QCA-package: A Package for Qualitative Comparative Analysis
Description
This package implements the method of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) as
developed by Ragin (1987) and extended by Ragin (2000, 2008) and Cronqvist and
Berg-Schlosser (2009). QCA is a family of configurational comparative techniques
that use Boolean algebra and its various generalizations, fusing concepts of
set theory and propositional logic.
Three basic variants can currently be processed: crisp-set QCA (csQCA), multi-value
QCA (mvQCA) and fuzzy-set QCA (fsQCA). A subvariant of csQCA called temporal QCA
(tQCA) is also available (Caren and Panofsky 2005; Ragin and Strand 2008). The
'QCA' package extends these basic variants in various directions and offers novel
and complementary functionality.
As of version 0.4-5, the package has had a new function called eqmcc
(enhanced Quine-McCluskey) that finds exact solutions much faster and with
substantially lower memory consumption than QMC (Dusa 2007, 2010). Since version
1.0-4, the compilation of major parts of the code in the C language has increased
the speed of some core functions such as superSubset. Since version
1.1-0, eqmcc has been made more flexible: besides the previous
possibility to relax row dominance (Thiem and Dusa 2013a), Coincidence Analysis
(Baumgartner 2009a, b) can now be mimicked and multivalent outcomes are allowed.
In addition, truth tables for csQCA and mvQCA can now be coded on the basis of
inference-statistical tests. For more details, see the package's change log file.
Several data sets from various areas of research have also been integrated in
order to facilitate familiarization with the package's functionality. Areas
currently covered are education (d.SS), environmental sciences
(d.Bas), evaluation (d.SA), health
(d.BWB), management (d.CZH), political science
(d.Emm, d.HK, d.Kro) and sociology
(d.CS). For more details, see the data sets' documentation files.
How to make the most of the package's capabilities is demonstrated in detail by
Thiem and Dusa (2013b) with examples from political science (note that data sets
have been renamed). The general reference for the QCA package is Thiem and Dusa
(2013c). Later versions of the package than those used in these publications may
feature different functions, arguments or values, but backward compatibility is
ensured.Details
ll{
Package: QCA
Type: Package
Version: 1.1-0
Date: 2013-10-31
License: GPL (>= 2)
}References
Baumgartner, Michael. 2009a. Uncovering Deterministic Causal Structures: A
Boolean Approach.
Synthese 170 (1):71-96.
Baumgartner, Michael. 2009b. Inferring Causal Complexity.
Sociological Methods & Research 38 (1):71-101.
Caren, Neal, and Aaron Panofsky. 2005. TQCA: A Technique for Adding Temporality
to Qualitative Comparative Analysis.
Sociological Methods & Research 34 (2):147-72.
Cronqvist, Lasse, and Dirk Berg-Schlosser. 2009. Multi-Value QCA (mvQCA). In
Configurational Comparative Methods: Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)
and Related Techniques, eds. B. Rihoux and C. C. Ragin. London: Sage Publications,
pp. 69-86.
Dusa, Adrian. 2007. Enhancing Quine-McCluskey. COMPASSS: WP 2007-49. Available from:
http://www.compasss.org/wpseries/Dusa2007b.pdf.
Dusa, Adrian. 2010. A Mathematical Approach to the Boolean Minimization Problem.
Quality & Quantity 44 (1):99-113.
Ragin, Charles C. 1987. The Comparative Method: Moving beyond Qualitative and
Quantitative Strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Ragin, Charles C. 2000. Fuzzy-Set Social Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ragin, Charles C. 2008. Redesigning Social Inquiry: Fuzzy Sets and Beyond.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Ragin, Charles C., and Sarah Ilene Strand. 2008. Using Qualitative Comparative
Analysis to Study Causal Order: Comment on Caren and Panofsky (2005).
Sociological Methods & Research 36 (4):431-41.
Thiem, Alrik, and Adrian Dusa. 2013. Boolean Minimization in Social Science Research:
A Review of Current Software for Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA).
Social Science Computer Review 31 (4):505-21.
Thiem, Alrik, and Adrian Dusa. 2013b. Qualitative Comparative Analysis with R:
A User's Guide. New York: Springer.
Thiem, Alrik, and Adrian Dusa. 2013c. QCA: A Package for Qualitative Comparative
Analysis.
The R Journal 5 (1):87-97.