In recent years, comparative researchers have increasingly turned to Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and fuzzy sets as analytic tools for social scientific inquiry. In this context, several publications have begun to address potential pitfalls in applying QCA when researchers are not paying attention to the underlying principles of the approach. This paper seeks to contribute to this literature in two ways. First, rather than outline guidelines of best practice, I will provide a systematic review of recent applications of QCA, with an emphasis on studies that apply fuzzy-set analysis. This focus seems justified, as current publications indicate that fsQCA holds great potential for methodological innovation. This review seeks to shed light on the variety of different ways of using the method in order to reach specific goals of inquiry, whether it be testing competing theoretical arguments, demonstrating the interaction of causal conditions, or providing the outline for new theoretical propositions. Second, based on my review of recent applications, I will derive a ‘toolbox’ of alternative ways to use QCA and proven solutions to frequently encountered challenges, such as selecting conditions that correspond to the theoretical literature that one seeks to address, specifying and calibrating fuzzy sets, and, finally, interpreting the analytical results that QCA yields.
