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Introduction to Case-Based Research and Set-Theoretic Thinking

Course Dates and Times

Friday 26 July 13:00–15:00 and 15:30–18:00

Saturday 27 July 09:00–12:30 and 14:00–17:30

Ioana-Elena Oana

nena.oana@yahoo.com

Institution: European University Institute

This course introduces you to basic notions of case-based research and set-theoretic thinking.

It complements other Methods School courses on QCA, as well as those on case-study research and process tracing.

We start by introducing different ontological and epistemological perspectives in the social sciences and situating case-based research and set-theoretic methods within those. This includes discussions related to different types of causal claims, causal effects and mechanisms, concept formation, cases, and case selection.

The course then lays out the fundamentals of set-theoretic methods. In doing so, it provides an introduction to sets and calibration, set operations, causal complexity, and relationships of necessity and sufficiency. The course also offers a brief introduction to the R software environment and to its applications to set-theoretic analyses and QCA.

ECTS Credits for this course

Instructor Bio

Nena (Ioana-Elena) Oana is a Research Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence, where she is currently working on developing semi-automated solutions for protest event analysis in the framework of the SOLID project.

Nena is the main developer of the R package SetMethods and has extensive experience in teaching QCA using R at various international methods schools and universities (ECPR Methods Schools, Lund University, University of Helsinki, EUI, etc).

She has also co-authored, with Carsten Q. Schneider and Eva Thomann, the book Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) using R: A Beginner's Guide, forthcoming with Cambridge University Press.

Besides research methodology, Nena's main research interests include political participation and representation, political behaviour, and political psychology.

@NenaOana

The central aim of this course is to familiarise you with basic notions in case-based research and set-theoretic methods. We will talk about concepts and concept formation, causal effects and causal mechanisms, and introduce set-theoretic approaches and QCA.

Goals

Address fundamental issues in case-based research;
Introduce concept formation in case-based research;
Discuss about different types of causal claims;
Introduce set-theoretic thinking and principles;
Become familiar with notions of causal complexity, sufficiency, and necessity.

Friday 26 July

Session 1, 13:00 – 15:00
I introduce the course topic, the content and sequence of the course sessions, and the course resources. We start with an introduction to case-based methods and set-theoretic thinking and try to place this in the larger methodological space. I also introduce topics that will be addressed in greater depth during subsequent sessions. We therefore start discussions about what concepts are, what cases are, and different ways of making causal claims.

Session 2, 15:30 – 18:00
We look at concept formation and measurement. We discuss basic choices and pitfalls when defining and measuring concepts. We talk about multi-level concepts, concept intension and extension, and introduce different measurement theories. The session ends with a group exercise on concept formation in which we apply the theoretical notions discussed.

Saturday 27 July

Session 3, 09:00 – 10:30
We discuss different types of causal claim and how such claims differ in case-oriented and population-oriented research. We introduce different assumptions about causality and how these vary across methods. In doing so, we approach notions of causal asymmetry, counterfactuals, and causal mechanisms.

Session 4, 11:30 – 12:30 & 14:00 – 15:30
We approach set-theoretic methods hands-on. We start by defining sets, introducing different types of sets, and introduce calibration. We also cover some very basic elements of set-theory and set operations. We then define causal complexity and look at necessity and sufficiency.

Session 5, 15:30 – 17:30
We wrap up with a lab session of exercises on set-theory and QCA. The session offers an introduction to R for set-theoretic methods and QCA, which also serves as an introduction for the follow-up QCA course. We apply notions learnt on the previous day (calibrating sets and visualising set relations) on real data, and learn how to work with such data in R.

Basic knowledge about empirical research design would be useful, but is not essential.

No previous knowledge of set-theoretic methods is required, nor is prior knowledge of the software, because the course comes with its own software introduction.

Day	Topic	Details
2	Saturday, 09:00 – 10:30	Types of Causal Claims (1.5 hours) Types of causal claims in case-oriented and population-oriented research Causes of effects and effects of causes Counterfactuals and causal mechanisms
1	Friday, 15:30 – 18:00	Concept Formation and Measurement (1.5 hours) Concept intension and extension Measurement theories Differences-in-kind vs. differences-in-degree Aggregation Exercises (1 hour) Group exercise on concept formation
1	Friday, 13:00 – 15:00	Course Introduction (2 hours) Detailed course overview What is case-based research and set-theoretic methods and how do they situate in the larger methods field? Introduction to concept formation What is a case?
2	Saturday, 11:30 – 12:30 & 14:00 – 15:30	Foundations of Set-theoretic Research (2.5 hours) What is a set? Introduction to Calibration Set Operations Causal complexity Necessity and Sufficiency
2	Saturday, 15:30 – 17:30	Lab Session (2 hours) Introduction to R for QCA Calibration exercises with published data Visualising set-relations

Day	Readings
	Compulsory texts highlighted in bold type
Friday, 15:30 – 18:00	Adcock, R., and D. Collier. 2001 'Measurement Validity: A Shared Standard for Qualitative and Quantitative Research' The American Political Science Review 95(3): 529–546 Goertz, G. 2006 Social Science Concepts: A User’s Guide Princeton: Princeton University Press, Chapter 2 Goertz, G. 2006 Social Science Concepts. A User’s Guide Princeton: Princeton University Press, Chapter 3 Gerring, J. 1999 'What Makes a Concept Good?' Polity 31(3): 357-393
Friday, 13:00 – 15:00	Mahoney, J., and G. Goertz (2006) 'A Tale of Two Cultures: Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Research' Political Analysis 14(3): 227–249 Ragin, C.C. 1992 'Introduction: Cases of "What is a Case?"' In C. Ragin, Charles & Saul Becker, Howard. (1992) What Is a Case? Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry Cambridge University Press Rohlfing, I. 2012 Case Studies and Causal Inference: an Integrative Framework Palgrave McMillan, Chapter 1
Saturday, 09:00 – 10:30	Mahoney, J. 2008 'Toward a unified theory of causality' Comparative Political Studies 41(4–5): 412–436 Beach, D. and Pedersen R. B. 2016 Causal Case Study Methods: Foundations and Guidelines for Comparing, Matching, and Tracing University of Michigan Press, Chapter 2
Saturday, 10:30 – 17:30	Berg-Schlosser, D., De Meur, G., Rihoux, B. and C. C. Ragin. 2009 'Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) as an Approach' In Rihoux, B. and C.C. Ragin Configurational Comparative Methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage Publications, pp. 1–18 Ragin, C.C. 2008 'Measurement versus calibration: a set-theoretic approach' In Box-Steffensmeier, J. M., Brady, H.E. and D. Collier The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology Oxford Handbooks Online: 174–198 Oana, I.E., Schneider, C., Thomann E An Introduction to Applied QCA through R Chapter 2. Unpublished Manuscript

Software Requirements

R and RStudio

Hardware Requirements

Please bring your own laptop

Literature

Mandatory readings

Mahoney, J., and G. Goertz (2006). A Tale of Two Cultures: Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Political Analysis 14(3): 227-249.

Adcock, R., and D. Collier. 2001. Measurement Validity: A Shared Standard for Qualitative and Quantitative Research. The American Political Science Review 95(3): 529-546.

Goertz, G. 2006. Social Science Concepts. A User’s Guide. Princeton: Princeton University Press, Chapter 2.

Mahoney, J. 2008. Toward a unified theory of causality. Comparative Political Studies 41(4-5): 412-436.

Beach, D. and Pedersen R. B. 2016. Causal Case Study Methods: Foundations and Guidelines for Comparing, Matching, and Tracing. University of Michigan Press, Chapter 2.

Berg-Schlosser, D., De Meur, G., Rihoux, B. and C. C. Ragin (2009). “Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) as an Approach”. In Rihoux, B. and C.C. Ragin. Configurational Comparative Methods. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques. Los Angeles, London, New Delhi and Singapore: Sage Publications, pp. 1-18.

Ragin, C.C. (2008). „Measurement versus calibration: a set-theoretic approach“. In Box-Steffensmeier, J. M., Brady, H.E. and D. Collier. The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology. Oxford Handbooks Online: 174-198.

Further literature

Bennett, A. & Elman, C. 2006. Qualitative research: Recent developments in case study methods. Annual Review of Political Science 9: 455-476.

Blatter, J. and M. Haverland. 2012. Designing Case Studies: Explanatory Approaches in Small-N Research. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Beach, D. and R. B. Pedersen. 2019. Process-Tracing Methods: Foundations and Guidelines. 2^nd Edition. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Collier, D., J. Laporte, and J. Seawright. 2008. “Typologies: Forming Concepts and Creating Categorical Variables.” In The Oxford Handbook of Political Methodology, Steffensmeier, Brady, and Collier (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gerring, J. 2012. Social Science Methodology: A Unified Framework. Cambridge University Press.

Gerring, J. 2012. Mere Description. British Journal of Political Science, 42(04): 721–746.

Gerring, J. 1999. What Makes a Concept Good?. Polity 31(3): 357-393.

Goertz, G. 2017. Multimethod research, causal mechanisms, and case studies: An integrated approach. Princeton University Press, pp. 29-57.

Goertz, G. and H. Starr. 2003. Necessary Conditions: Theory, Methodology, and Applications. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield.

Mahoney, J., and G. Goertz. 2006. A Tale of Two Cultures: Contrasting Quantitative and Qualitative Research. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

Oana, I.E., Schneider, C., Thomann E. An Introduction to Applied QCA through R. Unpublished Manuscript.

Ragin, C. C. 2008. Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Ragin, C. C. 2000. Fuzzy-Set Social Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Ragin, C.C. 1992. “Introduction: Cases of “What is a Case?”.” In C. Ragin, Charles & Saul Becker, Howard. (1992). What Is a Case?: Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry. Cambridge University

Ragin, C. C. 1987. The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Quantitative and Qualitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of Berkeley Press.

Rihoux, B. and C.C. Ragin, eds. .2009. Configurational Comparative Methods. Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Related Techniques. Thousand Oaks and London: Sage.

Rohlfing, I. 2012. Case Studies and Causal Inference: An Integrative Framework. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Sartori, G. 1984. Social Science Concepts. Beverly Hills: Sage.

Sartori, G. 1970. Concept misformation in comparative politics. American Political Science Review, 64(4): 1033-1046

Schneider, C. Q. and C. Wagemann. 2012. Set-Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences: A Guide to Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

This list is necessarily selective. Further references are provided during the sessions.

Recommended Courses to Cover Before this One

Winter School

Comparative Research Designs

Recommended Courses to Cover After this One

Summer School

Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Fuzzy Sets

Case Study Research – Method and Practice

Introduction to Process Tracing Methodology

Process Tracing Methodology in Practice