Configurational Comparative Methods
Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques
- Benoît Rihoux - Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium
- Charles C. Ragin - University of California, Irvine, USA
Applied Social Research Methods
Configurational Comparative Methods paves the way for an innovative approach to empirical scientific work through a strategy that integrates key strengths of both qualitative (case-oriented) and quantitative (variable-oriented) approaches. This first-of-its-kind text is ideally suited for "small-N" or "intermediate-N" research situations, which both mainstream qualitative and quantitative methods find difficult to address. Benoît Rihoux and Charles C. Ragin, along with their contributing authors, offer both a basic, comparative research design overview and a technical and hands-on review of Crisp-Set QCA (csQCA), Multi-Value QCA (mvQCA), and Fuzzy-Set QCA (fsQCA).
Key Features
- Discusses existing applications in many different fields and disciplines along with state-of-the-art coverage of the strengths and limitations of these techniques
- Demonstrates further inventive ways of using QCA techniques
- Provides advice on how to develop a comparative research design (case and variable selection) as well as a specific technique called MSDO/MDSO (most similar, different outcome/most different, same outcome).
- Shows how to perform the technical operations linked to three specific QCA techniques: csQCA, mvQCA, and fsQCA
- Includes a glossary, an extensive bibliography, and a detailed list of good practices at every stage of the research process
Intended Audience
A must for any student or researcher who wants to engage in systematic cross-case comparison in the social and behavioral sciences, the book is ideal for use in upper-level undergraduate and graduate-level social science research methods courses.
This book is useful for UG students and I will recommend it for those students that want to conduct research between Qual and Quant. However, I believe it would be more useful to MSc or MBA students. This is something I hadn't thought about before and I will consider it now.
This is a very important book on configurational comparative methods.
The book comprises of different essays about QCA, fsQCA, mvQCA, ... and is a useful resource to get started with configurational methods as it covers different aspects within one book.
I have not got the support that I want for this book--so I will use it as a recommended text-not a primary textbook.
