Social and causal complexity in Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): strategies to account for emergence

Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) has become one of the most prominent methods in the social sciences for capturing causal complexity, especially for scholars with small- and medium- N data sets. This research note explores two key assumptions in fsQCA’s methodology for testing for necessary and sufficient conditions—the cumulation assumption and the triangular data assumption—and argues that, in combination, they produce a form of aggregation bias that has not been recognized in the fsQCA literature. It also offers a straightforward test to help researchers answer the question of whether their findings are plausibly the result of aggregation bias.

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Qualitative comparative analysis: justifying a neo-configurational approach in management research

RAUSP Management Journal ◽

10.1108/rausp-05-2019-0089 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 54 (4) ◽

pp. 399-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Tobias Coutinho Parente ◽

Ryan Federo

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Research Design ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Causal Model ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Future Research ◽

Management Research ◽

Content Type ◽

Configurational Approach ◽

Causal Complexity

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to critically reflect and offer insights on how to justify the use of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) as a research method for understanding the complexity of organizational phenomena, by applying the principles of the neo-configurational approach. Design/methodology/approach We present and critically examine three arguments regarding the use of QCA for management research. First, they discuss the need to assume configurational theories to build and empirically test a causal model of interest. Second, we explain how the three principles of causal complexity are assumed during the process of conducting QCA-based studies. Third, we elaborate on the importance of case knowledge when selecting the data for the analysis and when interpreting the results. Findings We argue that it is important to reflect on these arguments to have an appropriate research design. In the true spirit of the configurational approach, we contend that the three arguments presented are necessary; however, each argument is insufficient to warrant a QCA research design. Originality/value This paper contributes to management research by offering key arguments on how to justify the use of QCA-based studies in future research endeavors.

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Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in Spatial Planning Research and Related Disciplines: A Systematic Literature Review of Applications

Journal of Planning Literature ◽

10.1177/0885412219841490 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 300-317 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Stefan Verweij ◽

Elen-Maarja Trell

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Literature Review ◽

Systematic Literature Review ◽

Spatial Planning ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Causal Complexity

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is a potentially interesting method for spatial planning researchers. Although increasingly used, its application in spatial planning research is lagging behind other disciplines. We conducted a systematic literature review of QCA applications in spatial planning and related disciplines (SPARD), addressing two questions: when, where, and how is QCA used in SPARD and what are the main advantages of QCA for spatial planning research? We found that the main reasons why QCA is used in SPARD are its sensitivity to context, its ability to use small-/medium- n cases, and its attention to causal complexity.

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Improving the use of qualitative comparative analysis for inferring complex causation in development and planning research

Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development ◽

10.2166/washdev.2018.149 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (4) ◽

pp. 622-631 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alrik Thiem

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Relevant Information ◽

Evidence Based ◽

Policy Recommendations ◽

Development Interventions ◽

Empirical Research Methods ◽

The One ◽

School Sanitation ◽

Causal Complexity

Abstract Empirical research methods provide the necessary means to extract relevant information from data. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), one such method, is currently making first inroads into the development and planning (D&P) community. On the one hand, QCA is well suited for building empirically founded theories emphasizing causal complexity. On the other hand, however, current use of QCA in D&P research is marked by problematic applications of this method whose results misrepresent the empirical evidence marshaled to support them. Policy recommendations that stand on shaky grounds have been issued in consequence. By reanalyzing a recent empirical study on school sanitation maintenance in Belize, this method workshop article shows how the use of QCA can be improved, which should in turn lead to more solid, evidence-based policy recommendations for development interventions.

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The Many Faces of Authoritarian Persistence: A Set-Theory Perspective on the Survival Strategies of Authoritarian Regimes

Government and Opposition ◽

10.1017/gov.2018.17 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 55 (1) ◽

pp. 64-87 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Seraphine F. Maerz

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Set Theory ◽

Fuzzy Set ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Authoritarian Regimes ◽

Survival Strategies ◽

Causal Relations ◽

The Many ◽

Authoritarian Survival ◽

Causal Complexity

AbstractThis article examines how authoritarian regimes combine various strategies of repression, co-optation and legitimation to remain in power. The contribution of the article is two-fold. First, I conceptualize the hexagon of authoritarian persistence as a framework to explain how authoritarian regimes manage to survive. The hexagon is based on Gerschewski’s (2013) three pillars of stability but proposes some crucial modifications. In contrast to the model of the three pillars, the hexagon can grasp the causal complexity of autocratic survival because it is rooted in set theory and accounts for asymmetric causal relations, conjunctural causation and equifinality. Based on this, it illuminates how authoritarian regimes use multiple, mutually non-exclusive survival strategies. The second contribution is an empirical exploration which applies the hexagon and provides a case-oriented analysis of 62 persistent and non-persistent authoritarian regimes (1991–2010). By using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis, the findings of this assessment illustrate five configurations of the hexagon – called hegemonic, performance-dependent, rigid, overcompensating and adaptive authoritarianism – as those combinations of strategies which facilitate authoritarian survival.

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The Qualitative Comparative Analysis: An Overview of a Causal Complexity Approach

SHS Web of Conferences ◽

10.1051/shsconf/20219208020 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 92 ◽

pp. 08020

Author(s):

Monika Smela

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Causal Explanation ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Sufficient Conditions ◽

Value Added ◽

Quantitative And Qualitative Research ◽

Qualitative Approaches ◽

Global Affairs ◽

Necessary And Sufficient ◽

Causal Complexity

Research background: Alongside with the development of configurative comparative analysis aiming at identification of necessary and sufficient conditions, various formal methods used for this purpose have been formulated during the last decades. One of them is qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), one of approaches used for causal explanation of phenomena of cases performed in the field of international economics and global affairs. Purpose of the article: The main purpose of the article is to provide a detailed overview of the QCA method in global context, to define its methodologic foundations and consequently introduce the key concepts of the method. The article also provides a comparison of QCA to typical tools of qualitative and quantitative approaches. On the basis of this part, both pros and cons of QCA are derived. Methods: Basically, the methods of analysis, deduction and comparison are used to fulfil the purpose of the article. The existing and available papers and books coping with the topic of QCA and its position among other research methods are reviewed to provide an overview on the selected method. Findings & Value added: The QCA is a method based on analysing stated relations. It bridges the quantitative and qualitative research and reveals certain patterns based on causal complexity principles, however, it is done regarding heterogeneity and diversity of individual researched cases. It is a method applicable to the middle number of cases, it means too few cases for statistical methods on the other hand too many cases for typical qualitative approaches.

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Boolean Algebra

Research Methods in the Social Sciences: An A-Z of key concepts ◽

10.1093/hepl/9780198850298.003.0007 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 30-32

Author(s):

Jasmin Hasić

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Boolean Algebra ◽

Binary Data ◽

Qualitative Comparative Analysis ◽

Boolean Logic ◽

Boolean Minimization ◽

The Social ◽

Boolean Equation ◽

Basic Features ◽

Causal Complexity

This chapter addresses Boolean algebra, which is based on Boolean logic. In the social sciences, Boolean algebra comes under different labels. It is often used in set-theoretic and qualitative comparative analysis to assess complex causation that leads to particular outcomes involving different combinations of conditions. The basic features of Boolean algebra are the use of binary data, combinatorial logic, and Boolean minimization to reduce the expressions of causal complexity. By calculating the intersection between the final Boolean equation and the hypotheses formulated in Boolean terms, three subsets of causal combinations emerge: hypothesized and empirically confirmed; hypothesized, but not detected within the empirical evidence; and causal configurations found empirically, but not hypothesized. This approach is both holistic and analytic because it examines cases as a whole and in parts.

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