Böcker av Charles C. Ragin

Offers a critique of the standard approach to social research - namely, assessing the relative importance of causal variables drawn from competing theories. This book proposes the use of set-theoretic methods to find a middle path between quantitative and qualitative research.

"Breaks new ground in introducing analytic induction as an approach distinct from qualitative comparative analysis. Charles Ragin's writing is among the clearest, most accessible, and engaging that I know."--Peer C. Fiss, Jill and Frank Fertitta Chair in Business Administration and Professor of Management and Organization, University of Southern California "At a time when methodological debates are becoming increasingly mathematical, this intervention is both refreshingly nontechnical and unusually helpful for qualitative researchers in sociology and political science. Because of its clarity, brevity, and usability, qualitative researchers in the social sciences are going to want a copy of this book."--James Mahoney, Gordon Fulcher Professor in Decision-Making and Professor of Sociology and Political Science, Northwestern University

By comparing qualitative research on commonalities, comparative research on diversity, and quantitative research on relationships among variables, this text is ideal for those studying all types of social issues.

Charles C. Ragin's The Comparative Method proposes a synthetic strategy, based on an application of Boolean algebra, that combines the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative sociology. Elegantly accessible and germane to the work of all the social sciences, and now updated with a new introduction, this book will continue to garner interest, debate, and praise.