An alternative update of the two-step QCA procedure

Abstract

In a recent contribution to Quality and Quantity, Carsten Schneider (Qual Quant 1–18, 2018b) presents an updated version of the two-step QCA approach. Although Schneider (2018b) raises a lot of relevant issues, his revised procedure has three important disadvantages. First of all, the procedure sets the bar higher for remote conditions to be considered causally relevant than for proximate conditions. Second, the procedure makes it very difficult to find combinations of remote conditions. Third, the first step of the revised procedure does not build on a truth table, which makes it difficult to redesign the research if no meaningful results are found. This article proposes an alternative revision to the two-step approach, which aims to combine the best aspects of the original two-step procedure with the strengths of the revised procedure. In line with the original two-step approach, the first step of the procedure builds on a truth table. A new measure is added to the truth table of the first step, which provides an important parameter for coding the outcome column: cumulative coverage. The proposed procedure uses the same criteria for assessing the causal relevance of remote and proximate conditions, allows to straightforwardly uncover combinations of relevant remote conditions and helps researchers go back and forth between cases and evidence.