Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a set-theoretic method for identifying necessary and/or sufficient conditions for outcomes which is increasingly used in comparative policy analysis. Its core advantages lie in modelling causal complexity and enabling systematic comparisons to identify regularities, while integrating case knowledge at all levels of analysis. This course introduces participants to the nuts … Continue reading International Winter School on Public Policy – Alps Edition 2020: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) →

This Workshop is tailored for scholars with significant research experience beyond their PhD, and organised on a flexible basis to meet specific needs -- typically in connection with an ongoing research project they are managing (e.g. troubleshooting, arbitrating between methodological options, fine-tuning some designs, etc. It covers a broad range of case-oriented methods and designs … Continue reading ECPR Seasoned Scholar Workshop: Multi-Method Designs, Case-Oriented and Comparative Methods →

This course introduces participants to the logic and foundations of case-oriented and set-theoretic methods. We discuss perspectives on causality, case-orientation in empirical social research, and the main features of set-theoretic methods. We will reflect about different types of research questions, evidence and observations, causal complexity, causal effects, causal mechanisms, and context. The course then covers … Continue reading ECPR Methods School: Foundations of set-theoretic and case-oriented methods →

This course introduces participants to crisp set and fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and its analysis in R. It provides participants with a basic understanding of the analytic underpinnings and steps of QCA, and enables them to independently perform a basic crisp or fuzzy set QCA (Standard Analysis). We will look at the origins, … Continue reading ECPR Methods School: Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) →

This course addresses advanced issues that arise if and when scholars embrace notions of sets and their relations. While it is a course about set-theoretic methods writ large, most of the time, we will discuss issues specific to QCA. We will try and address all the following topics but, depending on participants' needs and interests, … Continue reading ECPR Methods School: Advanced Topics in Set-Theoretic Methods and QCA →

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. Update: The workshop has been canceled due … Continue reading Southern California QCA Workshop – CANCELED DUE TO CORONAVIRUS →

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a method that has become part of the toolbox in disciplines such as political science, sociology, public administration and organization and management studies. 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 … Continue reading Qualitative Comparative Analysis →

This course provides training on methods that enable a researcher to construct a solid and well-argued comparative research design (CRD) – any research enterprise that comprises at least two ‘cases’ or units of analysis.  We will cover multiple options, from very few cases (small-n) to multiple cases (intermediate-n) to many cases (larger-n).  By the end … Continue reading Comparative Research Designs (1st ECPR Virtual Summer School) →

This course introduces you to Qualitative Comparative Analysis and fuzzy sets, and their application in the social sciences, using the R software environment.  It starts out by familiarising you with the basic concepts of the underlying methodological perspective, including formal logic, Boolean algebra, causal complexity, and calibration. From there, we move to the central notions … Continue reading Qualitative Comparative Analysis (1st ECPR Virtual Summer School) →