewers to address. A panel of QCA experts will review all submissions and evaluate their fit with the PDW according to clarity of purpose, methodological rigor, and innovative character of the research. We will let you know shortly after 16 July 2022 about your opportunities to participate in Part 3. Access to the workshop is included with registration to the AOM conference.
Conveners & Facilitators:

Ruth Aguilera, Northeastern University.
Joanna T. Campbell, University of Cincinnati.
Donal Crilly, London Business School.
Peer C. Fiss, University of Southern California.
Santi Furnari, City University London.
Thomas Greckhamer, Louisiana State University.
Rodney Lacey, Arizona State University.
Johannes Meuer, KLU Hamburg.
Vilmos F. Misangyi, The Pennsylvania State University.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis: An Introduction to Research Design and Application
2022-08-22 - 2022-08-28 | Università della Svizzera Italiana, Via Buffi 13, Lugano, 6900, Switzerland
This intensive 5-day workshop gives a thorough introduction to the foundations and advanced functions of QCA, placing emphasis on research design and empirical application. The course is based on Patrick Mello’s Qualitative Comparative Analysis: An Introduction to Research Design and Application (Georgetown University Press 2021). The workshop sessions are complemented by illustrations and exercises, using the R Software environment and relevant R packages. The intensive full-day format (7-8 teaching hours per day) in a small group setting provides a friendly environment for step-by-step learning, practicing with the R software, discussing research design, and gaining advice on individual projects during consultations with the instructor. The workshop is part of the 26th Summer School in Social Science Methods organized by the Swiss Foundation for Social Science Research (FORS) and the Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI). The school takes place at USI in beautiful Lugano, Switzerland, with plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation after class.
Registration is available here: Registration | USI

International QCA Paper Development Workshop (PDW) 2022
2022-12-13 - 2022-12-14 | ETH Zürich, Rämistrasse 101, Zurich, Switzerland
The International QCA Paper Development Workshop (PDW) 2022 provides a unique platform for researchers working on papers involving QCA to meet QCA experts, get feedback on their ongoing research and learn about the latest methodological developments in QCA. The workshop is interdisciplinary and interactive and allows for in-depth discussions and individual feedback from internationally renowned QCA scholars.
For complete details and the call for abstracts, please visit https://compasss.org/intlqca/abstract_2022/

Comparative Case Study Design
2023-03-06 - 2023-03-10 | University of Konstanz, Universitaetsstrasse 10, Konstanz, 78464, Germany
A solid foundation in comparative case studies is essential for comparative social scientists. This five-day in-person course provides you with the skills needed to design your qualitative comparative case study research, based on your own and/or other applied research projects. The course covers the topics of causal complexity, concept formation, casing and case selection, logics and strategies of comparison, accounting for context and time, choosing data collection and analysis strategies, as well as conceptual and research-practical issues when drawing inferences in case-oriented research.

Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)
2023-03-06 - 2023-03-10 | Online
Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a set-theoretic technique for comparing intermediate to large numbers of cases that models causal complexity to analyze necessary or sufficient conditions for an outcome. This five-day online course introduces QCA as an approach and a technique, its main assumptions, its standard procedures and operations, and the technical environment used for its application. Participants gain a thorough understanding of the formal logic of set-theoretic methods and QCA, including topics such as Boolean algebra, causal complexity, sets and their calibration, necessity, and sufficiency. The course discusses the logic and analysis of truth tables and the most important problems that emerge when this analytical tool is used for exploring social science data. Right from the beginning, participants are exposed to performing set-theoretic analyses with the relevant R software packages using data from published applications in the social sciences.

Introduction to Causal Process Tracing
2023-03-06 - 2023-03-10 | Online
Process tracing is a research method for tracing causal mechanisms using detailed, within-case empirical analysis of how a causal process plays out in an actual case. This five-day online course provides participants with a working understanding of the core elements of process tracing (PT) as a robust case study method, enabling them to utilize it in their own research – either alone or in combination with other methods. The course will discuss PT’s relative strengths and limitations, different variants, and how it can be combined productively with other methods in multi-method designs such as experiments or small/medium-n comparisons. The core elements of PT will be introduced, focusing on what we are actually “tracing” using PT (the causal process), how we are able to make evidence-based causal inferences using within-case, mechanistic evidence, and how we can combine within-case and cross-case knowledge.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis at AQCA2023
2023-03-15 10:00 - 15:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | USC Marshall School of Business, 3670 Trousdale Pkwy, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, United States
A one-day hybrid workshop that provides a ground-up introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and fuzzy sets. Designed for those who are new to QCA or wish to refresh their knowledge, participants will receive intensive instruction and hands-on experience with QCA software. By the end of the workshop, you will be able to begin designing and executing research projects using the set-analytic approach. Lunch is included. Access to the workshop is included in the AQCA registration fee.

Introduction to QCA (Qualitative Comparative Analysis) with R
2023-04-12 - 2023-04-14 | Online
This seminar introduces applied set-theoretic methods for the social sciences, focusing on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). This method is used in fields as diverse as political science, public policy, international relations, sociology, business and management, organizational studies, and even musicology.
This seminar will enable participants to produce a publishable QCA of their own. To achieve this, the seminar provides both the formal set-theoretical underpinnings of QCA as well as the technical and practical research skills necessary for performing a QCA. All applied components of the seminar are performed in the R software environment, using RStudio (Cloud) and R packages QCA and SetMethods.
An official Instats certificate of completion is provided at the conclusion of the seminar. For European PhD students, each seminar offers 2 ECTS Equivalent points.

Advanced Applications of QCA (Qualitative Comparative Analysis) in R
2023-05-03 - 2023-05-05 | Online
This seminar on advanced set-theoretic methods for the social sciences focuses on applied Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).
This method is used in fields as diverse as political science, public policy, international relations, sociology, business and management, organizational studies, and even musicology. This seminar will enable participants to produce cutting edge QCA-based research through hands-on coverage of the most recent advances in QCA.
All applied components of the seminar are performed in the R software environment, using RStudio (Cloud) and R packages QCA and SetMethods. An official Instats certificate of completion is provided at the conclusion of the seminar. For European PhD students, the seminar offers 2 ECTS Equivalent points.

Introduction to Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA)
2023-05-10 | Online
For your research, if you’ve ever wanted to understand and model causal effects in a rigorous way that reflects the complexity of the real-world. NCA understands a cause as a necessary (but not sufficient) condition, rather than a probabilistic cause (as in regression analysis). “Necessary” means that a certain outcome will not occur without a certain level of the condition. This is independent of the rest of the causal structure. NCA is rapidly entering a variety of research fields and can be used as a stand-alone method or in combination with other methods (e.g., regression analysis, structural equation modeling, qualitative comparative analysis).
This free 1-day seminar is being taught by Jan Dul, who invented NCA and co-authored the R package for NCA. Registration is entirely free! This seminar is perfect if, like many of us, you’ve wanted a way to go beyond simplistic ANOVA or regression-based approaches to causal effect estimation. The seminar will introduce you to NCA and then show you how to conduct analyses and make causal inferences through a series of worked examples. To register for free, use the following link — and please feel free to tell your colleagues and friends / students!

Introduction to Causal Data Analysis and Modeling with Coincidence Analysis
2023-05-15 - 2023-05-18 | Prague University of Economics and Business, Czech Republic, Czech Republic
This workshop offers an intensive 4-day introduction to causal modeling with Coincidence Analysis (CNA), a relatively new configurational comparative method of data analysis geared towards causal complexity, which has seen a considerable uptick in applications in recent years. No prior knowledge of CNA is required.
In plenary lectures, the main developer of CNA, Michael Baumgartner, and a team of experienced CNA methodologists and practitioners will guide participants through the nuts and bolts of configurational data analysis as well as cutting-edge methodological innovations. In smaller practice groups, the instructors will demonstrate how to make the most of current software for CNA and offer advice on practical issues, such as getting funded and published with CNA.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)
2023-06-05 - 2023-06-09 | GSERM, University of St. Gallen, Tellstrasse 2 9000 St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
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.
CHF 1’100.00 for Master/Phd students and CHF 2’000.00 for Post-Docs / Professionals / Institutional Partners.

Comparative Research Designs
2023-06-19 - 2023-06-23 | Radboud University, Houtlaan 4, Nijmegen, 6525 XZ, Netherlands
The purpose of this course is to provide training on all aspects that enable a researcher to build and implement the most appropriate comparative research design – the latter broadly defined as any research enterprise that comprises at least two ‘cases’ or observations.
On the one hand, the course will cover a few fundamental upstream questions: why compare; what is the added value of comparison? What are the logical underpinnings and mental operations behind comparison? What should be the mindset of a good comparative researcher? What should be his/her goals? What is the link between a research puzzle and the choice for a comparative research design?
On the other hand, the practicalities of different types of comparative research designs will be examined in detail, by following all the hands-on steps:
(1) prior arbitrations and ‘casing’, i.e. the definition of the cases;
(2) case selection, through more basic or more advanced strategies;
(3) collecting and managing comparative data;
(4) comparative data analysis (qualitative, QCA and quantitative options).

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): Performing Basic and Advanced Analyses using R
2023-06-19 - 2023-06-30 | Radboud University, Houtlaan 4, Nijmegen, 6525 XZ, Netherlands
This is a methodological course on set-theoretic methods for the social sciences. While the spectrum of set-theoretic methods is broad, including techniques such as Mill’s methods or typological theory, this course primarily focuses on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Invented by Charles Ragin [1987], this technique is still undergoing modifications, improvements, and ramifications with applications in fields as diverse as political science, public policy, international relations, sociology, business and management studies, or even musicology.
This course aims at enabling students to produce a publishable QCA of their own. In order to achieve this, the course provides both the formal set theoretical underpinnings of QCA and the technical and research practical skills necessary for performing a QCA. All applied parts of the course will be performed in the R software environment, using RStudio (Cloud). The course is structured as follows:
Week 1 of the course is dedicated to an introduction of the nuts and bolts of QCA as well as the R software environment. We start with some basics of formal logic and set theory. Then we introduce the notions of sets and how they are calibrated. After this, we move on to the concepts of causal complexity and of necessity and sufficiency, show how the latter denote subset relations, and then learn how such subset relations can be analyzed with so-called truth tables. We learn how to logically minimize truth tables and what the options for the treatment of so-called logical remainders are.
In Week 2, once participants master the current standard analysis practice, we discuss several extensions and improvements of QCA. Discussions in class will address from a set-theoretic point of view general methodological issues and advanced tools for solidifying and extending QCA. The topics covered include robustness tests, theory evaluation, case selection strategies for combining QCA with within-case process tracing, and the role of time and temporality in descriptive and causal inference.
Throughout the course, we will analyze fake and real data in the computer lab, using the R software environment and packages QCA and SetMethods. In addition to prepared datasets, which will be made available, participants are encouraged to bring their own raw data (even if this data is still tentative), which can be used for lab exercises and project work. Instructors and teaching assistants will be available for individual appointments with course participants to discuss research projects, questions regarding the design of a QCA study, and similar issues.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): Performing Basics and Advanced Analyses using R
2023-06-19 09:00 - 2023-06-30 15:00 (America/Chicago) | Online
This is a methodological course on set-theoretic methods for the social sciences. While the spectrum of a set-theoretic methods is broad, including techniques such as Mill’s methods or typological theory, this course primarily focuses on the crisp-set and fuzzy-set versions ofQualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Invented by Charles Ragin [1987], this technique isstill undergoing modifications, improvements, and ramifications. These methods are applied infields as diverse as political science, public policy, international relations, sociology, businessand management studies, or even musicology (see www.compasss.org).
This course aims atenabling students to produce a publishable QCA of their own. In order to achieve this, this course provides both the formal set theoretical underpinnings of QCA and the technical and Schneider & Oana – QCA, IPSA FLACSO, Fall 2022 research practical skills necessary for performing a QCA. All applied parts of the course will be performed in the R software environment, using RStudio (Cloud).

​​Introduction to Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA)​
2023-06-26 - 2023-06-30 | Radboud University, Houtlaan 4, Nijmegen, 6525 XZ, Netherlands
This doctoral course will teach you the fundamentals of Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) and help you design your first NCA research project. Necessary Condition Analysis is an innovative research method for identifying necessary (but not sufficient) conditions in data sets. Allowing you to separate the “need-to-haves” from the “nice-to-haves”, NCA offers compelling practical advice and novel theoretical insights. The course provides a comprehensive introduction to NCA, including its theoretical logic, practical application, relation to other research methods, and research design.
The course is designed for students, researchers, and practitioners who want to understand the fundamentals of NCA and learn how they can effectively use the method in their own research projects.
This unique five-day course combines theoretical discussions with practical assignments. You will learn more about conditional logic and how it changes the way we think about causal relationships. We will teach you how to conduct an NCA with the statistical programming language R and RStudio. You will also learn how to identify and formulate necessary condition hypotheses in your own area of expertise. The course will be interactive and developmental in nature. At the end of the course, you will be able to design your own NCA research project.
You will earn 2ECTS when you complete the attendance and participations requirements of the course. It will also be possible to obtain 2 additional ECTS. To do so, you need to write a short academic paper that correctly uses NCA, including the theoretical development and empirical testing of necessity hypotheses.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis Training
2023-07-24 - 2023-07-28 | Online
At this year’s ICPSR Summer Program, Professor Ingo Rohlfing will offer an introductory QCA course (virtual/remote) from July 24 to 28. The course introduces participants to the complete QCA workflow and its implementation in RStudio. The course is virtual with a combination of live sessions and recordings for asynchronous following. Here is the course outline:

QCA can be used to answer any substantively motivated research question if one is interested in analyzing patterns of necessity and sufficiency. There is neither a limit in the number of cases that one can process nor with regard to the nature of the data that can be micro data, macro data or a mix of data types. If you believe that the empirical phenomenon you want to explain in your research requires a set-relational perspective, potentially including a complex interplay of multiple conditions, and you want to use QCA, then this course is for you. The course introduces participants to the logic and techniques of QCA on an applied level using R/RStudio. You will be introduced to the basic principles and requirements of sound QCA research and learn how to implement them using R. At the end of the course, participants will be familiar with the key elements of a QCA study. They will know how to read, criticize and implement an empirical QCA study. Basic knowledge of QCA, set-theoretic thinking and R is useful, but not necessary for taking the course.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): A Set-Analytic Approach To Studying Configurations
2023-08-04 - 2023-08-08 | Academy of Management, Boston, MA, United States
The PDW includes 3 Parts. If you have no or only a little knowledge of, and experience with, QCA you can join us during Part 1 to learn the basic “nuts and bolts” of QCA and configurational logic and understand if this might be the right tool for your research project.
If you’re joining us for Part 1 and Part 2, you do not need to register (PDW open to all conference attendees). If you’d like to participate in Part 3, please submit an extended abstract of 1,500-2,000 words to Johannes Meuer by 14 July 2023. In your abstract, please summarize your study’s topical area, theoretical background, research gap, and question, and include details about the data, analytical strategy (for empirical papers), and preliminary results. Please also indicate your target journal and add a few questions that you would like the reviewers to address. A panel of QCA experts will review all submissions and evaluate their fit with the PDW according to the clarity of purpose, methodological rigor, and innovative character of the research. We will inform you shortly, by 30 July 2023, about your opportunities to participate in Part 3.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)
2023-08-21 - 2023-08-25 | Università della Svizzera Italiana, Via Giuseppe Buffi 13, Lugano, Ticino, 6900, Switzerland
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. Moreover, QCA entails a rigorous and systematic comparison of selected cases and their configurations through Boolean logic and a software-based analytical protocol. Throughout the workshop, emphasis is placed on research design and practical application so that participants are enabled to work on their own studies.
Throughout the workshop, participants are introduced to the foundations and advanced functions of QCA, while the course structure follows an ideal-typical research process. Starting with empirical illustrations that show how and for what purposes QCA is being used in the social sciences, the workshop proceeds with presenting the method’s core characteristics. This is followed by sessions on causation, causal complexity, and research design to provide a basis for thinking about empirical applications. The ensuing sessions engage with QCA as an analytical approach, starting with set theory and concepts like necessary and sufficient conditions, Boolean algebra, truth tables, and fuzzy sets. In calibrating sets, we look into approaches to transform empirical raw data into crisp and fuzzy sets. Next, the course examines various measures of fit that help in evaluating QCA results. The sessions on set-theoretic analysis put all the elements together and show how empirical data is analysed and interpreted with QCA. During the second half of the workshop, we explore advanced topics, which can be tailored based on participants’ backgrounds and research interests. Potential topics include multi-method research design, QCA variants, robustness tests in QCA, addressing critiques, and recent developments. Participants also have the opportunity to present and discuss their own work within the group. The workshop sessions are complemented by illustrations and exercises from the social sciences, using the R Software environment and relevant R Packages.
27th Summer School in Social Science Methods 10-25 August 2023 | USI

Tübingen Methods Center Fall School, Qualitative Comparative Analysis Workshop
2023-10-12 - 2023-10-13 | University of Tübingen, Geschwister-Scholl-Platz, Tübingen, 72074, Germany
Based on formal logic, set theory and Boolean algebra, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a research method used to analyse combinations of conditions which are sufficient and/or necessary for the outcome under study. Developed by the political scientist and sociologist Charles Ragin, QCA focuses holistically on cases as combinations of factors rather than on the relationship between variables (as correlation-based methods such as regression analysis do). While it was developed in a case study tradition where just a small number of cases form the focus of an analysis, it is well suited to analysing large n datasets. Thus, while combining elements from qualitative as well as quantitative research approaches, it is genuinely innovative in transcending the qualitative-quantitative divide.
This workshop provides an introduction to QCA in its crisp, fuzzy and multi-value variants as well as practice sessions on the application of QCA using fsQCA and R software (package QCApro). Researchers are welcome to bring their own data if they wish to analyse them using QCA, but this is no requirement; practice datasets will be provided. No prior knowledge of QCA or any particular software is assumed.
The workshop will be held by Dr Judith Glaesser. She is a research fellow at the Methods Center, Tübingen University: https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/142589

International QCA Paper Development Workshop 2023
2023-12-12 - 2023-12-13 | IL
The International QCA Paper Development Workshop (PDW) 2023 provides a unique platform for researchers working on papers involving QCA to meet QCA experts, get feedback on their on-going research and learn about the latest methodological developments in QCA. The workshop is interdisciplinary and interactive and allows for in-depth discussions and individual feedback from internationally-renowned QCA scholars.
The call for papers will be distributed in late-August, along with details regarding registration, etc.

Konstanz Methods Excellence Workshops: Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (Online Course)
2024-02-26 - 2024-03-01 | IL
This 5-day online course introduces Qualitative Comparative Analysis as an approach that enables researchers to model causal complexity by analyzing whether different configurations of conditions are necessary or sufficient for an outcome together with its technical implementation in R.
What Is This Course About?
This 5-day online course introduces Qualitative Comparative Analysis as an approach and a technique, its main assumptions, its standard procedures and operations, and the technical environment (R software and packages) used for its application. QCA enables researchers to model causal complexity by analyzing whether different configurations of conditions are necessary or sufficient for an outcome, based on a formalized comparison of intermediate to large numbers of cases. Throughout the course, emphasis is put on a thorough understanding of the formal logic of set-theoretic methods and QCA, including topics such as Boolean algebra, causal complexity, sets and their calibration, necessity, and sufficiency. The course also discusses the logic and analysis of truth tables and the most important problems that emerge when this analytical tool is used for exploring social science data. Right from the beginning, participants are exposed to performing set-theoretic analyses with the relevant R software packages using data from published applications in the social sciences.

Konstanz Methods Excellence Workshops: Advanced Qualitative Comparative Analysis (Online Course)
2024-02-26 - 2024-03-01 | Online
This 5-day course exposes participants to advanced methodological developments in Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) that allow for further solidifying their results, and enables them to apply state-of-the-art set-theoretic analytic tools in R.
What Is This Course About?
This 5-day course introduces a series of advanced topics in Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) that aim at further solidifying and deepening the understanding of the application of this method and the results produced by it. As QCA continues to evolve, the course exposes participants to its latest methodological developments and enables them to apply state-of-the-art set-theoretic analytic tools in R. The course starts by expanding on the problem of limited empirical diversity (i.e., when not all the configurations of conditions in the analysis are represented empirically) and discusses potential strategies for making good counterfactuals assumptions (within the so-called Enhanced Standard Analysis). Throughout the rest of the course, we discuss advanced analytic tools that can be used after a QCA result has been obtained. Among these, we look at set-theoretic robustness and sensitivity and introduce a QCA robustness check protocol, we discuss strategies for confronting situations when the data at hand contains clusters that are potentially analytically relevant, we discuss the use of set-theoretic theory-evaluation as a way of assessing theoretical hunches based on the results generated by QCA. Finally, we discuss set-theoretic multi-method research introducing guidelines for combining QCA with process-tracing in single or comparative case studies.

Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) using R
2024-04-18 - 2024-04-20 | Tampere, Finland, Tampere, Finland
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 and integrate in-depth case knowledge at all stages of the analysis. We will introduce you to performing QCA with the freely available R software using the user-friendly RStudio environment. We will primarily discuss QCA as a case-oriented approach to small- and intermediate N comparisons. The intensive two-day course has a practical focus and combines theoretical blocks with many hands-on labs entailing exercises and quizzes. We will use real-life data to replicate a published study and discuss examples from the participants’ own research projects in class.

Introduction to Causal Data Analysis and Modeling with Coincidence Analysis
2024-05-20 - 2024-05-23 | Rush University, 600 S. Paulina St., Chicago, IL, 60612, United States
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 CNA, Michael Baumgartner, and a team of experienced CNA methodologists and practitioners will guide participants through the nuts and bolts of configurational data analysis as well as cutting-edge methodological innovations. In smaller practice groups, the instructors will demonstrate how to make the most of current software for CNA and offer advice on practical issues, such as getting funded and published with CNA.
From Boolean algebra and the philosophical roots of regularity theories of causation, over the basic ideas behind CNA’s search algorithm, and measures of fit to multi-outcome structures, model ambiguities, and robustness analyses this introduction will enable participants to conduct CNA analyses themselves and review those of other researchers in a sophisticated manner. This will also be an opportunity to get to know researchers working with and on CNA from all over the world.
A tentative program is available here.
RUSH University Medical Center/RUSH, the host for this groundbreaking workshop, is strongly committed to addressing health inequities that affect Chicago’s community, particularly in those neighborhoods surrounding our academic medical center. For this workshop, we will draw from Chicago neighborhood health data to craft practice sessions using real data drawn from health care and community practice to apply a health equity lens to configurational data analysis with CNA. RUSH faculty experienced in health equity and CNA will help to guide these practical sessions.
On the two days after the workshop (May 24-25), there will be a conference on CNA at the same venue in Chicago. Participants of the training workshop will be invited to attend that conference as well. (More information on that conference is available here.) Moreover, the instructors will remain available for consultation after the event to help participants with the methodological and practical aspects of their research projects.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) Workshop at GSERM, St. Gallen
2024-06-10 - 2024-06-14 | GSERM, University of St. Gallen, Tellstrasse 2 9000 St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
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.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): An Introduction (Online 4 Days)
2024-07-01 - 2024-07-04 | Online
This master class is designed for participants who have experience in qualitative or quantitative research and who are interested in applying qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) in their current or future studies.
This course is being offered across 4 evenings online via Zoom. For all information regarding the costs, please visit the website of the Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research (ACSPR).

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?

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): A set-analytic approach to studying organizational configurations
2024-07-08 - 2024-07-11 | Online
This 3-day introduces you to the nuts and bolts of QCA. It is structured in six sessions (each ½ day) covering the history of QCA, the logic of case selection and research designs, small-N QCA, large-N QCA, configurational research in management, and advanced topics in QCA. Throughout the course, we will also explore opportunities for you to use QCA for your own research. After the course, you should be familiar with the history of QCA and current advanced topics in QCA, understand the logic of set-analytic methods, and develop a configurational research design for your own research field.
Lecturer: Johannes Meuer (Kühne Logistics Universit)
