Joachim Blatter - room A34 - 12:30-14:00

Old and New Ways in Case Study Methodology

The presentation will provide an overview over the core elements of three kinds of case study approaches: The first approach is labeled "co-variational analysis" (COV). It has been dominant since the 1970s and corresponds strongly to correlational analysis in large-N studies. Through the selection of cases which are similar to each other except in respect to the factor of interest (X), the researcher tries to find out whether "x makes a difference". The second approach is called "causal-process tracing" (CPT). Process-tracing can be applied as a complement to COV, but as a stand-alone research design, it tries to answer a different kind of question: What makes the outcome (Y) possible? In order to provide an answer it presupposes that most outcomes are the result of an interplay of different factors (configurational thinking) and that timing plays an important role. In contrast to much of the literature, it will be argued that there exists a third distinct approach to case studies, labeled "congruence analysis" (CON). This approach highlights the importance of (paradigmatic) theories for the scientific discourse and sees case studies as important contributions to this discourse. Explicit reflections on the status of the selected theories and on the ex-ante likelihood of the selected cases to confirm to these theories are important elements within this approach. The newer CPT and CON approaches will be illustrated with examples.