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Guarding Against False Positives in Qualitative Comparative Analysis

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  • Braumoeller, Bear F.

Abstract

The various methodological techniques that fall under the umbrella description of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) are increasingly popular for modeling causal complexity and necessary or sufficient conditions in medium-N settings. Because QCA methods are not designed as statistical techniques, however, there is no way to assess the probability that the patterns they uncover are the result of chance. Moreover, the implications of the multiple hypothesis tests inherent in these techniques for the false positive rate of the results are not widely understood. This article fills both gaps by tailoring a simple permutation test to the needs of QCA users and adjusting the Type I error rate of the test to take into account the multiple hypothesis tests inherent in QCA. An empirical application–a reexamination of a study of protest-movement success in the Arab Spring–highlights the need for such a test by showing that even very strong QCA results may plausibly be the result of chance.

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  • Braumoeller, Bear F., 2015. "Guarding Against False Positives in Qualitative Comparative Analysis," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 23(4), pages 471-487.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:polals:v:23:y:2015:i:04:p:471-487_01
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    Cited by:

    1. Eva Thomann & Martino Maggetti, 2020. "Designing Research With Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA): Approaches, Challenges, and Tools," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 49(2), pages 356-386, May.
    2. Kosmidou, Vasiliki & Holt, Daniel T., 2022. "The relationship between family management and performance: A configurational approach in exploring the role of socioemotional wealth and generational stage," Journal of Family Business Strategy, Elsevier, vol. 13(4).
    3. Victoria Finn, 2022. "A qualitative assessment of QCA: method stretching in large-N studies and temporality," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3815-3830, October.
    4. Bear F. Braumoeller, 2017. "Aggregation Bias and the Analysis of Necessary and Sufficient Conditions in fsQCA," Sociological Methods & Research, , vol. 46(2), pages 242-251, March.
    5. Stav Fainshmidt & Michael A Witt & Ruth V Aguilera & Alain Verbeke, 2020. "The contributions of qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) to international business research," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 51(4), pages 455-466, June.
    6. Tang, Pengcheng & Yang, Shuxiang & Yang, Shuwang, 2020. "How to design corporate governance structures to enhance corporate social responsibility in China's mining state-owned enterprises?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).

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