Case Studies and Analytic Transparency in Causal-Oriented Mixed-Methods Research

Case Studies and Analytic Transparency in Causal-Oriented Mixed-Methods Research

by Jeb Barnes, University of Southern California and Nicholas WellerUniversity of California, Riverside

We discuss analytic transparency in the context of mixed-method research and make two related contributions. First, we translate the general call for analytic transparency into a series of three questions that can frame the discussion of the analytic role of process tracing case studies in a mixed-method research agenda. They are:  1.  What is the causal relationship being explored?; 2.  What is the intended analytic contribution(s) of each method?; 3.  What is the empirical contribution of each method? 

Second, we consider the value-added of small-N methods based on their purported contribution to the larger research project and how they combine with the large-N results.  Case studies promise very different contributions to research depending on whether a scholar situates their work in the context of triangulation-based research or integration-based research, and we discuss how the contribution of small-N methods depends on which approach a scholar is utilizing in their research. Taken together, these two aspects help clarify analytic transparency without imposing a single perspective on all scholarship.

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PS: Political Science & Politics, Volume 50Issue 4 / October 2017, pp. 1019-1022