Process Tracing Methods in the Social Sciences

Abstract

Process tracing (PT) is a research method for studying how causal processes work using case study methods. PT can be used for both case studies that aim to gain a greater understanding of the causal dynamics that produced the outcome of a particular historical case and to shed light on generalizable causal mechanisms linking causes and outcomes within a population of cases. PT as a method has three core components: theorization about causal mechanisms linking causes and outcomes, the analysis of the observable empirical manifestations of theorized mechanisms, and questions of case selection and generalization. There are at least three distinct variants of PT that stem from differences in how scholars understand the ontological nature of the theories being traced. This means there is not one “correct” way to use PT.