Qualitative Comparative Analysis and the Case-Study Method

Dates: 08/06/2009
Duration: 1 day (10am — 4:30pm)
Level: Introductory
Course Fee:£175 (£125 for those from educational institutions)
Course Leader: Wendy Olsen
Course Requirements: Participants should have a very basic familiarity with  NVIVO or any other qualitative software package such as MaxQDA or Atlas TI.

Course Summary

This course provides an introduction to the comparative case-study method.  Two variants are covered – firstly, a qualitative  method that uses NVIVO software to record the attributes of cases; and secondly, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA).  QCA in turn has two variants, crisp-set and fuzzy-set QCA.  This course explains what crisp set QCA is.  In the process of learning about these methods, we show how to linking NVIVO’s casebook with SPSS.  We also define Necessary and Sufficient Causality.

Course Objectives

The course will:

• Introduce the comparative method
• Define configurations as conjunctures of events and characteristics
• Introduce qualitative computer software with which you code ‘case-study’ data
• (In 2008/9 this will be NVIVO Version 7 software.)
• Explain the crisp-set QCA analyses patterns in terms of subsets and causality.

Target Audience

The course is designed for users of NVIVO who may have little or medium experience; it does not presume any previous knowledge or experience working with quantitative methods. It would be particularly appropriate for those who may anticipate working with mixed methods data (quant + qual ).  The course stands alone but is a nice complement to the more basic Computerised Qualitative Analysis (CQA).  Together the courses provide an excellent basis for moving on to training in systematic mixed-methods such as fuzzy set analysis.   

Preliminary Reading

• Bazeley, P. and L. Richards (2000). The NVivo qualitative project book. Thousand Oaks, Calif.; London, SAGE Publications.
• Ishida, A., Yonetani, M., & Kosaka, K. (2006). Determinants of linguistic human rights movements: an analysis of multiple causation of LHRs movements using a Boolean approach. Social Forces, 84(4), 1937-1955.
• Ragin, C. C. (1987). The comparative method: moving beyond qualitative and quantitative strategies. Berkeley; Los Angeles; London, University of California Press.
• Berg-Schlosser, D. (1998). "Conditions of Authoritarianism, Fascism and Democracy in Inter-War Europe - A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis." International Journal of Comparative Sociology 39(4): 335-377.
• Ragin, C.C. (2008). Redesigning social inquiry: Set relations in social research. Chicago: Chicago University Press.
• Rantala, K., and E. Hellstrom (2001). "Qualitative Comparative Analysis - a Hermeneutic Approach to Interview Data." International Journal of Social Research Methodology 4(2): 87-100.
• Snow, D. and D. Cress (2000). "The Outcome of Homeless Mobilization: the Influence of Organization, Disruption, Political Mediation, and Framing." American Journal of Sociology 105(4): 1063-1104.
• For information about the NVIVO software as used in the case-study method, see  www.durham.ac.uk/case.2004
• And for details of small-N and medium-N research methods, see www.compasss.org      (sic).