C02-03AD: Process Tracing Methods Workshop

The promise of process tracing as a methodological tool is that it enables the researcher to study how things work within cases, in which the causal process(es) linking a cause (or set of causes) and an outcome are unpacked and traced empirically. The ‘black box’ of causality is opened through unpacking a causal process into its constituent parts, composed of entities engaging in activities. Tracing the empirical manifestations these activities leave in actual cases involves collecting observational evidence upon which we can make causal inferences about how processes actually work.
The workshop will be intense and requires the participants to be fully engaged throughout. The workshop will include various types of activities. Morning sessions will involve lectures, group work and discussions about key methodological issues. In the afternoons, we will discuss aspects of participants’ projects, including theories of causal mechanisms and how we can develop testable predictions about evidence that the activities associated with parts of mechanisms might leave in a given case.

Day 1

The workshop starts by distinguishing process tracing from other methods; including large-n variance-based methods, but also other small-n case-based methods such as analytical narratives and comparative case studies. The afternoon of day 1 will be devoted to presentation and discussion of the research questions of participants.

Day 2 and Day 3

The workshop will move to discussions of how processual (aka mechanistic) theories can be developed and improved, focusing on how to capture the activities and their underlying causal linkages to understand how a process works and evidence it empirically. The goal is to develop better processual theories in relation to the research you are undertaking. The afternoon sessions are focused on presentations and discussions of the processual theories of participants. The goals are to improve your own process theory, but also to develop your skills in thinking processually / mechanistically through evaluating the theories presented by other participants.

Day 4

In the morning session of day 4, we discuss how to improve our ability to collect and assess within-case mechanistic evidence. In the afternoon sessions of day 4 and 5, we discuss the observable manifestations of the activities of parts of mechanisms of each participant.

Day 5

In the morning session of day 5, we will discuss issues related to case selection and generalization as they apply to process tracing methods, as well as how to embed process tracing studies in broader mixed/multi-method designs. The afternoon will continue with participant presentations of their observable manifestations.

A set of readings and pre-class exercises will be sent to participants well in advance of the course.

This description is subject to change at the discretion of the Instructor.

1 Credit For completion of all pre-course work as decided by the Instructor. 2 Credits For completion of daily assignments, 90% participation and attendance of the course as decided by the Instructor. 2  Additional Credits 1 or 2 credits for a course specific final assignment, depending on the length of the assignment, to be completed after the course as decided by the Instructor.