Between Complexity and Parsimony: Limited Diversity, Counterfactual Cases, and Comparative Analysis
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Counterfactual analysis has a long and distinguished history in comparative research. To some, counterfactual analysis is central to comparative inquiry because such research typically embraces only a handful of empirical cases (Fearon 1991). If there are only a few instances (e.g., of revolution), then researchers, of necessity, must compare empirical cases to hypothetical cases. The affinity between counterfactual analysis and comparative research, however, derives not from its focus on small Ns, but from its configurational nature. Case-oriented explanations of outcomes are often combinatorial in nature, stressing specific configurations of causal conditions. Rather than focus on the net effects of causal conditions, case-oriented explanations emphasize their combined effects.
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The intermediate solution provides an advantageous balance of parsimony and complexity.
“Our group agrees with the position of Ragin and Sonnett [46] that the intermediate solution provides an advantageous balance of parsimony and complexity that is at once concise, yet flexible enough to account for diverse contexts and therefore we will report the intermediate solution.”
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“about which solution set to report, with significant expert disagreement [43, 45, 46].”
BackgroundResult
- Authors
- Ragin, C. C., & Sonnett, J.
- Affiliations
- University of Arizona (US)
- Venue
- Vergleichen in der Politikwissenschaft
- Publisher
- VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften
- Published
- 2005
- Pages
- 180-197
- OpenAlex
- W1601526904
- Cited by
- 316
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 17 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 21 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 20 · 2012: 10
- FWCI
- 36.76
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- de
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften eBooks (publishedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research
- Social Sciences › Political Science and International Relations › Political Science Research and Education
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy and History of Science
- Keywords
- counterfactual analysis, comparative analysis, configurational analysis, causal conditions, parsimony
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