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Friday 14 February 13:00–15:00 and 15:30–18:00
Saturday 15 February 09:00–12:30 and 14:00–17:30
This course introduces you to the logic and foundations of case-oriented and set-theoretic methods.
It is particularly useful preparation for the main courses on process tracing, comparative research design, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).
We will discuss perspectives on causality, case-orientation in empirical social research, and the main features of set-theoretic methods.
We will reflect on different types of research questions, evidence and observations, causal complexity, causal effects, causal mechanisms, and context. The course then covers basics of set theory, measurement and set calibration, logical operations, and the logic of necessary and sufficient conditions as set relations. We will apply these notions by looking at different ways of defining, structuring, and operationalising concepts and cases.
For those taking the QCA course, the lab session includes a (mandatory) introduction to the R software environment. For all other participants, the lab session will provide the opportunity for problem-based learning in groups. We'll look at different areas of application.
1 credit (pass/fail grade). Attend at least 90% of course hours, participate fully in in-class activities, and carry out the necessary reading and/or other work prior to, and after, class.
Eva Thomann is a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Politics of the University of Exeter who specialises in Public Policy and Public Administration. Previously she held research positions at the University of Bern, the Mannheim Centre for European Social Research, the University of Heidelberg, and the European University Institute in Florence.
Eva is the first author of Designing Research with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). and the award-winning monograph Customized implementation of European Union food safety policy: United in diversity?
She has published extensively on case-oriented and set-theoretic research methods, policy implementation, and Europeanisation using innovative case-oriented and set-theoretic methodology such as Enhanced Standard Analysis, formal set-theoretic theory evaluation, robustness tests, large-N QCA, congruence analysis, explanatory typologies, and Comparative Multilevel Analysis.
Eva Thomann teaches case-oriented and set-theoretic methods at doctoral schools, invited workshops, and at MA level. She serves in various international networks and contributes to the development of pedagogical resources and other innovations in the use and teaching of QCA. See her personal website
This course introduces you to the logic and basics of case-oriented and set-theoretic methods. It is useful preparation for the main courses on process tracing and comparative case study design, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).
Attendance is mandatory for those taking the main course Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).
By the end of the course, you will:
The course has an introductory and preparatory focus. It will not provide you with specific methods skills yet, but introduce you to the underlying logic of case-oriented and set-theoretic methods.
The R lab session will not give you sufficient skills to independently perform empirical data analysis with R; instead, it will familiarise you with the very basic operational features of R in R studio, and give you an opportunity to gain a first experience in working with empirical datasets in R.
Session 1
An introduction to basic notions of case-oriented research.
What kind of perspective do such methods adopt?
Why would we want to adopt such a perspective?
We start by identifying different epistemological perspectives in the social sciences and situation case-oriented and set-theoretic research therein. We will then reflect on different types of goals of research and research questions, and how they serve to disentangle different empirical patterns in terms of causal effects or causal mechanisms.
We will also look at and contrast different types of evidence and observations to be used in such analyses, as well as the nature and role of context.
Session 2
We cover he basics of set-theoretic methodology. We start by defining what it means to think of social phenomena as sets, look into types of sets (crisp, fuzzy, multi-value), and how we can attribute empirical cases to sets (calibration).
Next, we get familiar with logical operations on sets, and relations between sets. This leads us to discuss the logic of necessary and sufficient conditions and its applicability in the theory and practice of social science research. Based on this, we will contrast different perspectives on causation (probabilistic versus deterministic, symmetric versus asymmetric).
Session 3
We start to think about the notion of causal complexity. What does it mean when we encounter equifinality and conjunctural patterns in the social world?
In particular, this session introduces you to the notion of INUS and SUIN conditions. We will think of complex combinations of sets in Boolean Algebraic terms, and briefly discuss rules for combining logical operators.
Session 4
We apply these notions by looking at different ways of defining, structuring, and operationalising concepts and cases.
We will discuss the multi-level nature of concepts and how many concepts (for example, definitions of policy target groups or of democracy) are set-theoretic in nature. We will briefly discuss the principles of 'casing', ie, the definition of cases.
Session 5
Lab session. For those on the QCA course, this session includes a mandatory introduction to the R software environment. All other participants will work on a problem-based exercise about set-theoretic concept formation in groups, and prepare an informal presentation of around five minutes' duration, in preparation for Session 6.
Session 6
A wrap-up and outlook on areas of application. We begin by discussing possible solutions to the problem-based exercise of Session 5 and offering constructive feedback.
After that, we look at areas of applying case-oriented and set-theoretic methods in empirical social research, such as process tracing, typologies, and configurational comparative methods. We discuss some possible pitfalls and hands-on advice to tackle them.
You should have basic knowledge of empirical social research design. In particular, the course assumes you know the meaning of:
Day | Topic | Details |
---|---|---|
Friday afternoon 13:00–15:00 and 15:30–18:00 = 4.5 hours | Session 1 (lecture room) Case-oriented research Session 2 (lecture room) Set-theoretic methodology |
Session 1
Session 2
|
Saturday morning 9:00–10:30 & 11:00–12:30 = 3 hours | Session 3 (lecture room) Causal complexity Session 4 (lecture room) Concepts and cases |
Session 3
Session 4
|
Saturday afternoon 14:00–15:30 & 16:00–17:30 = 3 hours | Session 5 (lab room) Group 1: Introduction to basics of R (for participants of the main course on QCA / interested in R) Group 2: Problem-based learning (for participants not interested in R) Session 6 (lecture room) Wrap-up and outlook |
The class will be split into two groups Group 1 (guided lab session) Group 2 (independent lab session) Session 6
|
Day | Readings |
---|---|
Friday afternoon |
Compulsory readingsBlatter, J. and T. Blume (2008) Mahoney, J. and R. Sweet Vanderpoel (2015) Falletti, T. and J. Lynch (2009) Ragin, C.C. (2004) Schneider, C. Q., and C. Wagemann (2012) Further optional readingsBeach, D. (2016) Della Porta, D. and M. Keating (2008) Goertz, G. (1994) Goertz, G. (2017) Mackie, J.L. (1965) Mahoney, J., and G. Goertz (2006) Ragin, C.C. (2008) Rohlfing, I. and C.Q. Schneider (2018) Rohlfing, I. and C.I. Zuber (2019) Toshkov, D. (2016) |
Saturday morning |
Compulsory readingsAdcock, R., and D. Collier (2001) Goertz, G. (2006) Mahoney, J. Kimball, E. and K.L. Koivu (2009) Schneider, C. Q., and C. Wagemann (2012) Further optional readingsBarrenechea, R., & I. Castillo. (2019) Baumgartner, M. (2009) Gerring, J. (1999) Goertz, G. (2006) Goertz, G. and J. Mahoney. (2005) Goertz, G. and J. Mahoney. (2009) Lazarsfeld, P.F. and A. Barton. (1965) Mahoney, J. (2008) Ragin, C. C. and H.S. Becker (Eds.) (1992) |
Saturday afternoon |
Compulsory readingsBennett, A. and C. Elman (2006) ► For those taking the main course Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)Thomann, E. Oana, E. and S. Wittwer. 2018. Performing fuzzy- and crisp set QCA with R: A user-oriented beginner’s guide Chapter 1 Further optional readingsCollier, D., LaPorte, J., & Seawright, J. (2012) Duşa, A. (2018) Mahoney, J. (2010) Møller, J. and S.E. Skaaning. (2018) Møller, J. and S.E. Skaaning (2017) |
R and Rstudio (freeware; latest versions)
None
Beach, D. and R.B. Pedersen (2016)
Causal case study methods: Foundations and guidelines for comparing, matching, and tracing
University of Michigan Press
Blatter, J. and M. Haverland (2012)
Designing Case Studies: Explanatory Approaches in Small-N Research
Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan
Byrne, D. and C.C. Ragin (2009)
The Sage handbook of case-based methods
Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Goertz, G. (1994)
Contexts of international politics
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
Goertz, G. (2006)
Social Science Concepts. A User's Guide
Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press
Ragin, C. C., & Becker, H. S. (Eds.). (1992)
What is a case? Exploring the foundations of social inquiry
Cambridge University Press
Ragin, C.C. (1987/2014)
The comparative method: Moving beyond qualitative and quantitative strategies
University of California Press
Ragin, C.C. (2000)
Fuzzy-set social science
University of Chicago Press
Rohlfing, I. (2012)
Case Studies and Causal Inference: an integrative framework
Palgrave Macmillan
Thomamm, E. (2019)
Customized Implementation of European Food Safety Policy: United in Diversity?
Palgrave Macmillan, International Series on Public Policy
Toshkov, D. (2016)
Research design in political science
Palgrave Macmillan
Summer School
R Basics
Summer School
Multi-Method Research: Techniques and Applications
Case Study Research: Method and Practice
Process Tracing Methodology
Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Fuzzy Sets
Qualitative Data Analysis: Concepts and Approaches
Knowing and the Known: The Philosophy and Methodology of the Social Sciences
Winter School
Introduction to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)
Tools for the Analysis of Complex Social Systems: An Introduction
Working with Concepts in the Social Sciences
Comparative Research Designs
Introduction to Process Tracing
Process Tracing Methods