方法对比

	Congruence Analysis	过程追踪	Qualitative Comparative Analysis
领域	Political Science	心理测量学	Political Science
方法族	Process / pipeline	Latent structure	Process / pipeline
起源年份	2012	2005	1987
提出者	Alexander L. George & Andrew Bennett; Joachim Blatter & Markus Haverland	Alexander George, Andrew Bennett	Charles C. Ragin
类型	Small-N, theory-centered case-study method	Qualitative causal inference	Set-theoretic, configurational comparative method
开创性文献	Blatter, J., & Haverland, M. (2012). Designing Case Studies: Explanatory Approaches in Small-N Research. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 9780230249707	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
别名	Congruence method, Congruence procedure, Theory-centered case study, Predicted-observed congruence testing	—	QCA, csQCA, fsQCA, Configurational comparative method
相关	3	5	3
摘要	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.	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.