Alexander L. George - Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences

Table of Contents

The BCSIA Studies in International Security book series is edited at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard Universitys John F. Kennedy School of Government and published by The MIT Press. The series publishes books on contemporary issues in international security policy, as well as their conceptual and historical foundations. Topics of particular interest to the series include the spread of weapons of mass destruction, internal conflict, the international effects of democracy and democratization, and U.S. defense policy.

A complete list of BCSIA Studies appears at the back of this volume.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

George, Alexander L.
Case studies and theory development in the social sciences / Alexander L. George and
Andrew Bennett.
p. cm.(BCSIA studies in international security)
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-262-07257-2 (alk. paper)ISBN 0-262-57222-2 (pbk. : alk. paper)

I. Social sciencesMethodology. 2. Social sciencesCase studies. I. Bennett, Andrew. II. Title. III. Series.

H61.G46 2005 300.72.2dc22 2004064985

Printed in the United States of America

For Gabriel Almond,
A dear friend and esteemed colleague whose support and
encouragement made a vast difference.

ALG

and

For Sophie Ruina Bennett,
In hopes of an equally long and well-lived life.

AB

Preface

A n extended methodological dialogue is bringing the comparative advantages of case study methods for theory development into sharper focus. Our own personal dialogue began with intermittent conversations in the 1990s on our independent work on case study methods. We both felt that the time was ripe to draw on the lessons learned from the widespread use of sophisticated case study methods developed in recent decades. These include Alexander Georges method of structured, focused comparison of cases, which outlines process-tracing and other within-case modes of analysis as key complements or alternatives to controlled comparison of cases, Arend Lijphart and Harry Ecksteins extremely useful elaborations of different theory-building kinds of case studies, and Charles Ragins analysis of interactions effects and comparative methods of studying them.

This book draws on the work of many scholars over the past thirty years to raise the standards and explicate the procedures of theory-oriented case study methods. Further experience with theory-oriented case study research will no doubt lead to further refinements. This book seeks to advance earlier discussions of case study methods in three particular areas. First, in contrast to earlier discussions that focus on case comparisons, we emphasize that qualitative research usually involves a combination of cross-case comparisons and within-case analysis using the methods of congruence testing and process-tracing. Within-case methods of analysis can greatly reduce the well-known risks of inferential errors that can arise from using comparative methods alone. Second, we elaborate on the methods of congruence testing and process-tracing, discussing them in detail and providing examples from recent research. Third, we develop the concept of typological theorizing, which resembles both Robert K. Mertons discussion of middle-range theory and Paul Lazarsfelds notion of a property space. We argue that typological theories involving several variables can better capture the complexity of social life than the two-variable typological theories that are common in the social sciences, and we offer methods for building typological theories in ways that keep this complexity manageable and clarify the task of selecting which cases to study.