Case Studies and Process Tracing

To do so, it explores the techniques, uses, strengths, and limitations of case study methods, while emphasizing the comparative advantages and complementarities of qualitative and quantitative methods. The research examples used to illustrate methodological issues will be drawn primarily from international relations and comparative politics, but the case study methods it covers are applicable as well to research in public policy, psychology, history, sociology, education, business, economics, epidemiology, public health, and other social and behavioral sciences.
Throughout, the course uses student exercises and discussion as well as lectures to give students hands-on experiences at the methods discussed. Many of the exercises and discussions will be introduced during Professor Bennett's lectures, and these are evident in the course materials, but the exercises for sessions 6, 7, and 9 build on materials supplied in the "Supplementary Material" links provided as course content. You will get the most out of the course if you look at these exercises in advance of the session in which we will do them.

Day 1 topics covered:

• Philosophy of science and qualitative research.
• Comparative advantages of case studies in addressing path dependency, equifinality (multiple paths to the same outcome), high order interaction effects among independent variables, selection effects, and endogeneity/feedback loops/reciprocal causation.
• Concept formation and qualitative measurement in case study research.

Day 2 topics covered:

• Case study research design for single and comparative case studies, including how to: 1) identify a great research question; 2) develop alternative explanations for the outcomes of the cases under study; and 3) choose which cases to study and compare.
• Common challenges to causal inference from case studies and how to address them.
• Typological theorizing as an approach to theory-building and case selection.
• Field research, including interviews and archival work.

Day 3 topics covered:

• Process tracing (analyzing evidence from within a case to assess alternative explanations for its outcome)
• Formal Bayesian analysis of process tracing evidence (a recent innovation in case study methods)
• Exercises in traditional and formal Bayesian process tracing

By the end of the three days, participants will be equipped with the skills needed to navigate challenges in causal inference, employ typological theorizing for theory-building, and understand the process of conducting field research through interviews and archival work. This will enhance participants' ability to design, conduct, and critique methodologically sophisticated case study research, and provide a solid foundation for future research and methodological learning.

For all livestreaming seminars, each seminar is taught via Zoom and features take-home skill challenges, and all Zoom recordings and material (including program input, output, data, and slides) are available online for 30 days after the seminar concludes – in case you would prefer to attend asynchronously or you would like to go back and revisit the seminar content after it concludes. An online seminar chat forum will also be monitored by the instructor for 30 days after the seminar concludes, so that you can ask questions related to seminar content outside of the live seminar sessions. For all on-demand seminars, all videos and material (including program input, output, data, and slides) will be available for 30 days after you activate your enrollment, which you can do anytime after you purchase the on-demand seminar. An official Instats certificate of completion is provided at the conclusion of all seminars. For European students, our seminars offer ECTS Equivalent points, which is indicated on the certificate of completion that is provided at the conclusion of each seminar (see the Instats FAQ for details).