Comparer des méthodes

	Congruence Analysis	Qualitative Comparative Analysis
Domaine	Political Science	Political Science
Famille	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Année d'origine	2012	1987
Auteur d'origine	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
Source fondatrice	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
Alias	Congruence method, Congruence procedure, Theory-centered case study, Predicted-observed congruence testing	QCA, csQCA, fsQCA, Configurational comparative method
Apparentées	3	3
Résumé	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.