The DOI matches its Crossref record; 7 of the 7 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Systematic Process Analysis: when and how to use it
Abstract
Challenging the contention that statistical methods applied to large numbers of cases invariably provide better grounds for causal inference, this article explores the value of a method of systematic process analysis that can be applied in a small number of cases. It distinguishes among three modes of explanation – historically specific, multivariate and theory-oriented – and argues that systematic process analysis has special value for developing theory-oriented explanations. It outlines the steps required to perform such analysis well and illustrates them with reference to Owen's investigation of the ‘democratic peace’. Comparing the results available from this kind of method with those from statistical analysis, it examines the conditions under which each method is warranted. Against conceptions of the ‘comparative method’, which imply that small- n case-studies provide weak grounds for causal inference, it argues that the intensive examination of a small number of cases can be an appropriate research design for testing such inferences.
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Increasing Returns, Path Dependence, and the Study of Politics
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BackgroundFalsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research Programmes
Lakatos, I. (1970) · Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge · doi:10.1017/cbo9781139171434.009 · Cited by 4,649 · cited 2×
“As the familiar adage has it, research in social science is most likely to advance when it focuses on a 'three-cornered fight' among a theory, a rival theory, and a set of empirical observations (Lakatos, 1970).”
Path dependence in historical sociology
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The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies
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The Logic of Historical Explanation
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Research works printed but not linked: 35
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Capoccia, G., & Kelemen, R. D. (2007) · World Politics · doi:10.1017/s0043887100020852 · Cited by 2,410
Theorising from case studies: Towards a pluralist future for international business research
Welch, C., Piekkari, R., Plakoyiannaki, E., & Paavilainen‐Mäntymäki, E. (2010) · Journal of International Business Studies · doi:10.1057/jibs.2010.55 · Cited by 1,336
Faems, D., Janssens, M., Madhok, A., & Looy, B. V. (2008) · Academy of Management Journal · doi:10.5465/amj.2008.35732527 · Cited by 609
The Logic of Process Tracing Tests in the Social Sciences
Mahoney, J. (2012) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/0049124112437709 · Cited by 577
What is missing? Cultural processes and causal pathways to inequality
Lamont, M., Beljean, S., & Clair, M. (2014) · Socio-Economic Review · doi:10.1093/ser/mwu011 · Cited by 545
“…and how they are represented or debated in various arenas (public discourse and scholarly research for instance).24 To carry out such analysis, sociologists could borrow from political scientists who use macro- and meso-level ‘systematic process tracing’ as a method (as described in Hall, 2006).”
Background
Metadata
- Authors
- Hall, P. A.
- Affiliations
- Harvard University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Hall, Peter A
- ORCID
- Hall, Peter A
- Venue
- European Political Science
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2008-08
- Volume
- 7
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 304-317
- ISSN
- 1680-4333 (ISSN-L)
- 1682-0983
- OpenAlex
- W2037420462
- Cited by
- 143
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 11 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 18.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- European Political Science (publishedVersion)
- 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 of Biology and Scientific Explanation
- Keywords
- causal inference, comparative analysis, democratic peace, research design
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