Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a case-based research method for capturing causal complexity. It helps you identify how conditions combine to produce an outcome of interest, and whether different paths can lead to the same result.
The Summer School in Social Sciences Methods at the Università della Svizzera italiana (USI) in Lugano is a splendid place to learn the method. I have been teaching the one-week QCA course there since 2016, each time with an international group of participants from across the social sciences. Most of them are PhD researchers, joined by postdocs, senior researchers, and practitioners.
The course, Exploring Causal Complexity with QCA, is a full-time workshop that combines lectures, hands-on exercises in the R software environment, and individual consultations on participants’ own projects. Step-by-step, we follow the research process, from research design and set-theoretic foundations, through the calibration of empirical data, to the analysis and interpretation of results. The course is based on my textbook Qualitative Comparative Analysis: An Introduction to Research Design and Application (Georgetown University Press, 2021) and the freely available R Manual for QCA.
You don’t need any prior knowledge of QCA or R, but it is advisable to do some readings in advance and to install R beforehand. Preparatory materials are circulated ahead of the summer school, so that you directly start working on your own project.
In 2026, the summer school celebrated its 30th anniversary. It is organised by USI in cooperation with FORS, the Swiss centre of expertise in the social sciences. In addition, the summer school is endorsed by MethodsNET, the Methods Excellence Network.
If you are interested in taking part in 2027, please let me know (registration usually opens in December/January, please check the USI Website for announcements).
Impressions from previous years
