ABSTRACT
Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) is a systematic method used to analyse qualitative data that works through a process of logical comparison, simplification and minimisation. It is used to overcome problems that can occur when researchers try to make causal inferences based on a small number of cases. QCA can be used to help researchers analyse data where numbers are too small for complex statistical analysis, but too large for in-depth qualitative analysis, or in situations where the number of cases is small, but the number of variables that might explain a given outcome is large. QCA was originally developed by Ragin for use in the political sciences. However, it is used in a wide variety of disciplines including public health and medicine, leisure and tourism, environmental sciences, management studies, sports science, education, social sciences and psychology.
