Qualitative Comparative Analysis(QCA) as an Approach
Dirk Berg-Schlosser
Gisele De Meut
Benoit Rihoux
Charles C. Ragin
Goals of This Chapter
After reading this chapter, you should be able to :
-Locate QCA as an approach and grasp its key epistemological foundations
-Understand how and why OCA is"case oricnted" and how one should use QCA to engage in a dialogue between cases and thenries
-Understand the specific conception of causality conveyed in QCA- mulople conjunctural cauration-and its practical consequences
-Reflect on the usefulness of QCA to reach a certain level of generalization beyond the observed cases
-Grasp key common features of QCA techniques in terms of formalization, replication transparency, and different types of uses
-Become accustomed to some key technical terms and use the appropriate, QCA-specific terminology