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-theoretic approach.

Description: This module provides you with the skills needed to design your qualitative case study research. It covers concept formation, casing and case selection, logics and strategies of comparison, accounting for context and time, data collection strategies, and both conceptual and research-practical issues such as limited diversity, Galton’s problem, conceptual stretching, and thinking about scope … Continue reading Comparative Case Study Design →

This module introduces you 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 … Continue reading Designing Research with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) →

QCA can be used to answer any research question if one is interested in analyzing patterns of necessity and sufficiency in a group of cases ranging from a handful to many thousands. The method is now widely used in different disciplines including political science, sociology, public administration, public health, medical research, organization and management research. … Continue reading ICPSR Summer Program in Quantitative Methods of Social Research →

The course provides participants with a thorough introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), both as a research approach and as a data analysis technique. In recent years, this set-theoretic method has gained recognition among social scientists as a methodological approach that holds specific benefits for comparative studies. The course begins by familiarizing participants with the … Continue reading Short Course on Qualitative Comparative Analysis, 23rd Swiss Summer School in Social Science Methods →

A training on QCA will be organised by Charles Ragin and Tobias Ide during the First Environmental Peacebuilding Conference (October 23-25, University of California Irvine). The training will be held from 9:00-1:30 at October 23 and provide an introduction to QCA with a focus on applications in the field of environmental security and environmental peacebuilding.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis is a systematic method of studying data on multiple comparable cases from about N=8 through to large datasets of N=10,000 etc. The QCA methods firstly involve casing, i.e. delineating cases; secondly organising a systematic data matrix (we will show these in NVIVO and in Excel); thirdly examining sets of cases known as configurations; … Continue reading Training Day: Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) →