Analyzing multilevel data with QCA: yet another straightforward procedure

Alrik Thiem ()

Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 2016, vol. 50, issue 1, 128 pages

Abstract: A significant body of social-scientific literature has developed contextual theories. In a recent contribution to Quality & Quantity, Denk and Lehtinen (Qual Quant 48(6):3475–3487, 2014 ) present Comparative Multilevel Analysis (CMA) as an innovative method whereby the effects of contexts on outcomes of interest can be studied configurationally if combined with Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). In contradistinction, I argue that CMA is neither innovative in nor necessary for ascertaining the influence of context in a configurational-comparative manner. QCA is appreciably more powerful than the authors acknowledge and provides all required functionality. In repetition of Rohlfing’s (Int J Soc Res Methodol 15(6):497–506, 2012 ) verdict on Denk’s (Int J Soc Res Methodol 13(1):29–39, 2010 ) earlier version of CMA, I conclude that QCA need not be extended in the direction proposed by Denk and Lehtinen. Researchers interested in the contextual analysis of configurational data are well-served by the existing toolbox of QCA. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Keywords: Comparative Multilevel Analysis; Configurational comparative methods; Contextual analysis; csQCA; fsQCA; mvQCA; QCA; Qualitative Comparative Analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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DOI: 10.1007/s11135-014-0140-6

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