Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and fuzzy-sets: Agenda for a research approach and a data analysis technique

Claudius Wagemann, Carsten Q. Schneider

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract (may include machine translation)

"Qualitative Comparative Analysis" (QCA) is an increasingly applied methodological tool in comparative social sciences. It is well suited for the analysis of causally complex claims framed in terms of necessity and sufficiency. This article presents the epistemology of QCA and discusses its applicability to social science research questions. It also illustrates some of the features that have recently been added to this set of methodological tools. This article is best read in close conjunction with Schneider and Wagemann's "Standards of Good QCA Practice," the next paper in this journal issue.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)376-396
Number of pages21
JournalComparative Sociology
Volume9
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Mar 2010

Keywords

  • Causal complexity
  • Comparative methods
  • Fuzzy sets
  • QCA
  • Set-theoretic relations
  • Suffi ciency and necessity

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