Multimethod Research, Causal Mechanisms, and Case Studies

An innovative and accessible textbook on multimethod and case-study research

Multimethod research has become indispensable to doing social science, and is essential to anyone who conducts large-scale research projects in political science, sociology, education, comparative law, or business. This authoritative and accessible book offers the first truly comprehensive approach to multimethod and case-study research, and is particularly aimed at students of qualitative methods in the social sciences.

Walking step-by-step through these cutting-edge tools and techniques, Gary Goertz introduces a new integrated approach that unites three corners of a powerful research triad—causal mechanisms, cross-case causal inference, and within-case causal inference. He explains how the investigation of causal mechanisms and the making of within-case causal inference are the central goals of multimethod and case study research, and provides a logic for connecting case studies and causal mechanism analysis with cross-case analysis, whether they are statistical analyses, experiments, or QCA. In addition, Goertz analyzes how one can generalize using case studies, as well as systematically test game-theoretic and other models using multiple case studies.

• Provides a fully integrated approach to multimethod and case-study research
• An essential resource for students and researchers in political science, sociology, education, law, and business
• Covers constraint causal mechanism, game theory and case studies, QCA, and the use of case studies to systematically test and generalize theories
• An ideal textbook for a first-year graduate course in methods or research design