เปรียบเทียบวิธี

	Process Tracing	Qualitative Comparative Analysis
สาขาวิชา	การวัดทางจิตวิทยา	Political Science
ตระกูล	Latent structure	Process / pipeline
ปีกำเนิด	2005	1987
ผู้ริเริ่ม	Alexander George, Andrew Bennett	Charles C. Ragin
ประเภท	Qualitative causal inference	Set-theoretic, configurational comparative method
แหล่งต้นตำรับ	Bennett, A., & Checkel, J. T. (Eds.). (2015). Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool. Cambridge University Press.	Ragin, C. C. (1987). The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN: 9780520058347
ชื่อเรียกอื่น	—	QCA, csQCA, fsQCA, Configurational comparative method
ที่เกี่ยวข้อง	5	3
สรุป	Process Tracing is a qualitative research method developed by George and Bennett (2005) for studying causal mechanisms and causal chains within individual cases. It involves examining the sequence of events and decision-making processes within a case to infer whether a hypothesized causal mechanism actually operated. Process tracing aims to strengthen causal inference in case studies by looking beyond correlation to understand how causes produce effects.	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.