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Case Studies: Types, Designs, and Logics of Inference

Department of Political Science Rutgers University New Brunswick New Jersey, USA, jacklevy{at}rci.rutgers.edu

I focus on the role of case studies in developing causal explanations. I distinguish between the theoretical purposes of case studies and the case selection strategies or research designs used to advance those objectives. I construct a typology of case studies based on their purposes: idiographic (inductive and theory-guided), hypothesis-generating, hypothesis-testing, and plausibility probe case studies. I then examine different case study research designs, including comparable cases, most and least likely cases, deviant cases, and process tracing, with attention to their different purposes and logics of inference. I address the issue of selection bias and the "single logic" debate, and I emphasize the utility of multi-method research.

Key Words: case studies • comparable cases • multiple-method • process tracing • research design

Conflict Management and Peace Science, Vol. 25, No. 1, 1-18 (2008)
DOI: 10.1080/07388940701860318


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