Course Description This virtual main course, designed using an innovative pedagogical combination of asynchronous and synchronous on-line elements, introduces you to the nuts and bolts of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). QCA is 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. We will use real-world data to replicate a published study, work with examples from the participants’ own research projects,…

Course Description This five-day, in-person main 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.  Note: While the organizers intend to hold…

This one-day hybrid workshop 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 the fs/QCA software package. The goal of the workshop is to enable you to begin designing and executing research projects using the set-analytic approach. Lunch is included. Access to the workshop is included with registration to the AQCA conference.

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) uses Boolean algebra to offer an alternative to conventional statistical techniques for analyzing empirical data. While large-N representative applications of QCA are increasingly popular, QCA is especially useful for identifying and understanding cross-case patterns in small- and medium-N projects with data collected using qualitative and/or mixed methods. Fundamentally a pattern-matching technique designed for exploring the differences and diversity within one's data, QCA may be used for uncovering empirical taxonomies, analyzing the effects of context, and identifying…

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. 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…

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…