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2001 ??), Children's Agency and Identity (unpublished manuscript).
Abstract: Ethnic minority and low income youth are underrepresented in the academic pipeline to college, although these youth and their families value and actively pursue opportunities for higher education. One paper examines students' strategies for attaining their educational and career goals, including accessing personal, relational, and institutional resources. Outreach programs in and outside schools build on strengths of students who show initiative. In this study, application essays of 200 Mexican descent students (average age, 12 years), all chosen for a community college outreach program, were coded for their individual, relational, and institutional strategies and career identities. Qualitative Comparative Analysis was used to link individual cases with variable-based analyses. In their essays, most students expressed college-based career goals and identities. Girls and recent immigrants named fewer resources for obtaining their goals and relied more on individual and relational thank institutional resources than did boys and second generation youth. This work addresses how research, policy, and program practices fostering diversity in higher education can build on the strategies and strengths of immigrant youth.

ANONYMOUS (2009), Modélisation du dopage en logique floue et application a l'évaluation des risques par 100 éducateurs sportifs (unpublished manuscript).

BENNETT, Marguerite M. (5.21.2000/5.24.2000), "Will They Stay or Will They Go? Exploring Student Retention: Demonstrating Logistic Regression and Qualitative Comparative Analysis", paper presented at : 40th Annual Association for Institutional Research (AIR) Forum, Cincinnati,

BERG-SCHLOSSER, Dirk (1998), "Conditions of Authoritarianism, Fascism and Democracy in Inter-War Europe. a Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis", International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 39, 4, 335-377.

BERG-SCHLOSSER, Dirk and CRONQVIST, Lasse (2005), "Macro-Quantitative Vs. Macro-Qualitative Methods in the Social Science. An Example From Empirical Democratic Theory Employing New Software", Historical Social Research, 4, 30, 154-175.

BERG-SCHLOSSER, Dirk and DE MEUR, Gisèle (2000), "Reduction of Complexity", in BERG-SCHLOSSER, Dirk and DE MEUR, Gisèle (eds), Crisis, Compromise, Collapse. Vol. 2 : Authoritarianism and Democracy in Europe, 1919-1939, London, MacMillan,

BERG-SCHLOSSER, Dirk and DE MEUR, Gisèle (1997), "Reduction of Complexity for a Small-n Analysis: a Stepwise Multi-Methodological Approach", Comparative Social Research, 16, 133-162.

BLAKE, Charles H. and ADOLINO, Jessica R. (2001), "The Enactment of National Health Insurance: a Boolean Analysis of Twenty Advanced Industrial Countries", Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 26, 4, 679-708.
Abstract: The scholarly literature on health care politics has generated a series of hypotheses to explain U.S. exceptionalism in health policy and to explain the adoption of national health insurance (NHI) more generally. Various cultural, institutional, and political conditions are held to make the establishment of some form of national health insurance policy more (or less) likely to occur. The literature is dominated by national and comparative case studies that illustrate the theoretical logic of these hypotheses but do not provide a framework for examining the hypotheses cross-nationally. This article is an initial attempt to address that void by using Boolean analysis to examine systematically several of the major propositions that emerge from the case study literature on the larger universe of twenty advanced industrial democracies. This comparative analysis offers considerable support for the veto points hypothesis while still finding each of the factors examined to be relevant in certain scenarios. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of these findings for future research and for advocates of national health insurance in the United States.

BOSWELL, Terry and BROWN, Cliff (1999), "The Scope of General Theory. Methods for Linking Deductive and Inductive Comparative History", Sociological Methods and Research, 28, 2, 154-185.

BRITT, David W. (1998), "Beyond Elaborating the Obvious: Context-Dependent Parent-Involvement Scenarios in a Preschool Program", Applied Behavioral Science Review, 6, 179-197.

---------- (2006), "A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the Conditions Affecting Early Maternal Transfer Patterns", Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 12, 8, 392-395.
Abstract: In Arkansas, almost all of the high-risk-pregnancy resources are concentrated in a single place, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS). During the 6-month period before a telemedicine programme started, there were five operational telemedicine sites in the state, and during the subsequent 12-month period, there were 13 telemedicine sites in operation. Data were gathered on birth-related transfers during the two periods. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was used to assess the effect of different combinations of telemedical and hospital-level resources on the timing of maternal transfers. Early (pre-33-week gestational age) maternal transfers occurred in period 1 (before the telemedicine programme started), only from areas with level-2 hospital resources and no telemedicine access; early transfers also occurred in period 2 from areas with level-2 hospital resources and either telemedicine access or no telemedicine access. We conclude that combinations of resources affect physician decisions regarding transfer and that QCA is a useful tool for examining the growth and development of telemedicine systems.

BRITT, David W., RISINGER, S. T., MANS, M., KRIVCHENIA, E., and EVANS, M. I. (2000), "Determinants of Parental Decisions After the Prenatal Diagnosis of Down Syndrome: Bringing the Context", American Journal of Medical Genetics, 93, 410-416.

BROWN, Cliff and BOSWELL, Terry (1995), "Strikebreaking or Solidarity in the Great Steel Strike of 1919: a Split L abor Market, Game-Theoretic, and QCA Analysis", American Journal of Sociology, 100, 6, 1479-1519.

BRUEGGEMANN, John and BOSWELL, Terry (1998), "Realizing Solidarity: Sources of Interracial Unionism During the Great Depression", Work and Occupations, 25, 4, 436-482.

CHOMPALOV, Ivan Michailov (1998), Multi-Institutional Collaborations in Science: Structure, Types, and Outcomes,Louisiana State University (unpublished). (PhD dissertation (unpublished))
Abstract: The advent of modern 'big science' brings about a new kind of research formation: multi-institutional collaborations involving teams of researchers from several organizations. Despite their recent proliferation and visibility, no general classification of these 'virtual organizations' exists. This study adopts a macrosociological, comparative perspective to develop a variety of classification schemes that capture the systematic variation of interorganizational collaborations in science along basic structural dimensions and to examine the relationships of these classifications with important sociological outcomes. Qualitative, historical analysis of collaborations in high-energy physics, space science, and geophysics showed that, when we set aside field-specific differences, seven general dimensions emerge as fundamental in describing the structural variety of collaborations in science: project formation, magnitude, organization and management, interdependence, participation, communication, and technological practice. Cluster analysis was then employed using interview data from 23 recent collaborations in five new areas of physics and allied sciences to build classification schemes along these structural dimensions. Next, analysis of variance models and qualitative comparative analysis were used to explore how the classifications relate to valued sociological outcomes such as success, trust, conflict, stress, and documentary routines. The empirical results strongly supported the central argument that a typology based on a broad conception of technological practice is superior to others in its ability to predict the patterned consequences of multi-institutional collaborations in science. In fact, it is the only clustering that is capable of explaining perceived success, trust, and stress. The major findings of the dissertation research suggest that it is necessary to move away from the narrow focus on the laboratory and the disciplinary organization of R&D in order to capture the structure.

CLÉMENT, Caty (11.2003), State Collapse: a Common Causal Pattern? A Comparative Analysis of Lebanon, Somalia, and the Former-Yugoslavia, Louvain-la-Neuve, Université catholique de Louvain.

COOPER, Barry (12.2006), "Class, Gender, Measured 'Ability' and Educational Achievement in Two Birth Cohorts: Crisp and Fuzzy Set Analyses", paper presented at : COMPASSS Seminar: Recent Development in QCA and Fuzzy-Set Methods and Applications, Louvain-la-Neuve,

COOPER, Catherine (1999), Continuity and Change in Mexican Immigrant Parents' Beliefs About Educación and the Path of Life (unpublished manuscript). (Research project (ongoing); abstract at : http://lmri.ucsb.edu/RESDISS/Newsletters.restored/pdf_files/Vol8No3.pdf)
Abstract: Strengthening family-school partnerships remains an unmet priority of school-based initiatives and academic outreach programs, which address school retention and college attendance among Mexican descent students. Thus far, these partnerships have been hampered by inaccurate or incomplete information about Mexican immigrant parents. The proposed study addresses three research questions: 1) What are the beliefs, goals, and guidance strategies of Mexican immigrant parents about education as their children move into adolescence? 2) How do parents' beliefs, goals and guidance strategies for their two children differ and change over this transition? 3) How do children's academic performance and experiences in and outside school during this transition play a role in changing parents' beliefs, goals, and guidance? In the proposed 2-year longitudinal study, 30 Mexican immigrant parents with at least two children, one in the last year of elementary school and one in junior or senior high, will be interviewed as their younger child is completing elementary school and again after completing the first year of junior high. This longitudinal design spans the years when many Latino students begin to experience academic difficulties. Data analyses that link quantitative and qualitative approaches will be conducted, including longitudinal case studies, prediction analysis, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Findings will contribute to research, policy, and practice designed to enhance the inclusiveness of family-school partnerships during the challenging years from childhood to adolescence.

DE GRAAF, Theo K. (1998), Trauma and Psychiatry. The Role of Individual and Transgenerational Traumatisation in the Causation of Psychobiological Illness, Tilburg, Universiteit van Tilburg (KUB) (unpublished). (Unpublished PhD Thesis; summary at : http://www.theokdegraaf.nl/)
Abstract: (...) Theo de Graaf tries to formulate a provisional answer to this question by referring to the experience gained by himself and others from the treatment of severely traumatised individuals. These may be people who themselves have endured severe traumatic experiences, such as internment in a concentration camp and/or the loss of close relatives; bombardments, at the front, or as a civilian; the death of friends during combat; incest or severe neglect as a child; &c.. A second group consists of persons who have been secondarily traumatised and psychically damaged, having been born to parents who themselves suffered some of the aforementioned tragedies, and as a consequence were not able to bring up their children in a healthy and loving manner. In this dissertation the family dynamics and projective mechanisms underlying this so-called 'transgenerational' traumatisation are extensively dealt with. With the help of clinical examples and small studies of juvenile delinquents and patients suffering from depressive and psychotic illness, as well as from auto-immune disease (multiple sclerosis), the author presents a psychobiological causality model which could explain the different ways in which psychotraumatic and 'psychotoxic' experiences could eventually lead to a number of forms of psychobiological illness. A separate chapter [Chapter IV] is dedicated to the principles of multicausal and multiconditional causation in individual biological systems, and to the methodological and statistical consequences thereof for clinical research.

______ (2001), From Hermeneutics to Empiricism: Extracting Testable Research Hypotheses From the Study of Individual Cases (unpublished manuscript). (Unpublished paper)
Abstract: There is increasing awareness of the lack of both comprehensiveness and specificity of current psychiatric classification systems. Apparently, the old Kraepelinian ideal of nosological entities characterised by the same cause and the same optimal treatment, does not hold. Co-morbidity constitutes a major obstacle for research as well as for evidence-based treatment programs. The author proposes a “bottom-up” approach with the help of multiple N=1 studies of individual cases sharing the same behavioural, cognitive, and/or affective symptoms, in the vein of Ragin’s method of qualitative comparison. In this way, possible psychodynamic, psychotoxic, and genetic influences leading to psychopathology can be mapped and built into hypotheses for subsequent quantitative research. With the help of in-depth observations on a limited number of juvenile delinquents, it can be shown that such a heuristic procedure may result in the establishment of a causal-developmental profile. In comparison with conventional diagnosis, such a causal-developmental profile matches more closely the life experiences and inner world of the patient and will therefore lead to more adequate treatment strategies.

DE GRAAF, Theo K. (2002), From Hermeneutics to Empiricism: Transformation of Psychodynamic Reasoning and Concepts into Testable Research Hypothesis, Tilburg, Universiteit van Tilburg (KUB) (unpublished). (Chapter IV of unpublished PhD Thesis "Trauma and Psychiatry. The role of individual and transgenerational traumatisation in the causation of psychobiological illness")
Abstract: The starting point for this methodological study is the assumption that one and the same psychiatric or psychosomatic (in brief: 'psychobiological') disease, such as e.g. a depressive illness, may be brought about by more than one 'causal chain' operating as a sufficient condition. In some of these 'causal chains' psychotraumatic experiences - including transgenerationally induced psychotoxic influences in the family of origin - may play the role of a necessary condition, in addition to other necessary conditions such as e.g. hereditary factors or physical birth trauma. Emotions which ultimately give rise to psychobiological disorder may stem from undigested traumatic experiences and conflicts in the individual's past, including early childhood. The latter sensitize the individual to events in adu lt life which in that person's perception exhibit a certain resemblance or congruity with the original traumatic experience. Accordingly, the intrapsychic representation of this early, undigested traumatic experience is called Personal Sensitization Factor (PSF), and the precipitating, or 'trigger', event is called the Congruent Life Event (CLE). After having elaborated on the methodological problems connected with the operationalization of these psychodynamic concepts and constructs, and with qualitative multivariate research on anecdotal material in the form of 'plural N=1 observations' for that matter, the author dwells upon the principles of causality in individual biological systems. This leads to a discussion of the concept of 'causal chain', and of the difference between the principles of 'multiconditionality' and 'multicausality' in pathogenesis. With the help of a clinical example of a multivariate study of ten (hypothetical) tuberculosis patients, the reader is then introduced to Ragin's method of 'qualitative comparison' and to the methodology of 'multiple N=1 studies'. The ensuing 'truth-tables', entirely basd upon binary data, can be analyzed with the help of Boolean logic. This analysis yields clusters of causative factors which, in turn, can be used as starting points for setting up hypotheses and designs for multivariate case-control, or even epidemiological studies. What is proposed here is, in fact, a qualitative paper-and-pencil cluster analysis for small samples and for data which are entirely binary. The foregoing both statistical and psychodynamic principles are applied to an (imaginary) sample of sixteen bus drivers, some of whom had developed an incapacitating depressive illness following an accident in which at least one person had been killed. The PSF, figuring as a so-called 'latent variable', was operationalized - at least partly - with the help of two measurable 'indicator' variables, namely 'early loss of a parent or of a close friend' and 'parent lost a child'. In 13 of the 16 cases (= 81.25%) either presence or absence of depressive illness could be entirely accounted for by respectively presence or absence of the aforementioned two indicator variables.

DHILLION, Shivcharn S. and SVARSTAD Hanne (1996), From Plants in the South to Medicines in the North: A Cross-Disciplinary Project on Bioprospecting [Research Programme] (unpublished manuscript).
Abstract: Increasingly, bioprospecting is being seen as a key tool in the management of biological diversity in conformity with the Convention on Biological Diversity. This cross-disciplinary project will investigate whether bioprospecting in different cases and source countries represents a sustainable use of biodiversity. Further, the study will seek to investigate whether bioprospecting is connected to conservation efforts, whether it has developmental effects, and whether it provides local benefits. Emphasis will be placed on seeking explanations of the findings from the methods used by plant collectors and a combination of the following institutional factors: legal principles for bioprospecting and their implementation in source countries; characteristics of the state segments relevant for bioprospecting; the source country's capacity to negotiate specialised contracts in this area competently and skilfully; the manner and degree to which various factors and interests are represented in the decision-making process; legal factors in recipient countries as it may affect the content and flexibility of bioprospecting agreements; and ethics and policies of the bioprospectors. Qualitative comparative analysis will be applied in order to facilitate comparison of different causal conjunctures in a number of cases.

---------- (eds) (2000), Responding to Bioprospecting: From Biodiversity in the South to Medicines in the North. Oslo, Spartacus Forlag. (some information at : http://www.sum.uio.no/bioprospecting.htm)

DIERKES, Julian B. (2001 (fall)), Teaching Portrayals of the Nation - Postwar History Education in the Germanys and Japan,Princeton University (unpublished). ([Dissertation proposal online at : http://www.princeton.edu/~jdierkes/proposal.html]; abstract of dissertation at : http://www.princeton.edu/~jdierkes/abstracts/diss_summary_0501.pdf)
Abstract: My dissertation will examine the postwar construction of national identity in the educational arena in Japan and the Germanys. Data gathered from secondary school history textbooks and curricula will allow me to classify and compare the portrayal of the nation in the three states over the postwar period. Data on the decision-making processes that lead to particular emphases in textbooks and curricula will help me in developing an organizational model of the content of national identity as it is to be taught in the school. Boolean algebra will aid me in selecting causally important factors for the comparative analysis. The analysis will show that institutionalized conceptions of the nation as well as the institutional configuration of actors involved in educational policy decision-making are associated with a number of alternative substantive outcomes. The dissertation will advance the understanding of the role of actors in institutional political sociology and will advance this approach by applying it to a new subfield and new historical cases. The dissertation will also develop methodological tools for the applicability of Boolean algebra to longitudinal comparisons.

DRASS, Kriss A. and SPENCER, J. William (1987), "Accounting for Pre-Sentencing Recommendations: Typologies and Probation Officers' Theory of Office", Social Problems, 34, 277-293.

DYCHAWY-ROSNER, Irena, EKLUND, M., and ISACSSON, A. (2001), "Caring Dynamics As Perceived by Staff Supporting Daily Occupations for Developmentally Disabled Adults", Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 15, 2, 123-132.
Abstract: This study addresses the issue of what direct care staff experience as a hinder or a help when supporting daily occupations among people with mental retardation. The data was collected by means of a questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions about the staff's perceived work experience. The respondents (n=81), corresponding to 96% of all care staff employed in a geographically defined care area in southern Sweden, worked with various day activity units supporting the daily occupations of their clients. An inductive method using qualitative comparative analysis and coding paradigm described by Strauss have been used as approach for the elaboration and the analysis of the data. The results suggests that clinical actions are rooted in the dynarnic relationship that exist between the respondents' perceived realities of practice and their application. The staff´s experiences were captured as a series of actions and reactions in a variety of ways involving relations, interactions and interventions vis-a-vis their clients (the process of practice). This process is based on two areas: the phases of support actions and the dimensions of this support actions. The process of practice can take the form of increasing or failing to develop of the staff´s competence to create interventions with mentally retarded persons. For example, when difficulties are experienced was a tendency to fix on certain dimensions in the attitude of the staff, e.g. a negative and conflict-laden pattern of communication. It was suggested that to develop the quality of caregivers' interventions when supporting the daily activities of their clients, effort should be put into the identification of the structures embodied in the process of practice which increase the competence of staff.

ECHEVARRIA RAFULS, Silvia C. (5.15.1997/5.18.1997), "Experiences of Family Violence: a Qualitative Comparative Analysis", paper presented at : Florida Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (FAMFT) Annual Conference, Ft. Lauderdale Beach,

EDWARDS, Sean J. A. (2005), Swarming and the Future of Warfare, Santa Monica, CA, Rand Corporation. (http://www.rand.org/pubs/rgs_dissertations/2005/RAND_RGSD189.pdf)
Abstract: Swarming occurs when several units conduct a convergent attack on a target from multiple axes. In this dissertation the author uses case studies, comparative analysis, and common sense to derive a simple theory that explains the phenomenology of swarming. He researches 23 case studies of swarming, ranging from Scythian horse archers in the fourth century BC to Iraqi and Syrian paramilitaries in Baghdad in 2003, to understand swarm tactics and formations, the importance of pulsing, and the general characteristics of past swarms. He considers command and control, communications, home field advantage, surprise, fratricide, and training. The author identifies five primary variables most important to successful swarming: (1) superior situational awareness, (2) elusiveness, (3) standoff capability, (4) encirclement, and (5) simultaneity. Treating the five variables as binary — either absent or present in a case — he derives 32 possible combinations of these variables that together comprise a “model’ that predicts swarming outcomes based on his theory. He predicts that only six combinations lead to swarm success. The model is tested using a qualitative technique called the comparative method to find patterns of multiple and conjunctural causation. Finally, the author addresses the questions of how swarms can be defeated and whether swarming is relevant for future friendly forces.

FISS, Peer C. (2011), "Building Better Causal Theories: A Fuzzy Set Approach to Typologies in Organization Research", Academy of Management Journal, 54, 393-420.

GILLIGAN, D. G. and LENNINGS, C. J. (2010), "Psychopathic and Neuropathic Pathways to Homicide: Examination of Harris and Rice's Two-Path Model of Criminal Violence in Homicide", Psychiatry Psychology and Law, 17, 1, 148-168.
Abstract: The present research examined a two-path model of homicide defined by psychopathic and neuropathic pathways. Twenty-six forensic psychiatric inpatients found not guilty due to reason of insanity of homicide or attempted homicides were assessed. A large number of variables derived from standardized neuropsychological psychometric assessment, actuarial and structured risk assessment tools and structured interviews were analysed. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and the Answer Tree program showed that independence of the two pathways was observed from a nomothetic analysis with individual variations understood by the complex variable relationships at an idiographic level.

GILLIGAN, D. G. and LENNINGS, C. J. (2010), "Psychopathic and Neuropathic Pathways to Homicide: Examination of Harris and Rice's Two-Path Model of Criminal Violence in Homicide", Psychiatry Psychology and Law, 17, 1, 148-168.
Abstract: The present research examined a two-path model of homicide defined by psychopathic and neuropathic pathways. Twenty-six forensic psychiatric inpatients found not guilty due to reason of insanity of homicide or attempted homicides were assessed. A large number of variables derived from standardized neuropsychological psychometric assessment, actuarial and structured risk assessment tools and structured interviews were analysed. Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and the Answer Tree program showed that independence of the two pathways was observed from a nomothetic analysis with individual variations understood by the complex variable relationships at an idiographic level.

GLADSTONE, Jack A (2003), "Comparative Historical Analysis and Knowledge Accumulation in the Study of Evolutions", in MAHONEY, James and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ Press, pp. 41-90.

GLAESSER, Judith (2008), "Just How Flexible Is the German Selective Secondary School System? A Configurational Analysis", International Journal of Research & Method in Education, 31, 2, 193-209.

GLAESSER, Judith, GOTT, R., ROBERTS, R., and COOPER, B. (Aug 2009), "The Roles of Substantive and Procedural Understanding in Open-Ended Science Investigations: Using Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis to Compare Two Different Tasks", Research in Science Education, 39, 4, 595-624.
Abstract: We examine the respective roles of substantive understanding (i.e., understanding of factual knowledge, concepts, laws and theories) and procedural understanding (an understanding of ideas about evidence; concepts such as reliability and validity, measurement and calibration, data collection, measurement error, the ability to interpret evidence and the like) required to carry out an open-ended science investigation. Our chosen method of analysis is Charles Ragin's Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis which we introduce in the paper. Comparing the performance of undergraduate students on two investigation tasks which differ with regard to the amount of substantive content, we demonstrate that both substantive understanding and an understanding of ideas about evidence are jointly involved in carrying out such tasks competently. It might be expected that substantive knowledge is less important when carrying out an investigation with little substantive demand. However, we find that the contribution of substantive understanding and an understanding of ideas about evidence is remarkably similar for both tasks. We discuss possible reasons for our findings.

GOEMAN, Jelle (2001), Grondslagen van de vergelijkende methode: Een statistiche herziening van Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Doctoral dissertation, Leiden, Universiteit Leiden (unpublished).

GOTTCHEINER, Alain (2002), Une utilisation possible de QCA: la recherche de traits phonologiques discriminants,ULB, Cahiers de questions et faits en discussion (unpublished).

GOTTCHEINER, Alain (2003), "Contradictions and Their Use in Falsification: the Case of Comparative Linguistics and QCA's Contribution", COMPASSS Working Paper, 17, 10p.
Abstract: Linguists searching about laws of phonetic changes make use of the entire corpus at their disposal. By so doing, they find laws that correctly describe observed changes, especially " splits ", but can't be checked. Such a law may always be found if using enough parameters, but doesn't guarantee a fair description. In a Popperian perspective, we'd like to suggest working on a partial corpus, trying to establish laws that correctly account for all matching multiplets considered, then applying these assumed laws to the rest of the corpus ; if no counterexample is found, the set of laws gains in credibility. In this approach, QCA may be very useful, because it allows us to : 1) consider all possible influences (position in the word, preceding and following phoneme, umlaut/ablaut, position relative to stress, …) as conditions ; 2) use contradictions as guides to the detection of influences we forgot to use ; 3) modify the corpus and set of conditions at will ; 4) produce several laws, among which we may choose the most plausible ; 5) find implications that aren't seen at first glance.

---------- (9.18.2003/9.21.2003), "Contradictions and Their Use in Falsification: the Case of Comparative Linguistics [Using QCA]", paper presented at : 2nd ECPR General Conference, Section "Methodological Advances in Comparative Research : Concepts, Techniques, Applications", Panel "Assessing the Respective Potential of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), Fuzzy Sets and Other Techniques : Applications", Marburg, Germany,
Abstract: Linguists searching about laws of phonetic changes make use of the entire corpus at their disposal. By so doing, they find laws that correctly describe the changes observed, especially “splits”, but can’t be checked. Such a law may always be found if using enough parameters, but isn’t necessarily a fair description. In a Popperian perspective, I’d like to suggest working on a partial corpus, trying to establish laws that correctly account for all matching multiplets considered, then applying these assumed laws to the rest of the corpus; if no counterexample is found, the set of laws gains in credibility. In this approach, QCA may be very useful, because it allows us to: 1) consider all possible influences (position in the word, preceeding and following phonem, umlaut/ablaut, position relative to stress, …) as conditions; 2) use contradictions as guides to the detection of influences we forgot to use; 3) modify the corpus at will; 4) produce several laws, among which we may choose the most plausible.

GOULD, Roger V (2003), "Uses of Network Tools in Comparative Historical Research", in MAHONEY, James and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ Press, pp. 241-269.

GRAN, Brian (2003), "Charitable Choice Policy and Abused Children: the Benefits and Harms of Going Beyond the Public-Private Dichotomy", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 23, 11, 80-125.
Abstract:Charitable Choice Poilicy, the heart of President Bush's Faith-Based Initiative, is the direct government funding of religious organizations for the purpose of carrying out government programs. The Bush presidential administration has called for the application of Charitable Choice Policy to all kinds of social services. Advocates for child-abuse victims contend that the Bush Charitable Choice Policy would further dismantle essential social services provided to abused children. Others have argued Charitable Choice Policy is unconstitutional because it crosses the boundary separating church and state. Rather than drastically altering the U.S. social-policy landscape, this paper demonstrates that the Bush Charitable Choice Policy already is in place for child-abuse services across many of the fifty states. One reason this phenomenon is ignored is due to the reliance on the public-private dichotomy for studying social policies and services. This paper contends that relying on the public-private dichotomy leads researchers to overlook important configurations of actors and institutions that provide services to abused children. It offers an alternate framework to the public-private dichotomy useful for the analysis of social policy in general and, in particular, Charitable Choice Policy affecting services to abused children. Employing a new methodological approach, fuzzy-sets analysis, demonstrates the degree to which social services for abused children match ideal types. It suggests relationships between religious organizations and governments are essential to the provision of services to abused children in the United States. Given the direction in which the Bush Charitable Choice Policy will push social-policy programs, scholars should ask whether abused children will be placed in circumstances that other social groups will not and why.

---------- (08.13.2005), "A Comparative Analysis of Children’s Rights: Introducing The Children’s Rights Index ", paper presented at : Paper Presented at the 2005 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association , Philadelphia,
Abstract:Little systematic, international research has been conducted on the welfare of children and laws and policies affecting their well being. Important studies on children’s well being exist, but these studies tend to focus on single countries. Consequently, researchers tend to concentrate on countries recognized for their human rights problems. Yet little comparative research has examined the impact of laws and policies on children’s interests and rights. Without comparative research, however, social scientists cannot make claims about levels of children’s rights or what explains variation in children’s rights. This paper makes two important contributions. First, it introduces the Children’s Rights Index (CRI). We believe this index is the first international measure of children’s rights; we provide results on 190 countries. This index is significant because it allows researchers to compare levels of children’s rights across countries. Second, this paper seeks to explain various scores on the CRI. It employs ordinary least squares regression analysis and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to consider the explanatory power of legal institutions, human rights, country wealth, and demographic structures on levels of children’s rights. QCA is an innovative analytic technique based on Boolean algebra. QCA is especially useful for examining combinations of actors, interests, and resources associated with some theories of policy innovation. Using QCA we assess heterogeneity and context to examine the various configurations of legal, political, economic, and demographic traits that characterize countries that have high levels of children’s rights compared to countries that do not.

GRAN, Brian and DAWN, Aliberti (2003), "The Office of the Children's Ombudsperson: Children's Rights and Social-Policy Innovation", International Journal of the Sociology of Law, 31, 2, 89-106.
Abstract:A potential key to the future of children's rights is the ombudsperson. In 1981, Norway became the first government to establish an office of a children's ombudsperson, which has statutory powers to protect children and enforce their rights. This paper represents the first cross-national analysis of the offices of children's ombudsperson. We employ Qualitative Comparative Analysis, which is based on Boolean algebra, to examine explanations why a national office of children's ombudsperson has or has not been established in 193 countries up to the year 2000. Our research suggests social policy innovation responds to need and is contingent on country wealth, but is mediated by either strong political rights or subscription to international treaties. This work indicates future research should consider subsequent establishment of offices of children's ombudsperson and the rights of children an ombudsperson seeks to enforce.

GRAN, Brian, SCHROEDER, Casey, and DAWN, Aliberti (2004), "Preventing Violence Against Children: Powers of the Children's Ombudsperson", paper presented at : Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the The Law and Society Association, Renaissance Hotel, Chicago, Illinois,
Abstract:Policy makers often designate the “public” and “private” sectors as responsible for different social-policy provision. Often times a gap is discovered between public and private social-policy provision through which a vulnerable group falls. An important example is children and their rights. A child’s rights are usually enforced by his or her parents, but when parents fail to enforce their child’s rights, who is responsible? Many people would answer the public sector, but in the United States and many other countries, this answer is incorrect. The office of children’s ombudsperson has arisen in this gap between the public and private sectors. Across the world, over thirty national governments have established offices of children’s ombudspersons. These children’s ombudspersons are generally charged with enforcing children’s rights. Great variation exists among the legislated powers these ombudspersons hold, however, with some ombudspersons allowed to sue public and private actors on behalf of a child. Many children’s ombudspersons have limited legislated powers. This paper seeks to examine variation in the legislated powers held by national offices of children’s ombudspersons affecting children's rights. It employs Fuzzy-Set Analyses of explanations of legislated powers possessed by approximately 35 offices of children’s ombudspersons. It also considers close-case comparisons of the offices of children’s ombudspersons in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. We believe this research represents the first comparative analysis of the powers these offices of children’s ombudspersons hold. It seeks to determine whether the children’s ombudsperson can enforce children’s rights as an effort to prevent vulnerable groups from falling into the public-private gap.

GRIFFIN, Larry J., CAPLINGER, Christopher, LIVELY, Kathryn J., MALCOM, Nancy L., MCDANIEL, Darren, and NELSEN, Candice (1997), "Comparative-Historical Analysis and Scientific Inference. Disfranchisement in the U.S. South As a Test Case.", Historical Methods, 30, 1, 13-27.

GUAN, Yuqiang (??), How Women Won the Vote: The Political Successes of the State Suffrage Movements, 1866-1920 (unpublished manuscript). ((research project) abstract at : http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/yguan/NSFAbstracts/Abstracts/SBE/SES.SBE.a9631520.txt)
Abstract: This is a study of the conditions under which a social movement is able to overcome powerful opposition to bring about significant political change. It will examine the state-level women's suffrage movements in the decades before and after the turn of the century to understand the circumstances in which movements are successful. In 1869 Wyoming was the first state (then a territory) to grant women suffrage. By 1920 when the l9th amendment was ratified, 33 states had enacted laws giving women one or more forms of partial suffrage, such as the right to vote in presidential or municipal elections, and 15 states (some of which had already enacted partial suffrage) had granted women full suffrage. The primary goal in studying the state suffrage movements is to develop and empirically test a theoretical model of social movement success. Rarely have researchers examined the conditions that lead to movement success defined in terms of political outcomes (as opposed to mobilization or cultural outcomes). For the state suffrage campaigns, political success was the expansion of the vote to women. The theoretical framework combines theories of movement mobilization with theories of the state, hypothesizing that the ability of the suffragists to bring about political change was shaped both by the movements' abilities to mobilize resources and by the social structural opportunities they confronted. Resource mobilization theory suggests that movement success stems from the ability of movement participants to mobilize key resources, including organizations and types of ideologies and strategies. The political process model of movement mobilization suggests that political opportunity structures influence movement effectiveness. Researchers, however, have typically interpreted political opportunity structures to encompass only the effect of actual political structures and processes (e.g., the openness of the polity or electoral instability) on the decisions of state actors to grant the demands of move ments. This research draws from various strands of theories of the state to expand the notion of opportunity structures, theorizing that gendered, economic, and racial opportunity structures also importantly influence the ability of movements to bring about political change. It combines social movement theory and theories of the state to explain social movement success. This study employs quantitative methods to test the empirical validity of the theoretical model. Event history analysis permits comparison of the state movements and the state contexts in which they operated to explain why some movements failed and others succeeded. Other methods, such as qualitative comparative analysis and recursive regressions, will also be employed to explore the complexities and robustness of the results. The state movements exhibit theoretically important variation (e.g., in terms of organization, strategies, and ideologies), and the contexts in which they operated also vary (e.g., concerning party politics and cultural and economic opposition), thus offering the opportunity for comparative analysis of multiple movements working toward the same general goal, women's suffrage. This historical study will contribute to our understanding of the development of American democracy, and thus will be of value to teachers and students, especially to those who are interested in women's history. However, the scientific results will have much broader value, improving formal models of the success and failure of political movements in general, including modern ones.

GULAYETS, Michael (??.1998), "Analyzing Violent Events Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis", paper presented at : Annual Meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Washington, D.C.,

HAGGERTY, Terry R. (1992), "Unravelling Patterns of Multiple Conjunctural Causation in Comparative Research: Ragin's Qualitative Comparative Method", Journal of Comparative Physical Education and Sport, 14, 19-27.

HALL, Peter A (2003), "Aligning Ontology and Methodology in Comparative Politics", in MAHONEY, James and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 373-405.

HAWORTH-HOEPPNER, S. (Feb 2000), "The Critical Shapes of Body Image: the Role of Culture and Family in the Production of Eating Disorders", Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 1, 212-227.
Abstract: Although research has pointed to the influence of culture and family in the etiology of earing disorders, few, studies have examined how these influences conjoin in this process. This research explores how the family mediates cultural ideas about thinness and how the family conveys these messages to family members. Using a grounded theory approach, open-ended interviews were conducted with 32 White, middle-class women (with and without eating disorders) on the topic of body image and eating problems. In conjunction with this method, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was also performed to identify family characteristics, and their specific combinations, that were associated with eating disorders. The findings indicate that a critical family environment, coercive parental control, and a dominating discourse on weight in the household are salient conditions, and their specific configurations are discussed in relationship to current theoretical conceptualizations regarding the influences of culture and family in the production of eating disorders.

HERALA, Nina (1995), "Comparing Court Decisions With Qualitative Comparative Analysis-Method", Centre for Comparative Public Policy and Management, Univerisity of Vaasa. Occasional Papers, 3,

HERALA, Nina (2004), Use of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in Comparative Law. Comparison of the Legal Regulation of Sustainable Development in Physical Planning in Denmark and Finland, Vaasa, Finland, Vaasan Yliopisto.

HICKS, Alexander M. (1994), "Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Analytical Induction: the Case of the Emergence of the Social Security State", Sociological Methods and Research, 23, 1, 86-113 .

HICKS, Alexander M., MISRA, Joy, and NAH NG, Tang (1995), "The Programmatic Emergence of the Social Security State", American Sociological Review, 60, 3, 329-350.

HUBER, Günter L. and SCHRODI, Franz (1999), "Logical Minimization As a Tool for Research on Teacher Thinking", paper presented at : 9th Biennial Conference of the International Study Association on Teachers and Teaching (ISATT), Dublin. (online at : http://www.aquad.de/texts/isatt99.htm)
Abstract: This paper describes the method of logically minimizing the various configurations of critical characteristics within the cases of a study and grouping them into clusters according to general patterns of features. Examples from studies on classroom discipline, active learning, and teachers' explanations of learning problems in mathematics are presented.

HUNTJENS, Patrick, "The Role of Adaptative and Integrated Water Management (AIWM) in the Developing Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Dealing With Floods and Droughts", paper presented at : COMPASSS Intimate Seminar, Louvain-la-Neuve,

INABA, Akihide (2001), "Enzyo Koudou wo Sokusin/Yokusei suru Zyouken : Meta Bunseki heno Ouyou [Application of Boolean approach to Meta Analysis : Using Helping Behavior Data]", in KANOMATA, Nobuo, NOMIYA, Daishiro, and HASEGAWA, Keiji (eds), Shituteki Hikaku Bunseki [Qualitative Comparative Analysis], Kyoto, Mineruva Syobo, pp. 130-147.

ISHIDA, Atsushi (3-5th June 2008), "A Boolean Analysis of Cognition of 'Japanese'. A Boolean Analysis Oriented Survey", paper presented at : Expert Roundtable on the Study of Strategies of Social Change Using the Method of Qualitative Comparatvie Analysis (QCA), Manchester,

KANOMATA, Nobuo (2001), "Saibankan no Keireki: Kojin Deita heno Ouyou [Career of Judges: Application [of QCA] to Personal Data]", in KANOMATA, Nobuo, NOMIYA, Daishiro, and HASEGAWA, Keiji (eds), Shituteki Hikaku Bunseki [Qualitative Comparative Analysis], Kyoto, Mineruva Syobo, pp. 63-78.

KATZNELSON, Ira (2003), "Periodization and Preferences: Reflections on Purposive Action In Comparative Historical Social Science ", in MAHONEY, James and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ Press, pp. 270-303.

KILBURN, H. Whitt (2004), "Explaining U.S. Urban Regimes. A Qualitative Comparative Analysis", Urban Affairs Review, 39, 5, 633-651.
Abstract: The author studies the influence of city context on urban regimes across 14 cities in the United States by surveying published case studies and applying qualitative comparative analysis. To explain variation in a regime typology, the author tests components of market conditions (a city’s fiscal resource base and mobility of local capital) and democratic conditions (local civic participation and ward-style representation). The results indicate that not one of these components is necessary or sufficient for supporting the emergence of a more progressive, as opposed to a developmental or caretaker, regime. Instead, three interactions between the components of market and democratic conditions explain the presence of progressive regimes. The author discusses the implications of the results for both studying and understanding U.S. regimes.

KITTEL, Bernhard, OBINGER, Herbert, and WAGSCHAL, Uwe (2000), "Wohlfahrtsstaaten im internationalen Vergleich. Politisch-institutionelle Faktoren der Entstehung und Entwicklungsdynamik", in OBINGER, Herbert and WAGSCHAL, Uwe (eds), Der “gezügelte” Wohlfahrtsstaat: Sozialpolitik in Australien, Japan, Schweiz, Kanada, Neuseeland und den Vereinigten Staaten, Frankfurt/M, Campus Verlag, pp. 329-364.

KOO, Jeong-Woo (2001 ??), Origins of Korean Civil Society. The Private Academies From the 16th to the 19th Century [Research Project] (unpublished manuscript).

LAROSE, Kristy D. (3.1996), Factors Associated With National Olympic Success : an Exploratory Study,Faculty of Kinesiology, University of New Brunswick (unpublished).

LAROSE, Kristy D. and HAGGERTY, Terry R. (10.2.1996/10.5.1996), "Factors Associated With Olympic Success : an Exploratory Study", paper presented at : European Association for Sport Management Congress, Montpellier. (online at : http://www.unb.ca/sportmanagement/haggerty/olympic.htm)
Abstract: Little conclusive research has been reported in the area of national Olympic success and its contributing factors. Yet, sport organizations worldwide continue to spend large amounts of money in the quest for excellence in sport performance. Without a clear model of the influence of various factors on sport success, it is difficult for sport policy makers to understand the problem and to make rational allocations and long-range planning decisions about their sport delivery system. There have been many studies about this topic. Some of the variables identified by past research are noted in Appendix 1 (...).

LEWIS, Megan, KAHWATI, Leila, KANE, H., WILLIAMS-PIEHOTA, P., LANCE, T., JONES, K. et.al. (Apr 2011), "Implementation Evaluation of Move! Weight Management Treatment for Veterans: Best Practices Based on a Qualitative Comparative Analysis", Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 41, S69. (melewis@rti.org)

LIEBERSON, Stanley and BELL, Eleanor O. (1992), "Children's First Names : an Empirical Study of Social Taste", American Journal of Sociology, 98, 3, 511-554.

MAHONEY, James (2003), "Knowledge Accumulation in Comparative Historical Research: The Case of Democracy and Authoritarianism", in MAHONEY, James and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ Press, pp. 131-176.

--------- (2003), "Strategies of Causal Assessment in Comparative Historical Analysis", in MAHONEY, James and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, pp. 337-372.

MAHONEY, James and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (2003), "Comparative Historical Analysis: Achievements and Agendas", in MAHONEY, James and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ Press, pp. 3-40.

---------- (eds) (2003), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press.

MARX, Axel and VAN HOOTEGEM, Geert (2007), "Comparative Configurational Case Analysis of Ergonomic Injuries", Journal of Business Research, 60, 5, 522-530.
Abstract: This article presents a specific research-design – systematic comparative case analysis – to analyse the impact of organizational characteristics on the occurrence of ergonomic injuries. A systematic comparative case analysis consists of an across case analysis and a within case analysis of a limited set of comparable cases. Across case analysis or qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) aims to identify similarities and differences between configurations of explanatory variables. Within case analysis aims to identify the causal mechanisms which link configurations to outcomes. Systematic comparative case analysis is applied to a research question on the organizational antecedents of repetitive strain injuries of the wrist in highly repetitive, non-fragmented and simple jobs in the assembling, sorting and packaging industry.

MASON, George P. (5.28.2000), "The Part-Time Sociology Instructor and the "Trap" of Adjunct Faculty Positions: an Investigation into the Differences Faced by Part-Time Instructors on Both Sides of the Ambassador Bridge", paper presented at : Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association 35th Annual Meeting, Edmonton,

MENGEOT, Bénédicte (6.2003), Refus de migrants au Burkina Faso: manque de place ou critère ethnique?,Université catholique de Louvain, Faculté des Sciences (unpublished).

MIETHE, Terance D. and DRASS, Kriss A (1999), "Exploring the Social Context of Instrumental and Expressive Homicides: an Application of Qualitative Comparative Analysis", Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 15, 1, 1-21.
Abstract: Using data from the UCR's Supplementary Homicide Reports, the method of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is used to examine whether instrumental and expressive homicides are similar or unique in their social context (i.e., combinations of offender, victim, and situational characteristics). Instrumental and expressive homicides are found to have both common and unique social contexts, but the vast majority of homicide incidents involve combinations of individual and situational factors that are common in both general types of homicides. Among subtypes of instrumental (like rape, prostitution, robbery murders) and expressive homicides (like lovers triangles, brawls and arguments), there is wide variability in their prevalence of unique and common components. After discussing these results, the paper concludes with illustrations of how QCA may be used in other areas within criminology.

MIETHE, Terance D. and DRASS, Kriss A. (11.14.2000/11.18.2000), "Homicide Types in Los Angeles, 1900-1985", paper presented at : The 2000 American Society of Criminology Conference, California State University, Los Angeles,
Abstract: Using narrative accounts of homicides in police records, the present study examines change and stability in the types of homicide situations in Los Angeles from 1900 to 1985. Three dominant types of homicide situations are explored: (1) confrontational homicides, (2) homicides committed during other crimes (e.g., robbery-, burglary-homicides), and (3) fatal police shootings. The method of Qualitative Comparative Analysis is used to examine the unique and common structures of these homicide situations and changes in them over time. The results of this study are then discussed in terms of their implications for future research.

MIETHE, Terance D., HART, Timothy C., and REGOECZI, Wendy C. (2008), "The Conjunctive Analysis of Case Configurations: An Exploraory Method for Discrete Multivariate Analyses of Crime Data", Journal of Quantitative Criminology, 24, 227-241.

MISUMI, Kazuto (9.14.2000/9.16.2000), "Two Levels of Dyscommunication: an Analysis by Boolean Role Model ", paper presented at : 4th Conference of the Asia Pacific Sociological Association, Kwansei Gakuin University, Nishinomiya (Japan). (abstract at : http://www.world.ryukoku.ac.jp/~pauline/Kosaka.html)
Abstract: This paper analyzes, based on Boolean model of social role, how the subjective internal structures of roles condition the dyscommunication between actors. We postulate that a role consists of some role elements in an individual¹s image. Suppose a role X, and also suppose a performer who has image X¹ and an observer who has image X². In general, X can be discriminated by an observer under the condition that X¹X² equals to X², or at least that X¹X² and X² share one or more Boolean sum of products. The first order dyscommunication occurs when one or more role elements are not shared between subgroups of actors. Taking a simple model of two elements, we examine the cases in which this type of dyscommunication occurs. Even if each subgroup enrolls the different elements in the definition of role X respectively, actors might be confronted with the second order dyscommunication. Being a set of role elements commonly shared among actors does not mean everyone have same type of image; so that, the condition mentioned above may not be satisfied in some combinations between types. We examine such cases based on the extended three elements¹ model. An implied situation of this study is intercultural communication, as well as international marriage increasing in rural area of Japan.

MISUMI, Kazuto (2001), "Two Levels of Dyscommunication: an Analysis by Boolean Role Model ", Sociological Theory and Methods, 16, 2, 229-243. (abstract at : http://www.world.ryukoku.ac.jp/~pauline/Kosaka.html)

MISUMI, Kazuto (2001), "Yakuwari Riron Moderu [A Model of Role Theory]", in KANOMATA, Nobuo, NOMIYA, Daishiro, and HASEGAWA, Keiji (eds), Shituteki Hikaku Bunseki [Qualitative Comparative Analysis], Kyoto, Mineruva Syobo,

---------- (2002), "A Boolean Model of Role Discrimination", Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 26, 1-2, 111-121. (abstract at : http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/groups/mathsoc/hawaii/abstracts.htm)
Abstract: This paper analyzes, based on Boolean approach by C.C.Ragin, how the subjective internal structures of social roles condition the possibility of role discrimination. I postulate, in an individualfs image, a role consists of some role elements, which construct an internal hierarchical structure (role image) depending on each elementfs contribution to the role discrimination as a whole. Then the role discrimination is formulated as a Boolean equation, taking the role elements as independent variables and the role discrimination itself as a dependent variable. Suppose a role X, and a performer who has image Xf and an observer who has image Xh communicate ea ch other. In general, between such two given actors, X can be discriminated by an observer under the condition that XfXh equals to Xh, or at least th at XfXh and Xh share one or more Boolean products; however, X is never di scriminated otherwise. At first, I take a simple case of two elements and examine the possibility of role discrimination for all possible combinations of images. After that, some general propositions as to the possibility of role discrimination, that hold regardless of the number of role elements, are derived.

MITAR, Miran (2007), "Bailey's Social Entropy Theory As an Explicit Theoretical Approach for an Empirical Assessment of Security of Contemporary Societies", [Article Submitted for Publication],
Abstract: The aim of the article, based on my doctoral thesis (Mitar, 2005), is to present my slight modification of Bailey’s SET as an explicit theoretical approach for an empirical assessment of security of contemporary societies. I formed a model D = f(PLOTIS), in which component D was defined (various deviant or unwanted phenomena in present article measured by the number of deaths in violent conflicts), which was conditioned by macro-societal factors (Population, Level-of-living, Organisation, Technology, Information, Space), denoted by acronym PLOTIS. The model is tested by cross-sectional design, nineteen (non-random) chosen former European socialist countries are compared, available secondary data at the end of a period of transition (1989 -2002) are used. The model is tested by different methods of analysis: descriptive statistics, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and descriptive discriminant analysis (DDA). The comparison of results acquired by different methods confirmed usefulness of the modified SET as starting point for formation and testing of hypotheses about the influence of macro-societal characteristics (measured by PLOTIS) on unwanted phenomena. Last but not least, some proposals for further research are presented.

MITAR, Miran (2007), "Social Entropy Theory As an Explicit Approach to Assessment of Crime and Correlates of Crime in Europe at Macro Societal Level", [Article Submitted for Publication],
Abstract: The main purpose of this article is to explore the possibilities of Bailey's Social Entropy Theory (SET) for systematic description and explanation of crime and correlates of crime, supported by qualitative comparative analysis and discriminant analysis. The article contains both theoretical and empirical sections. In the theoretical section Bailey's social entropy theory and its modification are presented, in the empirical section, secondary data (homicide rates, crime rates and chosen data about contemporary European societies) are analysed. The data are analysed by QCA and discriminant analysis.The results are then discussed. SET can be used for description and explanation of crime and correlates of crimes, but some predictions are not supported by empirical data. At the moment, the acquired results do not refute Bailey’s theory, and a lot of further theoretical and empirical research work is needed to explore and explain conditions, which influence conflict and consensus in contemporary societies. Multiple regression analysis and fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis can be used for achievement of broader and deeper theoretical and case-based knowledge about crime and correlates of crime in Europe.

MITAR, Miran (Aug 2010), "Bailey's Social Entropy Theory As an Explicit Theoretical Approach for an Empirical Assessment of Security of Contemporary Societies", Quality & Quantity, 44, 5, 941-955.
Abstract: The aim of the article, based on my doctoral thesis (Mitar, Theoretical and Methodological comparison of selected approaches for assessment of security of modern society, Ph.D. Dissertation, 2005), is to present my slight modification of Bailey's SET as an explicit theoretical approach for an empirical assessment of security of contemporary societies. I formed a model D = f(PLOTIS), in which component D was defined (various deviant or unwanted phenomena in present article measured by the number of deaths in violent conflicts), which was conditioned by macro-societal factors (Population, Level-of-living, Organisation, Technology, Information, Space), denoted by acronym PLOTIS. The model is tested by cross-sectional design, 19 (non-random) chosen former European socialist countries are compared, available secondary data at the end of a period of transition (1989 2002) are used. The model is tested by different methods of analysis: descriptive statistics, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and descriptive discriminant analysis (DDA). The comparison of results acquired by different methods confirmed usefulness of the modified SET as starting point for formation and testing of hypotheses about the influence of macro-societal characteristics (measured by PLOTIS) on unwanted phenomena. Last but not least, some proposals for further research are presented.

MUNOZ, Lucio (2004), Developing a Rapid Deforestation Assessment and Planning Methodology for Central America Based on Qualitative Comparative Analysis,(unpublished dissertation) (unpublished).

MUNOZ, Lucio (2009), "Beyond Traditional Sustainable Development: Sustainability Theory and Sustainability Indeces Under Ideal Present-Absent Qualitative Comparative Conditions", Mineria Sustentable, REDESMA, 3, 1,

MUSHENO, Michael C., GREGWARE, Peter R., and DRASS, Kriss A. (1991), "Court Management of AIDS Disputes: a Sociolegal Analysis", Law and Social Inquiry, 16, 4, 737-776.

NOMIYA, Daishiro (2001), "Minsyuu no Hanran to Shakai Hendou: Rekishiteki Deita heno Ouyou [Peasants' rebellion and social change: application [of QCA] to historical data]", in KANOMATA, Nobuo, NOMIYA, Daishiro, and HASEGAWA, Keiji (eds), Shituteki Hikaku Bunseki [Qualitative comparative analysis], Kyoto, Mineruva Syobo, pp. 79-94.

RAGIN, Charles C. (1999), "Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis to Study Causal Complexity", Health Services Research, Dec. (special supplement), 1225-1239.
Abstract: Discusses why and how different combinations of causal conditions lead to the same outcome and ways qualitative research can contribute to understanding in these circumstances.

RAGIN, Charles C., MAYER, Susan E., and DRASS, Kriss A. (1984), "Assessing Discrimination : a Boolean Approach", American Sociological Review, 49, 2, 221-234.

RANTALA, Kati (1998), "Art As Communicative Practice for Teenagers", YOUNG - Nordic Journal of Youth Research, 6, 4. (online at : http://www.alli.fi/nyri/young/1998-4/articleRantala4-98.htm)

REGOECZI, Wendy C. and MIETHE, Terance D. (2003), "Taking on the Unkown. A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Unknown Relationship Homicides.", Homicide Studies, 7, 3, 211-234.
Abstract: Aside from noting the dramatic rise in their numbers, homicides with unknown victim/offender relationships have attracted little research attention. This study uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis and data from the Supplementary Homicide Reports for 1976 through 1998 to examine the nature of unknown relationshiphomicides and changes in their structure over time. The findings indicate that a large number of unknown relationship cases are contained within a few prevalent homicide situations while also occurring in a diverse array of less common situations. The situational context of unknown homicides exhibits considerable change over time, shifting from the killing of older White males with a variety of weapons to killings involving young Black males with guns. Although unknown and stranger homicides frequently share common structures, they demonstrate notable differences as well, suggesting that unknown relationships cannot automatically be assumed to involve strangers. Implications of the findings for policy and future research are discussed.

ROBERTS, R., GOTT, R., and GLAESSER, J. (2010), "Students' Approaches to Open-Ended Science Investigation: the Importance of Substantive and Procedural Understanding", Research Papers in Education, 25, 4, 377-407.
Abstract: This paper investigates the respective roles of substantive and procedural understanding with regard to students' ability to carry out an open-ended science investigation. The research is a case study centred on an intervention in which undergraduate initial teacher training students are taught the basic building blocks of procedural understanding. They are then put in the position of solving a practical open-ended investigation. We report on the detail of their approaches and draw on recent papers in which the data are subjected to analysis using Qualitative Comparative Analysis techniques. We conclude that having been taught about evidence has contributed to the successful performance of the investigation; that students' greatest improvement was in their understanding of ideas associated with datasets; and that students were able to apply the ideas to work more iteratively in response to data in the investigation. We consider the possible curriculum implications of this exploratory work.

ROMAIN, Patrick (9.18.2003/9.21.2003), "A QCA Analysis of the Influence of “Socio-Pedagogical” Variables on “Value Transmission” by Mathematics Teachers in Belgian French-Speaking High Schools", paper presented at : 2nd ECPR General Conference, Section "Methodological Advances in Comparative Research : Concepts, Techniques, Applications", Panel "QCA (Qualitative Comparative Analysis) in Comparative Research: Applications", Marburg, Germany,
Abstract: Mathematics courses are not only concerned with the transmission of mathematical knowledge. Teachers value certain aspects of this knowledge, rather than some others. For example, some will insist on abilities like abstracting, conducting a logical reasoning, working intensively, …, or on attitudes like precision, rigor, care. This paper will explore how socio-pedagogical variables favor the teacher broadcasting some of these “values”. Various conditions may be taken into account. Some are internal to the teacher: he is motivated; he has a long experience in mathematics teaching. Others are external: pupils are disciplined; their families are comfortably off; the curriculum is more or less intensive in mathematics. Our cases will be a small number (~12) of high school teachers in Belgium (year 2002-2003). We carry out a range of QCA analyses, involving given sets of condition variables and several result (dependant) variables related to different aspects of the values transmission.

RUDD, Murray (6.17.2002/6.22.2002), "Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Fishery Sustainability - a Fuzzy Qualitative Comparative Analysis of International Tropical Artisanal Fisheries", paper presented at : IASCP 2002 Conference, Harare, Zimbabwe,
Abstract: Assessing the impacts of ecological and social causal factors on fishery sustainability is complicated because of environmental complexity and the uncertain and/or qualitative nature of much of the data. This research uses a recent innovative methodology, fuzzy qualitative comparative analysis (QCA), to test the necessary and sufficient conditions for inshore tropical artisanal fishery sustainability. Necessary conditions are those that are present each time ‘sustainability’ is observed. In set theory terms, instances of the outcome (sustainability) are a subset of instances of the causal variable(s). Sufficient conditions are those such that when a specific causal variable(s) is present, sustainable fisheries are observed. That is, instances of the cause are a subset of instances of the outcome. Two independent variables are used as proxies for ‘sustainability’ in this research: fish stock ‘health’ and the degree of rent capture. Six classes of causal factors are examined: the ecological ‘robustness’ of target species; fishing pressure; local environmental conditions; the orientation of fisheries rules and regulations; social capital/community capacity; and the institutional capacity of fisheries governance organizations. Independent and causal variables are coded on a scale of 1 to 5 (e.g., a code of 2 might indicate that a fish species is inherently ‘quite vulnerable’ while a score of 5 would indicate that a species is very robust in the face of a variety of pressures). Cases for this meta-analysis were drawn from the literature, including over 200 cases from a variety of tropical fisheries in the Caribbean, South Pacific, Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean. The use of fuzzy sets (i.e., x ? [0,1]) is used to translate ratings into set memberships and increases the number of cases that can be included in the analysis. A fishery with ‘quite low’ fishing pressure, for instance, may still have membership of 0.2 in the set of fisheries with ‘high’ pressure. This permits more powerful statistical analysis of qualitative, uncertain and/or linguistic data (e.g., local ecological knowledge) otherwise outside of the realm of empirical analyses. The results of this analysis highlight the importance of considering both social and ecological causal variables in analyses of sustainable fishery management regimes. The fuzzy QCA methodology helps develop deeper insights into the causal linkages between ecological and socio-economic variables and outcomes. As such, it can help overcome methodological limitations of both small-n case studies and large-n statistical analyses, and should play an increasingly important part in the institutional analysis of common property systems in the future.

RUDEL, Thomas K. (2007), "Meta-Analyses of Case Studies: a Method for Studying Regional and Global Environmental Change", Global Environmental Change, 1-8.

RUDEL, Thomas K. and ROPER, Jill (1996), "Regional Patterns and Historical Trends in Tropical Deforestation, 1976-1990: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis", Ambio, 25 , 3, 160-166.
Abstract: Reports of tropical deforestation indicate that it occurs in diverse circumstances which obscure underlying patterns of causation. Cross-national statistical analyses do not reveal these patterns because they can not investigate how causal factors interact with each other in specific contexts. Undert hese circumstancesa qualitativec omparatives tudy of tropical deforestation might be useful. Drawing on qualitative sources, we classify countries with tropical forests on a series of attributes. Using Boolean algebra, we look for cross-national similarities in processes of deforestation, creating sets of countries with similar processes. This analysis pointst o the importanceo f interior locations in Africa and South America for forest preservation, suggests that the retreat of small, remnant forests into rugged topography has not slowed deforestation, and indicates that stronger forest-protection policies may have reduced deforestation. A regional analysis finds distinct patterns of tropical deforestation in Asia, East Africa, West Africa, Central America/Caribbean, and South America. The West African and Central American patterns are quite similar. The policy implications of these findings are briefly considered.

RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich ( 2003), "Can One or a Few Cases Yield Theoretical Gains", in MAHONEY, James, MAHONEY, James, and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ Press, pp. 305-336.

SCHEKER, Ancell (03.22.2009), "Educational Reform and Teachers’ Decision Making: Relationship Between the Intended and the Implemented Reading Curriculum in Dominican Schools", paper presented at : Paper Presented at the Annual Meeting of the 53rd Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Charleston, South Carolina,
Abstract: The purpose of this dissertation is to characterize and analyze the specific implementation decisions made by teachers in Dominican primary schools as they set out to put into action the intended reading curriculum. A new curriculum was developed in 1995 as part of a Ten-Year Plan to reform the educational system. The study attempts to reveal how the curriculum is implemented across schools and what configuration of conditions influence teachers’ decisions regarding what to teach and how to teach reading comprehension. It would contribute to improving our understanding about curriculum policy and the complex relationship between the intended and the implemented curriculum. Thus the research questions are:
-To what extent are there different implementation patterns of the intended (official) reading curriculum?
-Can such patterns (of decisions regarding implementation of the curriculum) be characterized as belonging to certain identifiable pedagogical perspectives promoted by current or previous curriculum policy?
- What configurations of teacher’s characteristics and school characteristics have a role in determining patterns of implementation?
The framework adopted by this study assumes that policy implementation is not a linear and vertical process. Local actors or implementing agents are also policymakers in that their decisions and actions shape how policies play out in practice (Lipsky 1980; Coburn 2006; Honig 2006). Teachers try to make sense of the policy (Spillane et al 2002) and make decisions based on their understanding and the characteristics of their context. Therefore the intention of the study is to show empirical evidence of this complex process by analyzing teachers’ reading curriculum decisions and the factors and conditions that may be determining different implementation patterns. The study uses data collected through teachers’ questionnaires by the Educational Evaluation and Research Consortium (EERC) study conducted from 2005 to 2007. A total of 1395 questionnaires of teachers in 4th, 5th and 6th grade from a representative sample of 200 schools in different strata -in public rural, public urban, and accredited private schools- will be analyzed. Principals Components Analysis (PCA) will be used to make clusters and identify implementation patterns of the reading curriculum based on teachers’ decisions regarding contents, classroom activities, teaching strategies, performance expectations, homework and assessment. Once different implementation patterns are identified and categorized, Qualitative Comparative Analysis fuzzy sets (fsQCA) will be used to identify the conditions that may explain different implementation patterns. Those conditions are related to teacher characteristics (teacher’s education, teacher in-service training, experience, perception of student’s preparation, use of textbooks and curriculum policy documents for lesson planning) and school characteristics (instructional resources available, instructional time, frequency of staff meetings or supervision for professional development, and strata - public rural, public urban, accredited private). The goal is to link conditions to outcomes (different implementation patterns) and understand this relationship. This dissertation responds to the demand for research that focuses on the conditions and the dynamics that make possible for education policies and reforms to influence instructional practices.

SCHENSUL, J. J., CHANDRAN, D., SINGH, S. K., BERG, M., SINGH, S., and GUPTA, K. (Aug 2010), "The Use of Qualitative Comparative Analysis for Critical Event Research in Alcohol and HIV in Mumbai, India", Aids and Behavior, 14, 113-125.
Abstract: In this paper we use Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) in critical event analysis to identify under what conditions alcohol is necessary in contributing to unprotected sex. The paper is based on a set of in-depth interviews with 84 men aged 18 = 29 from three typical low income communities in Mumbai who reported using alcohol and having sex with at least one nonspousal partner once or more in the 30 days prior to the interview. The interviews included narratives of critical events defined as recent (past 30-60 day) events involving sexual behavior with or without alcohol. The paper identifies themes related to alcohol, sexuality and condom use, uses QCA to identify and explain configurations leading to protected and unprotected sex, and explains the differences. The analysis shows that alcohol alone is not sufficient to explain any cases involving unprotected sex but alcohol in combination with partner type and contextual factors does explain unprotected sex for subsets of married and unmarried men.

SCHIFFINO, Nathalie and YAMASAKI, Sakura (11.24.2003/11.26.2003), "A Methodological Tool in Policy Analysis: Application of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to GMO and ART Policies in Belgium and France", paper presented at : Austrian Sociological Association Congress 2003, Vienna, Austria,

SCHIMMELFENNIG, Franck, RITTBERGER, Berthold, BURGIN, Alexander, and SCHWELLNUS, Guido (2006), "Conditions for EU Constitutionalization: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis", Journal of European Public Policy, 13, 8, 1168-1189.
Abstract: This article probes the conditions conducive to the constitutionalization of the European Union: under what conditions have the powers of the European Parliament been extended and the institutionalization of human rights progressed? Based on the assumption that the constitutionalization of the EU is best understood as the outcome of strategic action in a community environment, we argue that progress in constitutionalization depends on the salience of the EU’s democracy deficit, the coherence of demands for constitutionalization with extant EU or external norms, and the publicity of negotiations and deliberations.We test this constitutionalization hypothesis in a qualitative comparative analysis offering a systematic diachronic and synchronic comparison of sixty-six constitutional decisions between 1951 and 2004 across different areas of parliamentary competence and human rights issues. The findings corroborate the constitutionalization hypothesis and suggest that salience and, more recently, coherence are the most relevant conditions of EU constitutionalization.

SCHLAGER, Edella and HEIKKILA, Tanya (2009), "Resolving Water Conflicts: A Comparative Analysis of Interstate River Compacts", The Policy Studies Journal, 37, 3, 367-392.
Abstract: Policymakers and academics often identify institutional boundaries as one of the factors that shape the capacity of jurisdictions to manage natural resources such as water, forests, and scenic lands. This article examines two key bodies of literature - common-pool resource management theory and local public economy theory - to explain how the boundaries of political jurisdictions affect natural resource management. Two empirical methods were used to test hypotheses from the literature, using a study of water management programs in California. The results demonstrate that institutional boundaries that coincide with natural resources are likely to be associated with the implementation of more effective resource management programs. At the same time, where jurisdictions can control through coordination, they can also facilitate more effective resource management where jurisdictions do not match resource boundaries. © 2004 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.

SCOUVART, Marie (2006), Une analyse quali-quantitative comparée des causes de la déforestation en Amazonie brésilienne, Louvain-La-Neuve, UCL (unpublished).

SCOUVART, Marie, ADAMS, Ryan T., CALDAS, Marcellus, DALE, Virginia, MERTENS, Benoît, NÉDÉLEC, Vincent et.al. (2007), "Causes of Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon: a Qualitative Comparative Analysis", Journal of Land Use Science, 2, 4, 257-282.
Abstract: We used a configurational comparative approach, the Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), to study multiple causal interactions characterizing deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Our data set is based on seven local case studies at three time periods. Results reveal a limited number of pathways describing the articulation of causes of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon under different contexts. Roads are often combined with biophysical conditions and the occurrence of extractive activities in the explanation of deforestation. This study reached conclusions via a reproducible and formal procedure that was applied at a regional scale while accounting for the geographic diversity of land-use trajectories.

SEROR, A. C. (2002), "Internet Infrastructures and Health Care Systems: a Qualitative Comparative Analysis on Networks and Markets in the British National Health Service and Kaiser Permanente", Journal of Medical Internet Research, 4, 3,
Abstract: Background: The Internet and emergent telecommunications infrastructures are transforming the future of health care management. The costs of health care delivery systems, products, and services continue to rise everywhere, but performance of health care delivery is associated with institutional and ideological considerations as well as availability of financial and technological resources. Objective: To identify the effects of ideological differences on health care market infrastructures including the Internet and telecommunications technologies by a comparative case analysis of two large health care organizations: the British National Health Service and the California-based Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization. Methods: A qualitative comparative analysis focusing on the British National Health Service and the Kaiser Permanente health maintenance organization to show how system infrastructures vary according to market dynamics dominated by health care institutions ("push") or by consumer demand ("pull"). System control mechanisms may be technologically embedded, institutional, or behavioral. Results: The analysis suggests that telecommunications technologies and the Internet may contribute significantly to health care system performance in a context of ideological diversity. Conclusions: The study offers evidence to validate alternative models of health care governance: the national constitution model, and the enterprise business contract model. This evidence also suggests important questions for health care policy makers as well as researchers in telecommunications, organizational theory, and health care management.

SHANAHAN, M. J., VAISEY, S., ERICKSON, L. D., and SMOLEN, A. (Nov 2008), "Environmental Contingencies and Genetic Propensities: Social Capital, Educational Continuation, and Dopamine Receptor Gene Drd2", American Journal of Sociology, 114, S260-S286.
Abstract: Studies of gene-environment interplay typically focus on one environmental factor at a time, resulting in a constrained view of social context. The concept of environmental contingency is introduced as a corrective. Drawing on the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health and qualitative comparative analysis, the authors focus on an example involving social capital, a gene associated with a dopamine receptor (DRD2), and educational continuation beyond secondary school. For boys, (1) DRD2 risk is associated with a decreased likelihood of school continuation; (2) one configuration of social capital-high parental socioeconomic status, high parental involvement in school, and a high-quality school-compensates for this negative relationship, consistent with environmental contingency; but (3) boys with DRD2 risk are less commonly observed in settings that are rich in social capital.

SICAKKAN, Hakan Gürcan (1999), The Political-Historical Roots of West European Models of Citizen and Alien: an Application of Qualitative Comparative Analysis on Macro Historical Data , Bergen, IMER-Norway/Bergen Publications.
Abstract: A clarification of the relationship between West European political history and present models of citizen and alien is crucial to understanding better today's mechanisms and processes of new formations of social, economic, and political boundaries. The major hypothesis in this paper is that historical processes of state formation and nation building played a significant role in the emergence of contemporary legal models of citizen and alien. The article aims at documenting that states generated diverse value systems and corresponding legal discourses framing conceptions of phenomena 'citizen' and 'alien' while they opted for creating the 'right' loyalties and identifications in order to secure continuity of their legitimacy. Stein Rokkan's typology of state formation and nation building in Europe is employed for delineating the variation in European political history across countries. Citizenship, immigration, and aliens' laws of eighteen West European countries are used as data sources for representing the variation in European legal conceptions of citizen and alien. Charles Ragin's qualitative comparative method (QCA) is employed as the basic methodological tool for generating a synthetic, combinatorial solution to uncovering the systematic relationship between types of state formation and nation building, and contemporary citizenship laws.

---------- (4.14.2000/4.16.2000), "The Political-Historical Roots of West European Models of Citizen", paper presented at : ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops, Workshop on "??", Copenhagen,

SICAKKAN, Hakan Gürcan and GÜNHAN, Atilla E. (1995), "Neural Networks As an Alternative Model in System Identification Paradigm: A Comparison of Statistics, Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Neural Networks As Tools of System Identification", Reports in Information Science (Bergen, Institutt for Informasjonsvitenskap, Universitetet i Bergen),

SKOCPOL, Theda (2003), "Doubly Engaged Social Science: The Promise of Comparative Historical Analysis", in MAHONEY, James, MAHONEY, James, and RUESCHEMEYER, Dietrich (eds), Comparative Historical Research, Cambridge, Cambridge Univ Press, pp. 407-428.

SMILDE, David (2000), Works of the Flesh, Fruit of the Spirit: Religious Action Frames and Meaning Networks in Venezuelan Evangelicalism,University of Chicago (unpublished). (PhD Dissertation, abstract at : http://www.arches.uga.edu/~dsmilde/Dissertation%20abstract.htm; summary of chapters at : http://www.arches.uga.edu/~dsmilde/Abstract.htm)
Abstract: There are two recurring problems in the literature on Latin American Evangelicalism. First, conversion is explained using a form of functionalist explanation from results that both is not supported by contemporary cultural theory and cannot adequately distinguish those who convert from those who do not. Second, the political engagement of Latin American Evangelicals has been seen as paradoxical and contradictory with some scholars arguing that no consistent tendency can be discerned. This dissertation uses concepts from the sociology of culture and social movements theory to work through data from participant observation with Venezuelan Evangelicals, as well as eighty-four life history interviews with Evangelical and non-Evangelical men. The life history interviews with Evangelical men reveal that indeed they largely converted as a means to overcome pressing problems with substance abuse, violence and conjugal relationships. Evangelicalism functions as “religious action frame” that orients and motivates action that can overcome these problems. The data also reveal that men convert in pursuit of these positive consequences. Existing theories of religion rely on a realist theory of meaning that makes understanding such agency difficult. Since only objectively valid beliefs can be used to bring about desired consequences, such agency in religion has to be presented as knowledgeable cynicism, unintelligent fluke, or as a process that works behind the actors’ backs. I suggest a pragmatic theory of meaning in which beliefs that are not objectively valid in scientific terms can be held and used by actors who only care about evidence of their practical effect. I use Boolean algebra (Charles Ragin’s “qualitative comparative analysis”) to compare cases of commitment with cases of non-commitment. The analysis demonstrates that living with an Evangelical is a sufficient cause of commitment. However, the numerically most important causal combination is that of having serious life problems while not living with family of origin. These conclusions underline the importance of meaning networks. Having problems is important in most cases of commitment. But having the opportunity to commit depends on being independent from family of origin networks that reinforce traditional meanings, and or being in contact with Evangelical networks through which meaning innovation can flow. Conceiving of Evangelicalism as a frame containing an abstract symbolization of supernatural agency at its center, but which does not necessarily contain lower-level schemas consistently applying this symbolization to all areas of life, can help us understand the variability in Evangelical politics. While in areas of experience having to do with personal morality and the family the Evangelical frame contains well articulated, lower-level schemas that apply the abstract symbolization of supernatural agency to concrete situations in consistent ways, in areas given less importance such as politics, there are no well-articulated lower level schemas and individual variation is the norm. However, when Evangelical morality or interests are either openly embraced or openly threatened by a political option, Evangelical leaders can actively mobilize their followers by presenting well-articulated lower-level schemas containing the “correct” application of the abstract symbolization of supernatural agency. In these cases Evangelicalism can have an independent causal impact on political processes.

---------- (2001), "Who Commits? A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Pentecostal Conversion in Caracas", paper presented at : Lecture at University of Notre Dame History Department, Hesburgh Center for International Studies, Notre Dame,

SMILDE, David (Nov 2005), "A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Conversion to Venezuelan Evangelicalism: How Networks Matter", American Journal of Sociology, 111, 3, 757-796.
Abstract: While the influence of networks in conversion is among the most established findings in the sociology of religion, relatively little is known about how and why they have their influence. In this study the author finds the social conformity theorization most often used in network analysis important but incomplete. Network ties are frequently influential despite little or no direct contact between ego and alter and little or no motivation to conform. Similarly, "structural availability" works not only by freeing an actor from conformity-inducing constraints but also by indicating a relative absence of social and cultural support. This absence motivates individuals for religious innovation. Finally, while network location strongly determines who converts, the individual experience of life problems remains a causal factor, and, in a small but irreducible number of cases, actors clearly exercise agency over their network locations.

SOULLIERE, Danielle M. (9.2005), "Pathways to Attrition: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of Justifications for Police Designations of Sexual Assault Complaints ", The Qualitative Report, 10, 3, 416-438.
Abstract: The present analysis is a reframing of an earlier study conducted by the author to compensate for perceived deficiencies in previous studies on police decisions in sexual assault complaints. Specifically, qualitative comparative analysis was employed at the micro-social level to reveal justification scenarios, employed by investigating officers, which resulted in attrition at the police level. It was found that police employed the legal model in justifying “unfounded” designations while police employed both legal and extralegal models in justifying designations of “departmental discretion.” Further research, expanding the database through interviews and participant observation, is necessary to fully explore justification scenarios for police designations of sexual assault complaints. Key Words: Qualitative Comparative Analysis, QCA, Sexual Assault, and Police Decision-Making .

STATZ, Jochen (2000), Entwicklungspotenziale der Nutzung von Nicht-Holz-Waldprodukten. Perspektiven für ein neues Handlungsfeld der forstlichen Entwicklungszusammenarbeit in Paraguay und Bolivien [Potenciales de desarrollo en la utilización de productos no maderables del bosque. Perspectivas para un nuevo campo de acción de la Cooperación al Desarrollo Forestal en Paraguay y Bolivia] [Non-timber forest products and development co-operation : perceptions and strategies of decision makers], TÖB FTWF-22d, Eschborn, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ).
Abstract: (pp. 59 ff. : QCA) A PhD-study published recently at the University of Freiburg/Germany looks into potential benefits of NTFP-based forest use. In two South American countries it analyses how decision-makers involved in national development policy and international development co-operation perceive this potential. (...) For further analysis of the verbal data, a Qualitative Comparative Analysis was carried out, an analytical tool developed for comparative social science research by Ragin. As a result key features of strategies to promote NTFP trade were determined and then combined with each other. The interviewed experts saw a number of combinations as promising for the promotion of NTFPs, each being a very specific combination of the strategic elements listed above. Amongst them, economic success in the marketing of NTFPs appears to be crucial, yet only if accompanied by a political and economic setting committed to "sustainable development". The analysis of the verbal data reveals that none of the five approaches is seen as sufficient or necessary in itself for a successful promotion of NTFPs. All of them can lead to success if combined with certain other characteristics, yet can lead to undesirable results if combined with others. To cite an example, introducing NTFPs to international markets is not seen as beneficial per se. It is rather the specific combination with other approaches (in some cases even their absence) that is expected to result in societal development. [also available in Spanish at : http://www.gtz.de/toeb/pdf/TOEB_Potenciales_de_desarrollo_en_la_utilizacion_de_productos_no_maderables_del_bosque.pdf].

TAKENOSHITA, Hirohisa (06.03.2008/06.05.2008), "Education and Labour Market Outcome Among Chinese Migrants in Japan. Mixed Methods Approach Using Regression and QCA", paper presented at : Expert Roundtable on the Study of Strategies of Social Change Using the Method of Qualitative Comparatvie Analysis (QCA), Manchester,

TAROHMARU, Hiroshi (2001), "Kenri Nouryoku Ron: Rekishi Gnsyou heno Ouyou [Reconstruction of Ehrlich's Die Rechtsfähigkeit: Application [of QCA] to Historical Phenomena]", in KANOMATA, Nobuo, NOMIYA, Daishiro, and HASEGAWA, Keiji (eds), Shituteki Hikaku Bunseki [Qualitative Comparative Analysis], Kyoto, Mineruva Syobo, pp. 113-129.

TYRKKÖ, Arja (1999), I skärningspunkten mellan arbetsliv och föräldraskap. En studie om livsformer i 1990-talets Sverige [The intersaction between working life and parenthood. A study of life-modes in Sweden in the 1990s], Arbete och Halsä Vetenskaplig Skriftserie, Uppsala Universitet, Arbetslivsinstitutet. (online at : http://www.niwl.se/ah/1999-17.pdf; abstract at : http://www.soc.uu.se/publications/doktabst/1999-8_a.html)
Abstract: The central problem area of this dissertation concerns the connection between working life and parenthood. The main purpose is to develop an analytical strategy which validity is determined by the extent to which it can consider and cover the complexity of the con-ditions and practices of everyday life for working parents. Starting in an understanding of the concept life-mode as a sensitizing concept, an analytical model is developed and a Boolean approach is used to study the complex interrelation between working life and parenthood. In the dissertation the relationship between working life and parenthood is studied focusing on the work place. Parenthood, organization and gender are three key concepts which direct the analysis of the organizational forms everyday life take on.

VALTONEN, K., PADMORE, J. C., SOGREN, M., and ROCK, L. (Jan 2009), "Lived Experiences of Vulnerability in the Childhood of Persons Recovering From Substance Abuse", Journal of Social Work, 9, 1, 39-60.
Abstract: The aim of the study was to deepen understanding of the context of vulnerability which is associated with drug-taking behaviour and addiction. The researchers sought to identify recurring psychosocial and environmental factors in the childhood and early adulthood backgrounds of the participants. They further scrutinized the data for pairs or co-occurrences of such risk factors across the target groups. Qualitative methodology was employed, based on in-depth interviews. The participants were accessed in drug rehabilitation centres in Trinidad and in Barbados, bringing a cross-national dimension to the work. The Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) method was used to analyse the data. Findings: It is significant that nearly half of the Trinidad group and two-thirds of the Barbados group reported experience of rejection or abandonment in childhood. A profile of stressful or traumatic experiences was compiled for each participant, from which it was possible to identify co-ocurring pairs of stressors, which suggest inter-relationships between the phenomena. Marked co-occurrence was found between domestic violence and alcoholism; domestic violence in the participants' family background and non-attainment of. Secondary School Certification; non-attainment of Secondary School Certification and rejection; poverty and rejection; domestic violence and rejection. Applications: Case management techniques can benefit from research-generated insights on interrelationships between critical risk-connected phenomena, especially in developing concerted approaches to problems of substance abuse using preventive techniques.

VEENIS, Else (11.2000), 'Als het bedrijf er maar niet te veel last van heeft'. De invloed van het ouderschapsbeleid en de ouderschapscultuur van supermarkten en boekhandels op de combinatieproblemen van mannelijke en vrouwelijke werknemers met jonge kinderen ['As long as it isn't too much trouble for the firm'. The impact of family policy and family culture on employees with young children in supermarkets and book trade], Utrecht, Universiteit Utrecht (unpublished). (ISBN : 90-393-2589-8. Online at : http://www.library.uu.nl/digiarchief/dip/diss/1938675/full.pdf))

WAGEMANN, Claudius and SCHNEIDER, Carsten (2010), "Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Fuzzy-Sets: Agenda for a Research Approach and a Data Analysis Technique", Comparative Sociology, 9, 3, 376-396.
Abstract: 'Qualitative Comparative Analysis' (QCA) is an increasingly applied methodological tool in comparative social sciences. It is well suited for the analysis of causally complex claims framed in terms of necessity and sufficiency. This article presents the epistemology of QCA and discusses its applicability to social science research questions. It also illustrates some of the features that have recently been added to this set of methodological tools. This article is best read in close conjunction with Schneider and Wagemann's 'Standards of Good QCA Practice,' the next paper in this journal issue.

WILLIAMS, Linda Meyer and FARRELL, Ronald A. (1990), "Legal Response to Child Sexual Abuse in Daycares", Criminal Justice and Behavior, 17, 3, 284-302.

WINAND, Mathieu (01.29.2008), "Approche QCA des conditions de la performance organisationnelle des fédérations sportives de la Communauté française de Belgique", paper presented at : Séminaire Qualitative Comparative Analysis , Dijon,

WINAND, Mathieu and ZINTZ, Thierry (11.10.2008), "Exploratory Analysis of the Organizational Performance of Sports Governing Bodies Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The Case of the Sports Leagues From the French Speaking Community of Belgium", paper presented at : PhD Conference in Business Economics and Management, The Netherlands,

WINAND, Mathieu, ZINTZ, Thierry, RIHOUX, Benoît, and QUALIZZA, David (09.16.2009/09.19.2009), "Pathways to High Performance Sport Governing Bodies", paper presented at : European Association of Sport Management Conference, The Netherlands,