Due to water damage, the offices of Ms. Anlauft, Mr. Brenner, Mr. Perkola, Mr. Sartorius and Mr. Wagemann as well as the workstations of our student employees are currently not accessible. Unfortunately, we are currently unable to carry out activities for which we need a scanner, printer or material from the offices.

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 Chair in Qualitative Empirical Research Methods

Our publications

Complete publication lists can be found on the pages of the respective persons:

Prof. Dr. Claudius Wagemann
Dr. Benedikt Bender
Dr. Mahmoud Farag
Dr. Seraphine F. Maerz
On this page we present some publications. Especially in the social sciences, publications are the typical "products" of our scientific activities. As a professor of methods, we are quite book-heavy, because we are also very involved in the field of textbooks and handbooks. Our research assistants are also encouraged at a very early stage to strive for publications.

Qualitative Comparative Analysis 

Bookcover_Handbuch_Policiy_Forschung
Springer recently published the second edition of the Handbook of Policy Research, edited by Georg Wenzelburger and Reimut Zohlnhöfer. As in the first edition, Claudius Wagemann has again contributed a chapter on Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Here is the abstract: The article introduces "Qualitative Comparative Analysis" (QCA). It is a systematization of the logic of comparative case studies that applies set-theoretical procedures to the social sciences. After an overview of the logic of the procedure, QCA is described as a systematic comparative research design. Calibration and the steps involved in analyzing necessary or sufficient conditions are then discussed. Three example studies related to policy analysis in which QCA is applied are then presented. The paper concludes by showing the developments QCA has taken in recent years and the positive and negative effects of the increasing use of powerful software options on the application of QCA.

Bookchapter

Wagemann, C. (2023). Qualitative Comparative Analysis. In: Wenzelburger, G., Zohlnhöfer, R. (eds) Handbuch Policy-Forschung. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-34560-0_16

Handbuch Methoden der Politikwissenschaft

Bookcover_Handbuch_Methoden_der_Politikwissenschaft
This handbook contains contributions on methodological research and application in political science written by leading experts in the German-speaking and international area. Firstly, it describes the insights that can be gained with the respective method. Second, the basic principles of the respective application are explained and the reader is given an introduction to the functioning of the method. Third, the contributions enable the reader to critically read publications written with the described methods and techniques, to assess the procedure and quality of the method application, and to evaluate the validity of the results obtained. And fourth, the contributions outline important fields of application of the methods using examples of political science publications.

Book

Handbuch Methoden der Politikwissenschaft: Wiesbaden Springer VS Achim Goerres, Markus B. Siewert, Claudius Wagemann (2020) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-16936-7

Qualitative Methoden in der Politikwissenschaft

Bookcover_Qualitative_Methoden_in_der_Politikwissenschaft
This book offers a cross-paradigm account of the qualitative methodological repertoire in political science. Interpretive methods (qualitative interviews, group discussions, observational procedures, content analysis, discourse analysis, hermeneutic procedures, ethnographic methods, and grounded theory); case study methodology (descriptive-comparative case studies, case-comparative causal analysis, process analysis, and congruence analysis); and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), especially in its fuzzy set variant, are covered. Many examples round out the textbook.

Book

Qualitative Methoden in der Politikwissenschaft I Eine Einführung: Wiesbaden Springer VS Joachim Blatter, Phil C. Langer, Claudius Wagemann (2018) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-14955-0

Set-Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences

Bookcover_Set_Theoretic_Methods
Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and other set-theoretic methods distinguish themselves from other approaches to the study of social phenomena by using sets and the search for set relations. In virtually all social science fields, statements about social phenomena can be framed in terms of set relations, and using set-theoretic methods to investigate these statements is therefore highly valuable. This book guides readers through the basic principles of set theory and then on to the applied practices of QCA. It provides a thorough understanding of basic and advanced issues in set-theoretic methods together with tricks of the trade, software handling and exercises. Most arguments are introduced using examples from existing research. The use of QCA is increasing rapidly and the application of set-theory is both fruitful and still widely misunderstood in current empirical comparative social research. This book provides the comprehensive guide to these methods for researchers across the social sciences.

Book

Schneider, C. & Wagemann, C. (2012). Set-Theoretic Methods for the Social Sciences: A Guide to Qualitative Comparative Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781139004244