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Integrating qualitative and quantitative data: index creation using fuzzy-set QCA

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Abstract

This paper demonstrates the use of fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) for index creation. It uses the example of economic, including development, policy towards Latin America in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom as an example of how fsQCA can be deployed in order to integrate qualitative and numerical evidence into a coherent, comparable framework. Moreover, it shows the usefulness of an index based on fsQCA in the comparison of cases that have strong national idiosyncrasies, making them difficult to compare. FsQCA therefore increases the researcher’s ability to combine different types of data from various backgrounds, making it a useful indexing tool for small to medium-N research in the social sciences.

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  1. Center for Doctoral Studies in Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of Mannheim, 68131, Mannheim, Germany

    Bettina Trueb

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  1. Bettina Trueb
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Trueb, B. Integrating qualitative and quantitative data: index creation using fuzzy-set QCA. Qual Quant 47, 3537–3558 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-012-9738-8

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