PSC 202 1st Edition Lecture 10 Outline of Last Lecture I. The comparative methodII. Method of differenceIII. Qualitative comparative analysisOutline of Current Lecture I. Case StudiesII. Structured, focused comparisonIII. Process tracing Current LectureI. Case Studies- detailed examinations of a particular phenomena of scientific interest- easier to figure out how a causation happens; makes it easier to derive new hypotheses- limited ability to generalize- within-case studies: multiple observations over time of one caseII. Structured, Focused Comparison - methods for designing a comparative case study- structured: the researcher writes a set of questions that are asked for each case- focused: the researcher focuses on aspects of each case that are relevant to each caseIII. Process Tracing- method to identify the causal relationship in a particular case through detailed examination of each step in the causal chain- uses empirical evidence and deductive reasoning to rule out rival explanations- the causal chain: XabcdY; could get much more complicated- can handle presence of multiple causal paths- can handle cases for which compared comparison is not possible- Can make causal inference only if there is an uninterrupted causal path from independent to dependent variableThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- There can be more than one causal mechanism consistent with same set of evidence- steps in qualitative comparative analysis:1. Measure variables dichotomously2. Create table with all possible combinations of independent variables3. For each combination, count number of total cases and number of times outcome is observed4. Identify necessary and sufficient conditions for the outcome of
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