Assessing the Value Added of Set-Theoretic Methods

• In Event: Innovations in Case Study Methods

Abstract

In this paper, we reanalyze the findings of four major research projects using set-theoretic methods. The purpose of the reanalysis is to explore the value added (if any) of using set-theoretic methods when interpreting data. The four research projects considered are: (1) Milgram's famous experimental findings regarding obedience to authority; (2) Snow's famous quasi-experimental findings regarding cholera; (3) Russett's influential observational statistical findings regarding the Democratic Peace; and (4) Lipset's famous correlational research on the relationship between economic development and democracy. In each case, we find that set-theoretic methods reach conclusions about the data not found in any of the existing literature on these research projects. In particular, set-theoretic methods interpret the findings of these studies by estimating the extent to which a treatment approximates: (1) a necessary condition, and (2) a sufficient condition. We show how estimating the extent of necessity and sufficiency yields new insights about the findings of classic research projects not previously discovered and reported.

Author

• James Mahoney, Northwestern University