Cases, case populations and generalization

.

Chapter 4 in Qualitative Comparative Analysis, 2024, pp 46-54 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: In a comparative case study method like QCA, cases must be comparable. One cannot learn from comparing apples and oranges. Consequently, researchers must homogenize their case population on key scope conditions. Given populations are too heterogeneous, and samples reproduce this heterogeneity. Therefore, QCA researchers must select a homogeneous case population on the basis of a careful definition of what is a case (i.e., the process of casing). This makes generalization analytical rather than empirical. QCA generalizes the substantive explanation (to similar cases), rather than the empirical pattern from which it is interpreted. If one has carefully defined one’s cases and selected them accordingly, the solution one finds is always the correct solution for that case population. Changing the case population, one expects to find a different solution, which makes QCA’s case sensitivity a strength rather than a weakness.

Keywords: Economics and Finance; Geography; Research Methods; Urban and Regional Studies (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.elgaronline.com/doi/10.4337/9781839104527.00009 (application/pdf)
Our link check indicates that this URL is bad, the error code is: 503 Service Temporarily Unavailable

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:elg:eechap:19631_4

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.e-elgar.com

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Chapters from Edward Elgar Publishing
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Darrel McCalla ().