Professor Ragin proposes a synthetic new strategy, based on an application of Boolean algebra, that will combine the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative sociology. Elegantly accessible and germane to the work of all the social sciences, this book will garner interest, debate, and praise from many quarters.
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"If the book is taken as seriously as I think it should be, in a very short time it could transform the way in which comparative sociological research is done." -- Social Forces
"In an interesting and clearly written fashion, [Ragin] deals with the very genuine problem in the social sciences of finding an appropriate methodology to link ideas and evidence." -- R. P. Haining, Environment and Planning
"This is a readable and useful book . . . an extended essay on one particular method, which is easy to understand, easy to apply, and generally useful. The method itself is implemented in a computer technique. . . . This method will systematize the analysis and produce an elegant statement of the combination of conditions which lead to a divided working class -- provided there are no contradictions in the data. Where there are contradictions, Ragin's method will identify these combinations of conditions that lead to an ambiguous result." (William Miller, Study of Public Policy
"Without a doubt, Ragin has made an important contribution with this book. . . . [It] should be studied by any researcher doing case by case comparisons, whether those cases be societies or organizations. This book opens a new field of comparative methodology. It will create new research possibilities. It will stir new methodological debates. Most important, it will allow us all, in a more sophisticated way, to get down to the task of comparing cases." -- Gary G. Hamilton, Contemporary Sociology --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"In an interesting and clearly written fashion, [Ragin] deals with the very genuine problem in the social sciences of finding an appropriate methodology to link ideas and evidence." -- R. P. Haining, Environment and Planning
"This is a readable and useful book . . . an extended essay on one particular method, which is easy to understand, easy to apply, and generally useful. The method itself is implemented in a computer technique. . . . This method will systematize the analysis and produce an elegant statement of the combination of conditions which lead to a divided working class -- provided there are no contradictions in the data. Where there are contradictions, Ragin's method will identify these combinations of conditions that lead to an ambiguous result." (William Miller, Study of Public Policy
"Without a doubt, Ragin has made an important contribution with this book. . . . [It] should be studied by any researcher doing case by case comparisons, whether those cases be societies or organizations. This book opens a new field of comparative methodology. It will create new research possibilities. It will stir new methodological debates. Most important, it will allow us all, in a more sophisticated way, to get down to the task of comparing cases." -- Gary G. Hamilton, Contemporary Sociology --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
From the Inside Flap
"This splendidly original work . . . will become an epistemological landmark appreciated by many different schools of thought that have wrestled with the methodological problems Ragin raises and answers."--Daniel Chirot, University of Washington
"Charles Ragin has produced a well-argued and highly provocative contribution to the growing literature on methods of comparative and historical sociology. While not everyone will agree, all will learn from this book. The result will be to intensify the dialogue between theory and evidence in comparative research, furthering a fruitful symbiosis of 'quantitative' and 'qualitative' methods."--Theda Skocpol, Harvard University --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
"Charles Ragin has produced a well-argued and highly provocative contribution to the growing literature on methods of comparative and historical sociology. While not everyone will agree, all will learn from this book. The result will be to intensify the dialogue between theory and evidence in comparative research, furthering a fruitful symbiosis of 'quantitative' and 'qualitative' methods."--Theda Skocpol, Harvard University --This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
methodology classic,
This review is from: The Comparative Method: Moving Beyond Qualitative and Quantitative Strategies (Paperback)
Ragin's classic on comparative analysis is a must for any sociologist or social scientist more generally. Raing spends his early chapters discussing some problems of current (at the time) methodologies: too unlike reality, too focused on independent effects of variables, not configurational enough. Then, Ragin presents his argument for getting beyond the qualitative/quantitative divide by introducing a different method of mathematical analysis of comparative data: Boolean Algebra. By coding for the presence or absence of certain factors, Boolean Algebra allows for the assessment of collections of variables (like interaction terms, only more complex) and seemingly brings together mathematical precision and qualitative depth.
While there are certainly some problems with the book (what on earth are the cases we are considering and how does one select them? How do we determine what are salient "variables" to include in the "truth tables"? etc.), it remains a classic of methodology and the corner stone of the methods that Ragin continues to develop (QCA, Fuzzy Sets, etc.). This is a must for most social scientists. Otherwise, it will make for dry reading.
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First Sentence:
Thinking without comparison is unthinkable. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
reactive ethnicity perspective, polity longevity, strong linguistic base, interpreting specific cases, ethnic competition perspective, causal conjunctures, based linguistic minorities, ethnic political mobilization, contradictory rows, multiple conjunctural causation, peasant traditionalism, causal combinations, nonexistent combinations, comparative social science, macrosocial units, prime implicant chart, comparative social scientists, greater relative wealth, specific historical outcomes, most comparativists, experimental design standard, macrosocial phenomena, socialist events, causal complexity, many comparativists Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Western Europe, Great Britain, Roman Catholic, Russian Revolution, United States, Third World, South Tyroleans, World War New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Thinking without comparison is unthinkable. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
reactive ethnicity perspective, polity longevity, strong linguistic base, interpreting specific cases, ethnic competition perspective, causal conjunctures, based linguistic minorities, ethnic political mobilization, contradictory rows, multiple conjunctural causation, peasant traditionalism, causal combinations, nonexistent combinations, comparative social science, macrosocial units, prime implicant chart, comparative social scientists, greater relative wealth, specific historical outcomes, most comparativists, experimental design standard, macrosocial phenomena, socialist events, causal complexity, many comparativists Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Western Europe, Great Britain, Roman Catholic, Russian Revolution, United States, Third World, South Tyroleans, World War New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 61
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- Agrarian Revolution by Jeffrey M. Paige on 4 pages
- The Transition from Capitalism to Socialism by John D. Stephens on 4 pages
- Comparative Social Research: Methodological Problems and Strategies (Comparative studies in behavioral science) by Michael Armer in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
- Competitive Ethnic Relations by Susan Olzak in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive by John Stuart Mill on page 36, and Back Matter
See all 61 books this book cites
- What Is a Case?: Exploring the Foundations of Social Inquiry by Charles C. Ragin on 6 pages
- A Handbook for Social Science Field Research: Essays & Bibliographic Sources on Research Design and Methods by Ellen Perecman on page 37, page 158, and page 235
- A Handbook for Social Science Field Research: Essays & Bibliographic Sources on Research Design and Methods by Ellen Perecman on page 37, page 158, and page 235
- Essential Skills for Management Research by David Partington on page 178, and page 180
- Vergleichende Regierungslehre by Raphael in Front Matter, and page 68
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