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Christine Reh
Department of Political Science
University College London
2017/2018
Recap Session 2 & Overview of Sessions 3-10
Methodology (3–10)
Comparative Method, Case
Studies, Process-Tracing
Case Studies, Ethnography,
Discourse Analysis
Methods (5-9)
Ethnographic methods, participant
observation, interviews, focus
groups, document analysis,
discourse analysis 2
3. The Comparative Method & Case Studies
_________________________________________
Outline of Session 3
Lecture
1. Methodology (& Methods): An Introduction
2. The Comparative Method in Context
3. What is the Case Study Method?
4. Techniques for Case Selection
Seminar
• Analysis & evaluation of case selection (in view of the RQ and
theoretical argument) in Stephan & Chenoweth (2008)
• Main aim = train our awareness of the link between our RQ,
theoretical argument, methodology chosen and cases selected 3
1. Methodology (& Methods): An Introduction
Methodology
Attempted Remedies
• within-case variation
• reduction of the analytical property-space
• comparison of comparable cases (“most similar” designs)
• focus on “macro hypotheses” (ROKKAN 1966)
Diverse Cases
• display maximum variation along relevant dimensions
• aim = hypothesis-seeking (focus on X or Y)
• aim = hypothesis-testing (focus on X/Y)
• aim = uncover pathways (X➞[(n1➞)*(n2➞)*(n3➞)]➞Y)
Extreme Case
• displays an extreme (unusual, rare) value on X or Y
• Aim = exploration of possible causes of Y or effects of X
• ! = large sample of background cases 12
Two Dimensions of Consensus & Majoritarian Democracies
(LIJPHART 2012)
Single-Party Multi-Party
Government Government
Centralisation UK Netherlands
Federalism US Germany
13
Deviant (“Non-Representative”) Case
• displays a theoretical anomaly in the causal relationship
• aim = probe for a new, as yet unspecified explanation
• NB: relative “deviantness” can change when the model is altered
Influential Case
• similar to a deviant case, displays an outlying relationship
• aim = identify whether these outliers drive the large-N results
Christine Reh
Department of Political Science
University College London
2017/2018