Advanced process-tracing methods

This hands-on course aims to provide participants with the methodological tools to refine their use of process-tracing methods in their own substantive research, while also enabling them to embed process-tracing case studies in mixed-methods research design. The course requires active participation.
It is assumed that participants have taken previous courses on process-tracing and/or in-depth case study methods. Further, course participants should bring with them theoretical propositions that they wish to investigate along with some empirical data that can be evaluated using process-tracing methods.
The course will first review the ontological and epistemological underpinnings of process-tracing, including the Bayesian logic of inference. The core of the course will be hands-on workshops dealing with topics such as conceptualizing and operationalising mechanisms, along with tools for evaluating evidence. These workshops will use both the theoretical and empirical material of participants along with certain pre-prepared exercises.
In the concluding sessions we will debate the strengths and limitations of process-tracing, investigating when it can and cannot be used, and how it can be combined with other methods in mixed-method designs.

Course leader

Derek Beach University of Aarhus

Target group

Advanced students and junior researchers in political science and adjacent disciplines

Course aim

as above