Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences

The use of case studies to build and test theories in political science and the other social sciences has increased in recent years. Many scholars have argued that the social sciences rely too heavily on quantitative research and formal models and have attempted to develop and refine rigorous methods for using case studies. This text presents a comprehensive analysis of research methods using case studies and examines the place of case studies in social science methodology. It argues that case studies, statistical methods, and formal models are complementary rather than competitive. The book explains how to design case study research that will produce results useful to policymakers and emphasizes the importance of developing policy-relevant theories. It offers three major contributions to case study methodology: an emphasis on the importance of within-case analysis, a detailed discussion of process tracing, and development of the concept of typological theories. Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences will be particularly useful to graduate students and scholars in social science methodology and the philosophy of science, as well as to those designing new research projects, and will contribute greatly to the broader debate about scientific methods.

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"In scope, clarity, and erudition, this book sets a new standard not just in the analysis of case-study methods, but in the study of social science methods more broadly." David Dessler, Associate Professor of Government, College of William and Mary "An immensely helpful practical guide to the case method." Stephen Van Evera , Professor of Political Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology "I teach qualitative methods. If I could only have one text in my classroom, this would be it." Colin Elman , Executive Director, Consortium on Qualitative Research Methods, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Arizona State University ' Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences makes an indispensable contribution to the growing literature on qualitative methods in the social sciences.' Jack S. Levy , Board of Governors' Professor, Rutgers University "The beauty of George and Bennett's approach is their careful integration of theory and method and their conviction that the pursuit of empirical knowledge is profoundly theory dependent." Charles Ragin , Professor of Sociology, University of Arizona "The more widely this book is read, the better future social science will be." Stephen M. Walt , Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University "The more widely this book is read, the better future social science will be." Stephen M. Walt, Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University "This is the sort of book scholars -- and not just graduate students -- will want to come back to over and over again." Marc Trachtenberg , Professor of Political Science, University of California at Los Angeles "This superb book will improve enormously our disciplinary debates and help all of us in our research and teaching." Peter J. Katzenstein , Walter S. Carpenter, Jr., Professor of International Studies, Cornell University "In this book, George and Bennett explain how research methods such as process tracing and comparative case studies are designed, carried out, and used as the basis for theory development in social science. They provide an invaluable research guide for any scholar interested in the case study approach. But the book is much more than an account of how to do case study research. The authors also offer a sophisticated discussion of the philosophy of science that will be useful to anyone interested in the place of case-study methods in broader debates about social science methodology, and they give a discerning analysis of policy-relevant theory that is sure to draw the attention of a research community increasingly concerned about the social and political relevance of modern social science. In scope, clarity, and erudition, this book sets a new standard not only in the analysis of case study methods, but also in the study of social science methods more broadly."--David Dessler, Associate Professor of Government, College of William & MaryPlease note: The last sentence of the endorsement may be excerpted. "This book combines clear and concise instructions on how to do qualitative research with sophisticated but accessible epistemological reasons for that advice. The volume provides step-by-step templates on ways to design research, compare across cases, congruence test and process trace, and use typological theories. This guidance is illustrated with dozens of concrete examples. Almost no other methodology text comes close to matching the authors' top-to-bottom synthesis of philosophy of science and practical advice."--Colin Elman, Executive Director, Consortium on Qualitative Research Methods, Assistant Professor of Political Science, Arizona State UniversityPlease note: The endorser has provided a shorter quote, as follows: "I teach qualitative methods. If I could only have o

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Alexander L. George is Graham H. Stuart Professor of Political Science Emeritus at Stanford University and the author or coauthor of many books, most recently Presidential Personality and Performance (1998). Andrew Bennett is Associate Professor of Government at Georgetown University and the author of Condemned to Repetition? The Rise, Fall, and Reprise of Soviet-Russian Military Interventionism, 1973-1996 (MIT Press, 1999).

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