What is Ragin’s indirect method of calibration?

ABSTRACT

In the last few years, Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) has become one of the most important data analysis methods in comparative research. According to the guidelines of this method, there are certain steps that a researcher needs to follow, before causally analyzing the data for necessary and sufficient conditions. One of these steps is the process of “data calibration.” This data calibration process depends on several factors, like the type of data collected, and the form of data distribution, amongst other factors. So, in this article, I have tried to demonstrate the data calibration processing, by focusing on one type of variable. I have focused on an interval variable, and then described how to calibrate it, following Ragin’s Indirect Method of calibration. I have applied my own research data to demonstrate these steps. I have used the R Software packages of QCA and SetMethods. By describing these steps, I hope to help future researchers in their own work on data calibration.

KEYWORDS:

• Ragin’s indirect method of calibration
• qualitative comparative analysis
• interval variables
• software R

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2022.2110732

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The authors have no funding to report.

Notes on contributors

Preya Bhattacharya

Preya Bhattacharya joining the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, Georgia Institute of Technology, as a Postdoctoral Fellow, from Spring 2023. Before this, I was an adjunct faculty at the Department of Political Science, Kent State University. I have taught courses on International Relations, International Political Economy, Comparative Foreign Policy, and Politics of Development. My research interests are comparative politics, international relations, development studies, international political economy, women and politics, and research methods. I have also recently published a textbook on International Relations, titled, “The Global Politics Reader: A Foundational Anthology” (2022).