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Topic · Sociology and Political Science

Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research

Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research is a research topic within Sociology and Political Science. Science Explorer counts 7.6k research works in it since 1950. 10.2% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.

This cluster of papers focuses on the application of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) and related set-theoretic methods in social science research. It emphasizes the exploration of causal complexity, configurational theory, and methodological pluralism, utilizing techniques such as process tracing and case study methods to understand complex causality. The cluster also highlights the integration of multi-method approaches and comparative-historical methodology in social science research.

  • Qualitative Comparative Analysis
  • Causal Complexity
  • Fuzzy-Set Approach
  • Configurational Theory
  • Process Tracing
  • Case Study Methods
  • Complex Causality
  • Methodological Pluralism
  • Multi-Method Research
  • Comparative-Historical Methodology
Research works
7.6k
fractional, since 1950
In the world top 10%
773
per year above
Top-10% rate
10.2%
share of its works in the world top 10%
Growth, 2018-21 → 2022-25
+45%
the tick is no change
Largest producer
China
35% of the 10 largest, 2022-now
Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research

Which countries lead Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research research?

By volume, China and the United States publish the most (586 and 450 works in 2022-now).

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 China 586 works
  2. 2 United States 450 works
  3. 3 Germany 202 works
  4. 4 United Kingdom 129 works
  5. 5 Spain 61 works
  6. 6 Italy 60 works
  7. 7 Netherlands 53 works
  8. 8 Canada 48 works
  9. 9 India 46 works
  10. 10 Australia 42 works

How concentrated that is

The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.

China: 34.9%United States: 26.8%Germany: 12.1%United Kingdom: 7.7%6 others listed: 18.5%35%largest
China586 · 34.9%United States450 · 26.8%Germany202 · 12.1%United Kingdom129 · 7.7%6 others listed311 · 18.5%

Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.

Which institutions lead Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research research?

By volume in 2022-now, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill publishes the most Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research research, followed by Sapienza University of Rome and University of Oxford.

By volume, 2022-now

  1. 1 University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 14 works
  2. 2 Sapienza University of RomeItaly 9 works
  3. 3 University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 9 works
  4. 4 Universitat de ValènciaSpain 9 works
  5. 5 Leibniz AssociationGermany 9 works
  6. 6 George Washington UniversityUnited States 8 works
  7. 7 University of California, BerkeleyUnited States 8 works
  8. 8 Mitchell InstituteUnited States 8 works
  9. 9 University of California, Los AngelesUnited States 8 works
  10. 10 Chinese Academy of SciencesChina 7 works

Who are the leading researchers in Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research?

The most-cited researchers publishing on Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research include Ronald C. Kessler, Donald B. Rubin and Virginia Braun.

  1. 1 Ronald C. Kessler United States 360k citations
  2. 2 Donald B. Rubin United States 301k citations
  3. 3 Virginia Braun New Zealand 286k citations
  4. 4 Victoria Clarke United Kingdom 285k citations
  5. 5 James Thomas United Kingdom 242k citations
  6. 6 Peter M. Bentler United States 233k citations
  7. 7 Marko Sarstedt Germany 221k citations
  8. 8 Christian M. Ringle Germany 215k citations
  9. 9 Anselm L. Strauss United States 205k citations

Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.

What are the most cited papers in Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research?

The most cited paper in Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research is "The Discovery of Grounded Theory; Strategies for Qualitative Research" (Barney G. Glaser, Anselm L. Strauss, Elizabeth Strutzel, 1968), with 39,410 citations. Next come "Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization" (12,269) and "Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come" (11,195).

Most cited papers
#PaperReleasedCitations
1 The Discovery of Grounded Theory; Strategies for Qualitative Research Barney G. Glaser, Anselm L. Strauss, Elizabeth Strutzel · Nursing Research Jul 1968 39,410
2 Saturation in qualitative research: exploring its conceptualization and operationalization Benjamin Saunders, Julius Sim, Tom Kingstone et al. · Quality & Quantity Open access 14 Sep 2017 12,269
3 Mixed Methods Research: A Research Paradigm Whose Time Has Come R. Burke Johnson, Anthony John Onwuegbuzie · Educational Researcher Oct 2004 11,195
4 Assessing Construct Validity in Organizational Research Richard P. Bagozzi, Youjae Yi, Lynn W. Phillips · Administrative Science Quarterly Sep 1991 6,624
5 To Parcel or Not to Parcel: Exploring the Question, Weighing the Merits Todd D. Little, William A. Cunningham, Golan Shahar et al. · Structural Equation Modeling A Multidisciplinary Journal Apr 2002 6,540
All 100 most cited papers, with filters and sorting

Where is Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research research done?

The largest centres of Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research research in 2022-now are Beijing (China), Shanghai (China), London (United Kingdom) and Nanjing (China).

Largest cities, 2022-now

  1. 1 BeijingChina 82 works
  2. 2 ShanghaiChina 35 works
  3. 3 LondonUnited Kingdom 30 works
  4. 4 NanjingChina 29 works
  5. 5 WuhanChina 29 works
  6. 6 ChengduChina 25 works
  7. 7 GuangzhouChina 24 works
  8. 8 Washington D.C.United States 23 works
  9. 9 New YorkUnited States 23 works
  10. 10 Xi'anChina 22 works
See Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research on the map

Where is the best place to study Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research?

Among universities, judged by research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Universitat de València and University of Oxford score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.

0%5%10%15%mean 5.525%fractional works in this field (log) →share of work in the world top 10% →Universitat de Valèn…University of OxfordUniversity of North …Sapienza University …
above the meannear itbelow it

One dot per university in the first ten of the table below, at the default weights. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.

Excellenceshare of its work in the world top 10%, 2022-now and all time averaged
40%
Specialisationhow much of its work is in this field, counted up to 10× the world share
10%
Sizeits output in this field, on a log scale
30%
Growthoutput growth, counted from -20% to +20%
10%
Internationalshare of its work with a co-author abroad
10%
Each slider sets a weight; the share it gets of the score is beside it.
#UniversityScoreTop 10%SpecialisationWorksGrowth
1University of North Carolina at Chapel HillUnited States 65.10.6%3.9×14 +131.0%
2Universitat de ValènciaSpain 54.513.3%8.5×9 -22.7%
3University of OxfordUnited Kingdom 43.28.2%3.3×9 +63.6%
4Sapienza University of RomeItaly 17.30.0%4.0×10 +744.6%

Universities only. The score blends excellence (40%), size (30%), specialisation (10%), growth (10%), international reach (10%), 2022-now; growth compares 2018-21 with 2022-25 and counts up to +20%, since a jump from a small base is mostly noise.

Every institution in Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research, country by country

Is Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research research growing?

Output in 2022-2025 was 45% higher than in 2018-2021, peaking in 2025. The fastest-growing topics are Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research.

still counting19801990200020102020
grewheldshrank

The same series as a ribbon: one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.

Its share of all research

Growing output can still be a shrinking share: all of science grows. This is Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research as a percentage of every work published that year, 0.0081% in 2024.

still counting0.0050%0.010%0.015%Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research0.010% in 202519801990200020102020

Fractional works of Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research over all fractional works that year. How the balance of science has shifted.

How much of it reaches the world top 10%

Year by year.

still counting5%10%15%Qualitative Comparative Analysis Research10.5% in 2025200020102020

Of each year's works in it, the share that reached the world's 10% most cited for their field and year. A field is the world for its own topics, so there is no other line to hold it against.

Which topics inside it are moving

Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.

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