Pragmatic Comparative Research: Pragmatism as a Philosophy of Science for Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) is a set-theoretic approach that enables accounting for causal complexity, incorporating features of qualitative and quantitative methods. Pioneered in sociology, it is increasingly used in comparative research to explain social phenomena in various disciplines. Despite its growing adoption, and because of its eclectic nature, some methodological themes have proven elusive. Its philosophy of science is one such issue. Philosophical pragmatism, which focuses on action, rather than the mind as rationalism or things as empiricism, is proposed to fill this void. Moving beyond the positivist-interpretivist dichotomy, this paper argues that pragmatism's philosophical wagers support QCA's assumptions and practice. Moreover, pragmatism's implications in terms of practical consequences, provisionality of insights, plurality of method, and public participation provide fertile soil on which QCA-based inquiry can sow, producing pragmatic comparative research.