scholarly journals Power and False Negatives in Qualitative Comparative Analysis: Foundations, Simulation and Estimation for Empirical Studies

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 72-89 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Rohlfing
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
False Negative ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Truth Table ◽  
Permutation Testing ◽  
Ex Post ◽  
Table Analysis ◽  
Sole Criterion

In Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), empirical researchers use the consistency value as one, if not sole, criterion to decide whether an association between a term and an outcome is consistent with a set-relational claim. Braumoeller (2015) points out that the consistency value is unsuitable for this purpose. We need to know the probability of obtaining it under the null hypothesis of no systematic relation. He introduces permutation testing for estimating the $p$ value of a consistency score as a safeguard against false positives. In this paper, I introduce permutation-based power estimation as a safeguard against false-negative conclusions. Low power might lead to the false exclusion of truth table rows from the minimization procedure and the generation and interpretation of invalid solutions. For a variety of constellations between an alternative and null hypothesis and numbers of cases, simulations demonstrate that power estimates can range from 1 to 0. Ex post power analysis for 63 truth table analyses shows that even under the most favorable constellation of parameters, about half of them can be considered low-powered. This points to the value of estimating power and calculating the required number of cases before the truth table analysis.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis

2021 ◽  
pp. 229-232
Author(s):  
Kevin Kalomeni ◽  
Claudius Wagemann
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Sufficient Conditions ◽  
Quantitative Studies ◽  
Set Membership ◽  
Conceptual Reasoning ◽  
Analytical Perspective ◽  
Table Analysis ◽  
Set Relations

This chapter examines qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), which strives to bridge the methodological rift between case study-based research and quantitative studies. QCA belongs to the broader family of configurational comparative methods (CCMs). From an analytical perspective, QCA can be distinguished from quantitative approaches. The emphasis shifts from covariance to the analysis of set relations. Being strongly tied to a profound theoretical and conceptual reasoning which is typical for comparison in general, the analysis of set relations is based on three steps: first, a score is attributed to a social phenomenon (representing either a dichotomous or a graded set membership), usually in relation to other phenomena. Second, necessary conditions are defined. Third, through the help of a truth table analysis, (combinations of) sufficient conditions are analysed.

European integration, party strategies, and state restructuring: a comparative analysis

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Dardanelli
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Causal Mechanism ◽  
Sharp Drop ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Party Strategies ◽  
State Restructuring ◽  
The Cross

To what extent and in what way does European integration fuel state restructuring? This is a long-standing but still not a fully answered question. While the theoretical literature suggests a positive link between the two, previous empirical studies have reached contrasting conclusions. The article offers an alternative testing of the proposition, centred on the role of party strategies as a causal mechanism, analysed across space and time. On the cross-sectional axis, it focusses on parties in Flanders and Wallonia (Belgium), Lombardy and Sicily (Italy), Catalonia and Andalusia (Spain), and Scotland and Wales (United Kingdom). On the cross-temporal axis, it focuses on four critical junctures connecting integration and state restructuring. It analyses the degree to which ‘Europe’ has been strategically used in connection to state restructuring and which conditions have been necessary and/or sufficient to that outcome. The analysis has been conducted on the basis of a Qualitative Comparative Analysis methodology. Five main results emerge: (1) overall, parties have generally exploited ‘Europe’ in connection with state restructuring to a limited extent only but in a few cases exploitation has been very intense and intimately linked to strategic turning points; (2) ‘Europe’ has overwhelmingly been used to support state restructuring; (3) the most intense use has been made by regional parties with a secessionist position and positive attitude to the EU; (4) ‘use of Europe’ is a product of a complex conjunctural effect of several conditions; (5) it has increased over time but is not a linear product of integration, a sharp drop can be observed between the two most recent time points. These findings show that European integration can indeed exercise causal influence upon state restructuring via party strategies but that this is highly contingent on the complex interaction of multiple factors.

scholarly journals Addressing the Challenges Related to Transforming Qualitative Into Quantitative Data in Qualitative Comparative Analysis

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 503-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Debora de Block ◽  
Barbara Vis
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Quantitative Data ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Calibration Data ◽  
Sensitivity Testing ◽  
Data Presentation ◽  
Data Calibration

The use of qualitative data has so far received relatively little attention in methodological discussions on qualitative comparative analysis (QCA). This article addresses this lacuna by discussing the challenges researchers face when transforming qualitative data into quantitative data in QCA. By reviewing 29 empirical studies using qualitative data for QCA, we explore common practices related to data calibration, data presentation, and sensitivity testing. Based on these three issues, we provide considerations when using qualitative data for QCA, which are relevant both for QCA scholars working with qualitative data and the wider mixed methods research community involved in quantitizing.

scholarly journals A unified approach to permutation testing for equivalence

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rosa Arboretti ◽  
Fortunato Pesarin ◽  
Luigi Salmaso
Keyword(s):  
Quality Control ◽  
Clinical Trials ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Null Hypothesis ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Permutation Testing ◽  
Unified Approach ◽  
Published Paper

AbstractThe notion of testing for equivalence of two treatments is widely used in clinical trials, pharmaceutical experiments, bioequivalence and quality control. It is traditionally operated within the intersection–union principle (IU). According to this principle the null hypothesis is stated as the set of effects the differences $$\delta$$ δ of which lie outside a suitable equivalence interval and the alternative as the set of $$\delta$$ δ that lie inside it. In the literature related solutions are essentially based on likelihood techniques, which in turn are rather difficult to deal with. A recently published paper goes beyond most of likelihood limitations by using the IU approach within the permutation theory. One more paper, based on Roy’s union–intersection principle (UI) within the permutation theory, goes beyond some limitations of traditional two-sided tests. Such UI approach, effectively a mirror image of IU, assumes a null hypothesis where $$\delta$$ δ lies inside the equivalence interval and an alternative where it lies outside. Since testing for equivalence can rationally be analyzed by both principles but, as the two differ in terms of the mirror-like roles assigned to the hypotheses under study, they are not strictly comparable. The present paper’s main goal is to look into these problems and provide a sort of comparative analysis of both by highlighting the related requirements, properties, limitations, difficulties, and pitfalls so as to get practitioners properly acquainted with their correct use in practical contexts.

scholarly journals Understanding perceptions of recovery from psychological distress in Sierra Leone through qualitative comparative analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kanykey Jailobaeva ◽  
Rebecca Horn ◽  
Abdulai Jawo Bah ◽  
Giulia Loffreda ◽  
Alastair Ager
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Sierra Leone ◽  
Predictive Factors ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Mental Health Research ◽  
Truth Table ◽  
Work Study

AbstractQualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is a relatively new method that examines causal complexity. Its use in mental health research is nascent. In low-income and fragile settings, with weak mental health service provision, identifying pathways of recovery from psychological distress can inform the appropriate deployment of scarce community and public resources. This paper examines the use of QCA to identify predictors of recovery in Sierra Leone. Our study explored lay perceptions of the signs of recovery from psychological distress caused by such events as the loss of a family member, severe sickness, and loss of a relationship. The data drew upon 75 interviews with women and men, across four districts of Sierra Leone, who described the signs of recovery from psychological distress they have observed in one person known to them. The truth table generated through QCA software indicated two signs of recovery— work/study and healthy relations—to be the most prevalent across different combinations of predictive factors. Further analysis of the truth table and sub-set relations suggested that work/study and healthy relations frequently served as sufficient conditions for reported recovery from distress to occur. QCA provided a means to identify sufficient predictive factors for recovery from psychological distress to occur. The findings suggest that to enable recovery from psychological distress, support needs to be broad and bring together services that will enable individuals to improve their social and relational wellbeing. Responses to distress need to involve a wide range of community-based stakeholders who will help individuals to engage in constructive activity and strengthen relations with their family members, friends, and the broader community. QCA is potentially well-positioned to unpack complexity in mental health research.

scholarly journals The importance of policy design fit for effectiveness: a qualitative comparative analysis of policy integration in regional transport planning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marijn T. van Geet ◽  
Stefan Verweij ◽  
Tim Busscher ◽  
Jos Arts
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Policy Design ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Policy Research ◽  
Policy Outcomes ◽  
Policy Integration ◽  
Transport Planning ◽  
Regional Transport ◽  
Design Effectiveness

AbstractPolicy design has returned as a central topic in public policy research. An important area of policy design study deals with effectively attaining desired policy outcomes by aligning goals and means to achieve policy design fit. So far, only a few empirical studies have explored the relationship between policy design fit and effectiveness. In this paper, we adopt the multilevel framework for policy design to determine which conditions of policy design fit—i.e., goal coherence, means consistency, and congruence of goals and means across policy levels—are necessary and/or sufficient for policy design effectiveness in the context of policy integration. To this end, we performed a qualitative comparative analysis of Dutch regional transport planning including all twelve provinces. Outcomes show no condition is necessary and two combinations of conditions are sufficient for effectiveness. The first sufficient combination confirms what the literature suggests, namely that policy design fit results in policy design effectiveness. The second indicates that the combination goal incoherence and incongruence of goals and means is sufficient for policy design effectiveness. An in-depth interpretation of this counterintuitive result leads to the conclusion that for achieving policy integration the supportive relationship between policy design fit and policy design effectiveness is less straightforward as theory suggests. Instead, results indicate there are varying degrees of coherence, consistency, and congruence that affect effectiveness in different ways. Furthermore, outcomes reveal that under specific circumstances a policy design may be effective in promoting desired policy integration even if it is incoherent, inconsistent, and/or incongruent.

scholarly journals Uncertainty, Possibility, and Causal Power in QCA

2021 ◽  
pp. 004912412110312
Author(s):  
Roel Rutten
Keyword(s):  
Critical Realism ◽  
Causal Power ◽  
Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽  
Regularity Theory ◽  
Truth Table ◽  
Causal Powers ◽  
Critical Realist ◽  
Table Analysis ◽  
Analysis Models ◽  
Better Than

Uncertainty undermines causal claims; however, the nature of causal claims decides what counts as relevant uncertainty. Empirical robustness is imperative in regularity theories of causality. Regularity theory features strongly in QCA, making its case sensitivity a weakness. Following qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) founder Charles Ragin’s emphasis on ontological realism, this article suggests causality as a power and thus breaks with the ontological determinism of regularity theories. Exercising causal powers makes it possible for human agents to achieve an outcome but does not determine that they will. The article explains how QCA’s truth table analysis “models” possibilistic uncertainty and how crisp sets do this better than fuzzy sets. Causal power is at the heart of critical realist philosophy of science. Like Ragin, critical realism suggests empirical analysis as merely describing underlying causal relationships. Empirical statements must be substantively interpreted into causal claims. The article is critical of “empiricist” QCA that infers causality from the robustness of set relationships.

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