Analytic Induction for Social Research

A free ebook version of this title is available through Luminos, University of California Press’s Open Access publishing program. Visit www.luminosoa.org to learn more.

This book explores analytic induction, an approach to the analysis of cross-case evidence on qualitative outcomes that has deep roots in sociology. A popular research technique in the early decades of empirical sociology, analytic induction differs fundamentally as a method of social research from conventional variation-based approaches. In Analytic Induction for Social Research, Charles C. Ragin demonstrates that much is gained from systematizing analytic induction. The approach he introduces here offers a new template for conducting cross-case analysis and provides a new set of tools for answering common research questions that existing methods cannot address.

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction 

PART ONE. THE LOGIC OF ANALYTIC INDUCTION 

1. Classic Analytic Induction
2. Reconciling Disconfirming Cases 
3. Explaining Variation versus Explaining Outcomes 
4. The Uses of “Negative” Cases in Social Research 

PART TWO. GENERALIZED ANALYTIC INDUCTION 

5. Classic versus Generalized Analytic Induction 
6. The Interpretive Logic of Generalized Analytic Induction 
7. Generalized Analytic Induction: A Step-by-Step Guide 
8. Using Generalized AI to Reanalyze Viterna’s Study of Women’s Mobilization into the Salvadoran Guerrilla Army 
9. Applying Generalized AI to Conventional Quantitative Data 
10. Core Features of Generalized Analytic Induction 

Appendix A. Brief Overview of Qualitative Comparative Analysis 
Appendix B. Fuzzy Sets 
Appendix C. Using fsQCA Software to Implement Generalized AI 
Appendix D. Converting “Sum-of-Products” Expressions to “Product-of-Sums” Expressions 
Appendix E. Measures Used in Logistic Regression Analysis 
Notes 
References 
Index