A purposeful approach to the constant comparative method. Qualitative comparative analysis qca as an approach. Methodological approaches that systematize findings from these types of studies are needed to improve rigor and advance the field. Qualitative data analysis is an iterative and reflexive process that begins as data are being collected rather than after data collection has ceased stake 1995. We then set out the questions motivating the symposium and briefly introduce the con. Quantitative comparative analysis, in edward elgar encyclopedia of global environmental politics and governance, edited by philipp pattberg and fariborz zelli. Introduction to qualitative comparative analysis by wendy olsenpreliminary notes for beginners wendy. A worked example to explore why some weight management interventions worked better than others.
Qca is used in comparative research and when using casestudy research methods. Qualitative comparative analysis qca offers a new, systematic way of studying configurations of cases. Applying constant comparative method with multiple investigators and intercoder reliability abstract building on practice, action research, and theory, the purpose of this paper is to present a 10step method for applying the constant comparative method ccm of grounded theory when multiple researchers perform data analysis and meaning making. Introduction to qualitative comparative analysis qca. Miech, edd, prism queri indianapolis laura damschroder, mph, prove queri ann arbor. Using qualitative comparative analysis qca to study. Tosmana is a tool for qualitative comparative analysis qca. As ragin 2000 demonstrates, the subset relation is central to the analysis of causal complexity.
Locate qca as an approach and grasp its key epistemological foundations. Qualitative comparative analysis a rigorous qualitative. Please read the points below before you start the course. American journal of evaluation qualitative comparative the. Qualitative comparative analysis qca is both a research approach and a data analysis technique.
It can help explain why change happens in some cases but not others. We discuss this tools main tenets, advantages, and disadvantages. Majersik, md, lingling zhang, ma, annette sandretto, msn, phillip a. Abstract we present qca, a package for performing qualitative comparative analysis qca. We briefly summarize mixed methods design and factors to consider when designing a mixed methods study that uses qca. Pdf qualitative comparative analysis qca as an approach to. Structuring the calibration of qualitative data as sets for qualitative. Qualitative data analysis is an iterative and reflexive process that begins as data are being collected rather. Qca is becoming increasingly popular with social scientists, but none of the existing software alternatives. Introduction to qca qualitative comparative analysis some special features of qca ragin 2011. An introduction to applied data analysis with qualitative. The constant comparative analysis method outside of grounded theory abstract this commentary addresses the gap in the literature regarding discussion of the legitimate use of constant comparative analysis method cca outside of grounded theory. May 04, 2016 qualitative comparative analysis qca is a nonprobabilistic method that uses mathematical set theory to study complex phenomena.
The purpose is to show the strength of using cca to maintain the emic perspective and how theoretical frameworks can maintain the etic perspective throughout the analysis. Pdf qualitative comparative analysis as an evaluation tool. Qualitative comparative analysis qca is a methodology that enables the analysis of multiple cases in complex situations. Qualitative comparative analysis qca is a means of analysing the causal contribution of different conditions e. The software can be used for csqca crispset qualitative comparative analysis and mvqca multivalue qca calculations. A short introduction to qualitative comparative analysis stefan verweij department of public administration erasmus university rotterdam. Applying constant comparative method with multiple. In statistics, qualitative comparative analysis qca is a data analysis technique for determining which logical conclusions a data set supports. Qualitative comparative analysis qca and related techniques. Qualitative comparative analysis a rigorous qualitative method. Virtually it is impossible for comparison not to exist, since it is a major part of human nature. A package for qualitative comparative analysis by alrik thiem and adrian dusa. Recent years have witnessed a host of innovations for conducting research with qualitative comparative analysis qca. After this, we will propose a list of criteria for a good qca analysis.
Qualitative comparative analysis qca is a method and analytical approach that can advance implementation science. If youre looking for a free download links of qualitative data analysis. Scott, md abstract patientcare practices often lag behind currentscienti. By contrast, a study based upon a qualitative process of inquiry has the goal of understanding a social or human problem from multiple perspectives. Its interest does not lie in the disaggregation of cases into analytically separate variables and the identification of a single cause, but. Pdf a comparative analysis of qualitative and quantitative. In grounded theory, the researcher uses multiple stages of collecting, refining, and categorizing the data. Katy sutcliffe, eppicentre, ucl gj melendez university of warwick helen burchett, lshtm. While general introductions and users guides for qca software packages are available, prospective users find little guidance as to how the method works in applied data analysis.
Attendance at least at the 90% of the course hours, participation inclass activities, doing necessary reading andor other work prior to, and after, class. The contributions of qualitative comparative analysis qca. International journal of social research methodology, 162, 165166. Qualitative researchers utilize comparative and casebased methods to develop theory through elaboration or abduction. A qualitative comparative analysis on factors affecting.
Pdf qualitative comparative analysis qca and related. Next to her field notes or interview transcripts, the qualita. You are probably familiar with the basic differences between qualitative and quantitative research methods, and their different applications in dealing with research questions posed in health care research. Qualitative comparative analysis qca is a social science research method that applies a systematic comparison to case study research. Qualitative data analysis national institute for health. Using qualitative comparative analysis qca to study patient. Learning objectives to discuss some of the theoretical models within which qualitative data can be analysed, and select the most appropriate one for a particular piece of research. The realm of qca techniquesthat is, the comparative method in the more narrow sense of the termthus has to be distinguished, in particular, from the statistical method, which proceeds on the basis of a large number. Qualitative comparative analysis and implementation research.
Qualitative comparative analysis using fuzzy sets fsqca forthcoming in benoit rihoux and charles ragin editors, configurational comparative analysis, sage publications, 2007 charles c. The motivation of this paper is to introduce is researchers to qualitative comparative analysis qca as a useful data analysis method that has the potential to explain diverse interactions of factors associated similar outcomes in. Qualitative comparative analysis a rigorous qualitative method for assessing impact qca is a case based method which allows evaluators to identify different combinations of factors that are critical to a given outcome, in a given context. Causes act in combinations several combinations of causal conditions are realted to the same outcome a single causal condition depending on combinations with. Trainingcurriculum2 examplesofqualitativeandquantitativedata. The development of qualitative comparative analysis qca by charles ragin has given social scientists a formal tool for identifying settheoretic connections based on boolean algebra. The success case method scm involves identifying the most and least successful cases in a program and examining them in detail. Qualitative research is conducted in a natural setting and involves a process of building a complex and holistic picture of the phenomenon of interest. Pdf qualitative comparative analysis qca is gaining ground in evaluation circles, but the number of applications is still limited. Compasss comparative methods for systematic crosscase analysis is a global network which brings together researchers and professionals who share the same interest in theoretic, methodological, and practical advances related to a systematic comparative research approach to the use of configurational logic, the existence of multiple causality. In the case of qualitative comparative analysis qca, so far these issues have been addressed only partly.
The analysis begins with listing and counting all the combinations of variables observed in the data set, followed by applying the rules of logical inference to determine which descriptive inferences or implications the data supports. At the same time, qca is capable of pinpointing decisive crosscase patterns, the usual domain of quantitative analysis. Qualitative comparative analysis qca is a powerful approach for studying pcmhs and other health services interventions thygeson, solberg, asche, et al. Article qualitative comparative analysis as an evaluation tool. Qualitative comparative analysis with r springerlink. Quantitative comparative analysis department of political. Jan 22, 2014 often, translation or implementation studies use case study methods with small sample sizes. In line with ragins own background, qca has been initially employed only by a.
Some of the steps overlap with the traditional quantitative content analysis procedures tesch, 1990, while others are unique to this method. The constant comparative analysis method outside of grounded. The fsqca is a form of succession of qualitative comparative analysis qca that was used in social science based on the boolean method that used classical set theory 27. Qualitative comparative analysis qca is a casebased method that. Comparative analysis in education dr ellen boeren course organiser credit rating 20 credits, scqf 11 course description the course aims to provide student with a comprehensive overview of the theories and methodologies used in comparative education research. A fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis of 14. Qualitative comparative analysis qca a research method popularized largely through the work of charles ragin ragin,1987,2000,2008 counts among the most in. The best way to address the limitations of crosscase analysis is by complementing it with withincase analysis. A methods sourcebook pdf, epub, docx and torrent then this site is not for you. Qualitative analysis of content university of texas at. Qualitative comparative analysis qca as an approach dirkbergschlosser giseledemeur benoitrihoux charlesc.
Method the method of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis fsqca is employed to investigate factors affecting the deployment of electric vehicles across the countries. We conduct a general analysis of the use of qualitative comparative analysis qca, and a bibliometric study of the use of qca to analyze the specificities of the research publications that apply this methodology. Stefan verweij department of spatial planning and environment faculty of spatial sciences university of groningen s. Qca was developed in political science to evaluate case studies with too few cases for standard statistical analysis and where the available data. While fuzzy sets solve the problem of trying to forcefit cases into one of two categories membership versus nonmembership in a set or into one of three or four categories 1 mvqca, they are not well suited for conventional truth table analysis. Qualitative comparative analysis caseoriented understanding. To understand the stages involved in qualitative data analysis, and gain some. Learn qualitative comparative analysis qca from erasmus university rotterdam.
Rather, it should be seen as a middle way that combines certain features of the qualitative approach case orientation, interest in complexity with those. A comparative analysis of qualitative and quantitative research methods and a justification for use of mixed methods in social research. Qualitative comparative analysis in political scie. In earnings and capital management in european banks combining multivariate regression and qualitative comparative analysis, pinto and picoto examine the effects of the sovereign debt crisis on the quality of financial reporting in european banks by investigating the existence of earnings and capital management. Qualitative comparative analysis qca is a methodology that enables the analysis of. Shedding light on causal recipes for development research uptake applying qualitative comparative analysis to understand reasons for research uptake vera scholz, amy kirbyshire and nigel simister may 2016. The qualitative comparative analysis focuses on the detailed study of all the topics that are compared with the base one. We conduct a general analysis of the use of qualitative comparative analysis qca, and a bibliometric study of the use of qca to analyze the specificities of the. Correlationbased methods of scientific enquiry, however, use linear algebra and are unsuited to analyzing set relations. Analyzing international entrepreneurial orientatio. Quantitative and qualitative comparative approaches.
A short introduction to qualitative comparative analysis. Grounded theory was developed by glaser and strauss who believed that theory could emerge through qualitative data analysis. It draws on the long tradition of the comparative method in the social sciences but develops this beyond qualitative description. Further, this number of techniques was chosen because they represent all but one of the qualitative analysis techniques. If possible, it is good to balance crosscase and withincase analysis in social research.
Most aspects of qca require familiarity with cases, which in turn demands indepth knowledge. During the last few years especially, the main initial technique, qualitative comparative analysis qca, has been complemented by other related methods and techniques. The constant comparative analysis method outside of. Qualitative comparative analysis using fuzzy sets fsqca. Shedding light on causal recipes for development research uptake applying qualitative comparative analysis to understand reasons for research uptake vera scholz, amy kirbyshire and nigel simister. View qualitative comparative analysis qca research papers on academia. Pdf this chapter discusses different approaches to qualitative comparative analysis qca and their application to comparative public policy. Grounded theory and the constant comparative method. As with other methods, the approach should inform all phases of the research process, including sampling or case selection, data collection, analysis, and the interpretation of results. Quantitative and qualitative comparative analysis in business. What is qualitative comparative analysis qca charles c. Organisational factors for corporate social responsibility implementation in sport federations. Glaser university of california medical center, san francisco research into social problems, problems of deviation, of control and of crisis, and the likethe general subject matter to which social problems is devotedis still mainly feasible through methods which yield.
Qca starts with the documentation of the different configurations of conditions associated with each case of an observed outcome. Qca is designed for use with an intermediate number of cases, typically between 10 and 50. If you are focusing on a comparative analysis for your project you should opt for this template. Qualitative comparative analysis qca research papers. This article discusses the method of qualitative comparative analysis qca as an approach that is particularly apt for producing evidence about how to tackle. For neophyte nurse researchers, many of the data collection. Shedding light on causal recipes for development research. This approach was developed by robert brinkerhoff to assess the impact of organisational interventions, such as training and coaching, though the. Depending on the goals of your study, your content analysis may be more flexible or more. Welcome to this massive open online course mooc about qualitative comparative analysis qca. Comparative education what are the strengths and weaknesses of quantitative and qualitative comparative approaches. Introduction to qualitative comparative analysis qca dr. Qualitative comparative analysis better evaluation.
Handouton qualitative andquantitativemethodsanddatasession4evidenceinformedpolicymaking. Designing research with qualitative comparative analysis. Using qualitative comparative analysis to understand and. Intermediate level qualitative comparative analysis qca intermediate level qualitative comparative analysis qca 3 tasks for ects credits 3 credits passfail grade. Qca is a method that bridges qualitative and quantitative analysis. Thus, although called qualitative comparative analysis, qca is not a qualitative method in the sense of empirical qualitative research. Ebn notebook data analysis in qualitative research unquestionably, data analysis is the most complex and mysteri ous of all of the phases of a qualitative project, and the one that receives the least thoughtful discussion in the literature. Shedding light on causal recipes for development research uptake. Jun 20, 2014 we therefore examine an analytical technique, qualitative comparative analysis qca, which has been designed to overcome some of the limitations outlined above. More informations about qca can be found on the website of charles. The qca analysts interprets the data qualitatively whilst also looking at causality between the variables.