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Is Causal-Process Observation an Oxymoron?

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  • Beck, Nathaniel

Abstract

When I first read King, Keohane, and Verba (1994) (KKV), I was excited by the general theme of what seemed to me the obvious, but usually unspoken, idea that all political scientists, both quantitative and qualitative, are scientists and governed by the same scientific standards. KKV, as Henry Brady (Brady and Collier 2004, chap. 3) cleverly notes, clearly were preaching to the qualitative researcher, and the subject of the sermon was that qualitative researchers should adopt many of the ideas standard in quantitative research. Thus, to abuse both the metaphor and KKV, one might compare KKV to the view of the Inquisition that we are all God's children. But, having sat through many talks based on case studies, it is clear to me that getting everyone to think about the nature of the scientific enterprise we are all engaged in can only be a good thing.

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  • Beck, Nathaniel, 2006. "Is Causal-Process Observation an Oxymoron?," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 14(3), pages 347-352, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:polals:v:14:y:2006:i:03:p:347-352_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Richard A. Nielsen, 2016. "Case Selection via Matching," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 45(3), pages 569-597, August.
    2. Ingo Rohlfing, 2014. "Comparative Hypothesis Testing Via Process Tracing," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 43(4), pages 606-642, November.
    3. Alejandro Avenburg & John Gerring & Jason Seawright, 2023. "How do social scientists reach causal inferences? A study of reception," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 257-275, February.
    4. Richards, Paul, 2011. "A Systematic Approach to Cultural Explanations of War: Tracing Causal Processes in Two West African Insurgencies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(2), pages 212-220, February.
    5. Nicholas Weller & Jeb Barnes, 2016. "Pathway Analysis and the Search for Causal Mechanisms," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 45(3), pages 424-457, August.

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