Compare methods
Review your selected methods side by side; rows that differ are highlighted.
| Congruence Analysis× | Qualitative Comparative Analysis× | |
|---|---|---|
| Field | Political Science | Political Science |
| Family | Process / pipeline | Process / pipeline |
| Year of origin≠ | 2012 | 1987 |
| Originator≠ | Alexander L. George & Andrew Bennett; Joachim Blatter & Markus Haverland | Charles C. Ragin |
| Type≠ | Small-N, theory-centered case-study method | Set-theoretic, configurational comparative method |
| Seminal source≠ | Blatter, J., & Haverland, M. (2012). Designing Case Studies: Explanatory Approaches in Small-N Research. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 9780230249707 | Ragin, C. C. (1987). The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN: 9780520058347 |
| Aliases | Congruence method, Congruence procedure, Theory-centered case study, Predicted-observed congruence testing | QCA, csQCA, fsQCA, Configurational comparative method |
| Related | 3 | 3 |
| Summary≠ | Congruence analysis is a small-N, theory-centered case-study method that adjudicates between competing theories by comparing each theory's concrete predictions with the empirical observations in one or a few cases. The researcher derives specific, observable expectations from each rival theory and then assesses which theory's predictions are most congruent with what is actually observed. Described as the congruence method by George and Bennett and developed into a full explanatory approach by Blatter and Haverland, it makes theories — rather than cases or variables — the central objects of inference. | Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a set-theoretic, configurational method that identifies which combinations of conditions are necessary or sufficient for an outcome across a set of cases. Developed by Charles Ragin, it treats each case as a configuration of set memberships, builds a truth table of all logically possible combinations, and uses Boolean algebra to minimize them into the simplest expressions that account for the outcome. It bridges qualitative case knowledge and cross-case generalization, embracing causal complexity through conjunctural causation, equifinality, and asymmetry. |
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