Qualitative Comparative Analysis and Public Services Research: Lessons from an Early Application

This article introduces the qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) method, provides a detailed description of an early application in US public management research and draws lessons from the experience. In methodological terms, we show that QCA requires coding decisions that influence outcomes significantly and emphasize that this secondary data analysis technique be used in conjunction with primary methods in order to consider issues of process. The substantive findings from our application in a study of state-level barriers to policy diffusion indicate the potential of QCA as a systematic approach to the identification of linkages between causal factors that emerge as important to case study participants.