Qualitative Causal Inference and Explanation

Qualitative Causal Inference and Explanation, the first volume in the Strategies For Social Inquiry series, offers a rigorous methodological framework for social science research. Author David Waldner addresses a critical gap between qualitative case studies and quantitative causal inference. While traditional qualitative methods provide depth, they often lack the formal rigor found in quantitative approaches. This book introduces a hybrid method that integrates graph-theoretic analysis with traditional process-tracing to ensure that social science explanations are grounded in validly inferred causes.

This volume in the Strategies For Social Inquiry series provides researchers in sociology and politics with three new methodological concepts: hypothetical interventions, invariant causal mechanisms, and event-history maps. By applying these tools, scholars can achieve higher standards of explanatory depth and density. Qualitative Causal Inference and Explanation serves as a vital resource for research and measurement within the social sciences, helping researchers avoid false positives when analyzing complex political phenomena.