Process Tracing and Causal Mechanisms

Between X and Y: how process tracing contributes to opening the black box of causality

Trampusch, C., & Palier, B. (2016) · New Political Economy · doi:10.1080/13563467.2015.1134465 · Cited by 361

Process Tracing and Historical Explanation

Mahoney, J. (2015) · Security Studies · doi:10.1080/09636412.2015.1036610 · Cited by 296

Qualitative Methods

Gerring, J. (2017) · Annual Review of Political Science · doi:10.1146/annurev-polisci-092415-024158 · Cited by 443

Process Tracing: From Philosophical Roots to Best PracticesPreprint

Checkel, J. T., & Bennett, A. (2011) · SSRN Electronic Journal · Cited by 200

Selecting Appropriate Cases When Tracing Causal Mechanisms

Beach, D., & Pedersen, R. B. (2018) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/0049124115622510 · Cited by 198

Children’s Creativity: A Theoretical Framework and Systematic Review

Küpers, E., Lehmann-Wermser, A., McPherson, G. E., & van Geert, P. L. C. (2018) · Review of Educational Research · doi:10.3102/0034654318815707 · Cited by 269

It's all about mechanisms – what process-tracing case studies should be tracing

Beach, D. (2016) · New Political Economy · doi:10.1080/13563467.2015.1134466 · Cited by 174

Integrating Cross-case Analyses and Process Tracing in Set-Theoretic Research

Beach, D., & Rohlfing, I. (2015) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/0049124115613780 · Cited by 181

Comparative Process Tracing

Bengtsson, B., & Ruonavaara, H. (2016) · Philosophy of the Social Sciences · doi:10.1177/0048393116658549 · Cited by 102

Antidote to Backsliding: Ethnic Politics and Democratic Resilience

Rovný, J. (2023) · American Political Science Review · doi:10.1017/s000305542200140x · Cited by 79

Rethinking the Resource Curse

Smith, B. B., & Waldner, D. (2021) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781108776837 · Cited by 75

Launching Revolution: Social Media and the Egyptian Uprising’s First Movers

Clarke, K., & Kocak, K. (2020) · British Journal of Political Science · doi:10.1017/s0007123418000194 · Cited by 72

Styles of Causal Thought: An Empirical Investigation

Abend, G., Petre, C., & Sauder, M. (2013) · American Journal of Sociology · doi:10.1086/675892 · Cited by 73

Process Tracing Methods

Beach, D. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-16936-7_43 · Cited by 79

Finding Pathways: Mixed-Method Research for Studying Causal Mechanisms

Weller, N., & Barnes, J. (2014) · Cited by 62

What is mechanistic evidence, and why do we need it for evidence-based policy?

Marchionni, C., & Reijula, S. (2018) · Studies in History and Philosophy of Science Part A · doi:10.1016/j.shpsa.2018.08.003 · Cited by 55

Ideology and Mass Killing

Maynard, J. L. (2022) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198776796.001.0001 · Cited by 55

Process Tracing and the Problem of Missing Data

Ocantos, E. A. G., & LaPorte, J. (2019) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/0049124119826153 · Cited by 57

Environmental Legal Mobilization

Vanhala, L. C. (2022) · Annual Review of Law and Social Science · doi:10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-050520-104423 · Cited by 44

Kausale Mechanismen und Process Tracing

Nullmeier, F. (2021) · Campus Verlag eBooks · doi:10.12907/978-3-593-44400-0 · Cited by 36

Mitigating risk of failure in information technology projects: Causes and mechanisms

Schmidt, J. (2023) · Project Leadership and Society · doi:10.1016/j.plas.2023.100097 · Cited by 56

Process Tracing Methods

Beach, D. (2018) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-16937-4_43-1 · Cited by 42

Parliaments in Time

Koß, M. (2018) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.001.0001 · Cited by 57

How do we tell authoritarian diffusion from illusion? Exploring methodological issues of qualitative research on authoritarian diffusion

Ambrosio, T., & Tolstrup, J. (2019) · Quality & Quantity · doi:10.1007/s11135-019-00892-8 · Cited by 38

Mechanisms, Bayesianism, and process tracing

Mahoney, J. (2016) · New Political Economy · doi:10.1080/13563467.2016.1201803 · Cited by 26

Pfade, Mechanismen, Ereignisse. Zur gegenwärtigen Forschungslage in der Soziologie sozialer Prozesse

Schützeichel, R. (2015) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-531-93458-7_5 · Cited by 26

Conservative solutions for progress: on solution types when combining QCA with in-depth Process-Tracing

Álamos‐Concha, P., Pattyn, V., Rihoux, B., Schalembier, B., Beach, D., & Cambré, B. (2021) · Quality & Quantity · doi:10.1007/s11135-021-01191-x · Cited by 29

Causation Is Not Everything: On Constitution and Trans-Actional View of Social Science Methodology

Selg, P. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-26380-5_2 · Cited by 28

Deliberative Ecologies: Complexity and Social–Ecological Dynamics in International Environmental Negotiations

Pickering, J. (2019) · Global Environmental Politics · doi:10.1162/glep_a_00506 · Cited by 24

Enhancing our understanding of the commercial determinants of health: Theories, methods, and insights from political science

Gómez, E. J. (2022) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.114931 · Cited by 23

Assessing Olympic legacy claims: Evaluating explanations of causal mechanisms and policy outcomes

Chen, S., & Henry, I. P. (2019) · Evaluation · doi:10.1177/1356389019836675 · Cited by 20

Varieties of Process Tracing and Ways to Answer Why-Questions

Rohlfing, I. (2013) · European Political Science · doi:10.1057/eps.2012.7 · Cited by 20

Policy styles and pandemic management: The case of Turkey

Öztığ, L. İ. (2022) · European Policy Analysis · doi:10.1002/epa2.1155 · Cited by 17

Integrating human dimensions in decadal-scale prediction for marine social–ecological systems: lighting the grey zone

Melbourne-Thomas, J., Tommasi, D., Gehlen, M., Murphy, E. J., Beckensteiner, J., Bravo, F., Eddy, T. D., Fischer, M., Fulton, E. A., Gogina, M., et al. (2022) · ICES Journal of Marine Science · doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsac228 · Cited by 16

Why Causal Mechanisms and Process Tracing Should Alter Case Selection Guidance

Saylor, R. (2018) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/0049124118769109 · Cited by 18

The development of local knowledge orders: a conceptual framework to explain differences in climate policy at the local level

Heinelt, H., & Lamping, W. (2015) · Urban Research & Practice · doi:10.1080/17535069.2015.1051378 · Cited by 18

Democratization, party systems, and the endogenous roots of Ghanaian clientelism

Driscoll, B. (2019) · Democratization · doi:10.1080/13510347.2019.1666265 · Cited by 16

Method in relational-explanatory geography

Yeung, H. W. (2024) · Progress in Human Geography · doi:10.1177/03091325241248847 · Cited by 16

Coordinating the energy transition: Electrifying transportation in California and Germany

Goedeking, N., & Meckling, J. (2024) · Energy Policy · doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2024.114321 · Cited by 13

Concrete Counterfactual Tests for Process Tracing: Defending an Interventionist Potential Outcomes Framework

Runhardt, R. W. (2022) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/00491241221134523 · Cited by 18

Big data-mediated repression: a novel form of preemptive repression in China’s Xinjiang region

Öztığ, L. İ. (2023) · Contemporary Politics · doi:10.1080/13569775.2023.2203568 · Cited by 13

Process-Tracing as a Tool to Analyse Discretion

Reykers, Y., & Beach, D. (2017) · Palgrave studies in European Union politics · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-55137-1_11 · Cited by 14

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and Set Theory

Wagemann, C. (2017) · Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Politics · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.247 · Cited by 12

Refugee flows, foreign policy, and safe haven nexus in Turkey

Öztığ, L. İ. (2021) · Third World Quarterly · doi:10.1080/01436597.2021.2009335 · Cited by 11

Process Tracing

Meegdenburg, H. V. (2022) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.4324/9781003139850-31 · Cited by 11

Process Tracing

Siewert, M. Β. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-17189-6_9 · Cited by 10

Taking Mechanisms Seriously?

Beach, D. (2012) · European Political Science · doi:10.1057/eps.2012.5 · Cited by 10

Interpretivism versus Positivism in an Age of Causal Inference

Lawler, J., & Waldner, D. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197519806.013.11 · Cited by 10

Let’s not conflate APD with political history, and other reflections on “Causal Inference and American Political Development”

Galvin, D. J. (2019) · Public Choice · doi:10.1007/s11127-019-00695-3 · Cited by 9

Dealing with the epistemic-democratic tension in policy-making. Institutional design choices for multi-layered democratic innovations

Krick, E. (2021) · Political Research Exchange · doi:10.1080/2474736x.2021.1893608 · Cited by 8

Gender and democratic resilience against autocratisation: the case of Romania’s ‘gender identity’ bill

Chiva, C. (2023) · European Journal of Politics and Gender · doi:10.1332/251510821x16735398665628 · Cited by 7

Restorative Revitalization in Inner-Ring Suburban Communities: Lessons from Maple Heights, OH

Lebovits, H. (2022) · Urban Affairs Review · doi:10.1177/10780874221107353 · Cited by 6

Process Tracing

Dowding, K. M. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197519806.013.16 · Cited by 6

Qualitative Research in Political Science

Zahle, J. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197519806.013.10 · Cited by 6

How should philosophy of social science proceed?

Kincaid, H. (2011) · Metascience · doi:10.1007/s11016-011-9592-7 · Cited by 5

Pathway Analysis, Causal Mediation, and the Identification of Causal Mechanisms

Röth, L. (2023) · Texts in quantitative political analysis · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-12982-7_6 · Cited by 4

Causality in Policy Studies

Damonte, A., & Negri, F. (2023) · Texts in quantitative political analysis · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-12982-7 · Cited by 3

Process tracing og studiet af kausale mekanismer

Beach, D. (2014) · Politica · doi:10.7146/politica.v46i1.69759 · Cited by 4

A Methodological Roadmap for the Study of Soft Power

Ohnesorge, H. W. (2019) · Global power shift · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-29922-4_4 · Cited by 4

Causal Inference and Policy Evaluation from Case Studies Using Bayesian Process Tracing

Bennett, A. (2023) · Texts in Quantitative Political Analysis · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-12982-7_8 · Cited by 3

When to Use Counterfactuals in Causal Historiography: Methods for Semantics and Inference

Jeong, T. (2025) · Sociological Methods & Research · doi:10.1177/00491241251314039 · Cited by 3

Process Tracing

Clarke, C. J. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197519806.013.15 · Cited by 3

Nineteen Kinds of Theories about Mechanisms that Every Social Science Graduate Student Should Know

Bennett, A., & Mishkin, B. (2023) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197519806.013.8 · Cited by 3

Israeli Policy Toward African Asylum Seekers and Unauthorized Migrants

Öztığ, L. İ. (2022) · Borders in Globalization Review · doi:10.18357/bigr32202220573 · Cited by 3

Concrete Counterfactual Tests for Process-TracingPreprint

Runhardt, R. W. (2020) · doi:10.33774/apsa-2020-0vhbb · Cited by 3

An IT project postmortem: identifying root causes and eliminating rival explanations

Schmidt, J. (2024) · Journal of Information Technology Case and Application Research · doi:10.1080/15228053.2024.2426965 · Cited by 3

Fallstudien und Methoden

Orban, A., & Trampusch, C. (2019) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-22803-3_19 · Cited by 2

Foreign direct investment (FDI) as indicator of regime type: contemporary Serbian – Turkish relations

Pacariz, S. (2022) · Journal of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies · doi:10.1080/14683857.2022.2035034 · Cited by 2

Das causas na Ciência Política

Lenine, E., & Machado, R. (2023) · Cuadernos de Filosofía Latinoamericana · doi:10.15332/25005375.8464 · Cited by 2

The Political Origins of Colonial Land Policy: Evidence From British India and French Algeria

Lawrence, A. K., & Sajid, F. M. (2024) · Comparative Political Studies · doi:10.1177/00104140241252093 · Cited by 2

The Analysis of Talking and Working Legislatures

Koß, M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.003.0002 · Cited by 1

Political Semiotics as a Constitutive Explanation and Abductive Research Logic

Selg, P., & Ventsel, A. (2020) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-48780-5_7 · Cited by 1

Methodology, Theory and Context

Krick, E. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-75329-0_2 · Cited by 1

Políticas públicas de ciberdefensa en Chile y Colombia

Moreno, H. M. M., Rosero, M. J. P., Larrotta, A. Y. R., & Briceño, R. G. (2022) · Brújula Semilleros de Investigación · doi:10.21830/23460628.118 · Cited by 1

Process tracing na Ciência Política e nas Relações Internacionais brasileiras:

Lenine, E., Grizenti, E., Bia, A., & Cardoso, B. (2024) · Carta Internacional · doi:10.21530/ci.v18n3.2023.1365 · Cited by 1

Comparative Historical Analysis

Singh, P. (2024) · doi:10.1093/oso/9780197633137.003.0034 · Cited by 1

How Large-established Joint Venture Firm Remains Resilient in a Disruptive Era: A Process Tracing Case Study

Tarigan, M., Simatupang, T. M., & Bangun, Y. R. (2021) · BISNIS & BIROKRASI Jurnal Ilmu Administrasi dan Organisasi · doi:10.20476/jbb.v28i2.1269 · Cited by 1

Does local resistance impact the transnational normative environment? The case of female genital mutilation (FGM)

Öztığ, L. İ. (2022) · Health Care For Women International · doi:10.1080/07399332.2022.2129644 · Cited by 1

A água como premissa positiva nas relações internacionais: a lógica da cooperação que contraria a hipótese de conflito violento

de Castro, D. (2014) · Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (Universidade de São Paulo) · doi:10.11606/t.8.2014.tde-01122014-184436

Filosofia das ciências sociais: temas atuais

Kincaid, H. (2014) · Tempo Social · doi:10.1590/s0103-20702014000200002

Water Scarcity and Violent Conflict in International Relations: How Process Tracing Contributes to Demystify this Alleged Causal Relationship—The Rio Grande-Colorado Case

de Castro, D. (2016) · International Relations and Diplomacy · doi:10.17265/2328-2134/2016.02.005

The Renewal of Qualitative Methods

Waldner, D. (2014) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0107

Tracing the process of institutional change : the case of the National Pension Scheme reforms in South Korea

Moon, H. (2018) · White Rose eTheses Online (University of Leeds, The University of Sheffield, University of York)

Pathways to Path-Dependence, 1918–90

Koß, M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.003.0006

Adaptations, 1991–2015

Koß, M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.003.0007

A Dynamic Partisan Perspective on Procedural Reform

Koß, M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.003.0003

Procedural Reforms and their Context

Koß, M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.003.0004

(Non-)Departures from the Legislative State of Nature, 1866–1917

Koß, M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.003.0005

Introduction: Legislators in the Steel-Hard Casing

Koß, M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.003.0001

Conclusion: Maintaining Legislative Democracy

Koß, M. (2018) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198766919.003.0008

Research Methods: Process-Tracing Methods

Beach, D. (2016) · Routledge eBooks · doi:10.1081/e-epap3-120053464

Striking the balance of powers: the spanish constitutional court and the battle for public support

Gil-Porquet, F. (2019) · Repositori digital de la UPF (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

The Frontiers of American Grand Strategy: Settlers, Elites, and the Standing Army in America's Indian Wars

Szarejko, A. A. (2020) · DigitalGeorgetown (Georgetown University Library)

Social Realism and Social/Cultural Morphogenesis

Bouchard, J. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88032-3_4

Complex Systems and Social/Cultural Morphogenesis

Bouchard, J. (2021) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-88032-3_6

Pious Plans and Porous Borders: Rebel Governance and Cross-Border Sanctuary in the Syrian Civil War

Plapinger, S. H. (2014) · doi:10.18130/v37d44

Methodik

von Berg, A. (2022) · Ideologie und Gewalt - Schriften zur Deradikalisierung · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-37326-9_5

How Does Ideology Explain Mass Killing?

Maynard, J. L. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198776796.003.0003

Clarifying Ideology

Maynard, J. L. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198776796.003.0002

The Hardline Justification of Mass Killing

Maynard, J. L. (2022) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/oso/9780198776796.003.0004

Causal Mechanisms and Process Tracing

(2012) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.2307/j.cttq94gh.11

Chapter 8. Causal Mechanisms and Process Tracing

(2012) · Princeton University Press eBooks · doi:10.1515/9781400845446-009 · Cited by 1

Case Studies and (Causal-) Process Tracing

Blatter, J., & Haverland, M. (2014) · Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks · doi:10.1057/9781137314154_4 · Cited by 94

Taking Process-tracing seriously - the study of causal mechanisms

Pedersen, R. B., & Beach, D. (2011)

Observing Causal Mechanisms With Process-Tracing Methods - A Mechanistic Approach

Pedersen, R. B., & Beach, D. (2010)