Process tracing: a structured approach to data analysis in decision making studies Process tracin... more Process tracing: a structured approach to data analysis in decision making studies Process tracing: a structured approach to data analysis in decision making studies Process tracing (PT) has been developed for within-case analysis to unravel causal mechanisms that explain the relationship between independent and dependent variables. It follows an iterative-inductive approach to generate theory on the basis of empirical data. This paper explains how PT can be used in decision making research by using a three step model: (1) one code for each case, (2) preparation of an analytic table, and (3) from fragmentation to integration. The cases that illustrate these steps show that PT results in fine-grained theoretical explanations for decision making and indicates the need of additional between-case analysis.
Het Instituut voor de Overheid heeft als doelpubliek en klant de overheidssector. Dit betekent da... more Het Instituut voor de Overheid heeft als doelpubliek en klant de overheidssector. Dit betekent dat zowel de diverse onderzoeksprojecten als de vormingscursussen inhoudelijk aspecten van management, beleid en bestuurskunde behandelen, toegespitst op de uniciteit van de overheidssector. SYNERGIE TUSSEN ONDERZOEK, VORMING EN DIENSTVERLENING Aangezien het Instituut voor de Overheid actief is op drie terreinen zijnde vorming, onderzoek en adviesverlening kan het Instituut voor de Overheid spreken met kennis van zaken vanuit de dagdagelijkse praktijk. Het Instituut voor de Overheid beschikt over een aantal vaste vormingsmedewerkers en doet bijkomend beroep op gastsprekers die specialisten in de inhoudelijke vakdomeinen zijn. De medewerkers van het Instituut voor de Overheid, gespecialiseerd in onderzoek en adviesverlening, worden eveneens bij Vorming, Training en Opleiding (VTO) betrokken, waardoor zij hun opgedane kennis van en ervaring met de overheid, aan de ambtenaren kunnen doorgeven.
... In particular, activists maintained that they could strengthen civil society by encouraging i... more ... In particular, activists maintained that they could strengthen civil society by encouraging individuals to come together and take direct responsibility for their local environment. ... We then look more closely at the question of whether direct action can strengthen civil society. ...
This study analyses how the social construction of integrity takes place within the context of fo... more This study analyses how the social construction of integrity takes place within the context of football in the Netherlands. Combining a contextual approach to sports integrity with the analytic len...
Towards a custom-made whistleblowing policy. Using grid-group cultural theory to match policy mea... more Towards a custom-made whistleblowing policy. Using grid-group cultural theory to match policy measures to different styles of peer reporting Journal of Business Ethics, 114(2), 239-249.
Originating from cognitive psychology, process tracing (PT) has entered the field of political an... more Originating from cognitive psychology, process tracing (PT) has entered the field of political and social sciences as a valuable tool for causal inference (Bennett & Checkel, forthcoming). Because there is a lack of consensus on the definition of PT, Beach and Pederson (2013) conclude that PT is not just one method but consists of three distinct methods, being theory testing PT, theory building PT and explaining outcome PT. The common ground between these three approaches is the aim to unravel the causal mechanisms that explain a specific phenomenon. PT can be compared to detectives’ work in which the researcher looks for evidence at the “finest level of detail observable” (Bennett, 2002: 32) to inductively generate or deductively test (and if necessary adapt) theoretical hypotheses (Brady & Collier, 2010). This paper illustrates that using PT is like walking the tightrope, because some of the method’s main strengths also entail its pitfalls or risks. This will be discussed on the basis of three dilemmas that have been experienced in an ethnographic decision making study within regulatory agencies (Loyens, 2012), in which PT was used as an analytic tool.
Process tracing: a structured approach to data analysis in decision making studies Process tracin... more Process tracing: a structured approach to data analysis in decision making studies Process tracing: a structured approach to data analysis in decision making studies Process tracing (PT) has been developed for within-case analysis to unravel causal mechanisms that explain the relationship between independent and dependent variables. It follows an iterative-inductive approach to generate theory on the basis of empirical data. This paper explains how PT can be used in decision making research by using a three step model: (1) one code for each case, (2) preparation of an analytic table, and (3) from fragmentation to integration. The cases that illustrate these steps show that PT results in fine-grained theoretical explanations for decision making and indicates the need of additional between-case analysis.
Het Instituut voor de Overheid heeft als doelpubliek en klant de overheidssector. Dit betekent da... more Het Instituut voor de Overheid heeft als doelpubliek en klant de overheidssector. Dit betekent dat zowel de diverse onderzoeksprojecten als de vormingscursussen inhoudelijk aspecten van management, beleid en bestuurskunde behandelen, toegespitst op de uniciteit van de overheidssector. SYNERGIE TUSSEN ONDERZOEK, VORMING EN DIENSTVERLENING Aangezien het Instituut voor de Overheid actief is op drie terreinen zijnde vorming, onderzoek en adviesverlening kan het Instituut voor de Overheid spreken met kennis van zaken vanuit de dagdagelijkse praktijk. Het Instituut voor de Overheid beschikt over een aantal vaste vormingsmedewerkers en doet bijkomend beroep op gastsprekers die specialisten in de inhoudelijke vakdomeinen zijn. De medewerkers van het Instituut voor de Overheid, gespecialiseerd in onderzoek en adviesverlening, worden eveneens bij Vorming, Training en Opleiding (VTO) betrokken, waardoor zij hun opgedane kennis van en ervaring met de overheid, aan de ambtenaren kunnen doorgeven.
... In particular, activists maintained that they could strengthen civil society by encouraging i... more ... In particular, activists maintained that they could strengthen civil society by encouraging individuals to come together and take direct responsibility for their local environment. ... We then look more closely at the question of whether direct action can strengthen civil society. ...
This study analyses how the social construction of integrity takes place within the context of fo... more This study analyses how the social construction of integrity takes place within the context of football in the Netherlands. Combining a contextual approach to sports integrity with the analytic len...
Towards a custom-made whistleblowing policy. Using grid-group cultural theory to match policy mea... more Towards a custom-made whistleblowing policy. Using grid-group cultural theory to match policy measures to different styles of peer reporting Journal of Business Ethics, 114(2), 239-249.
Originating from cognitive psychology, process tracing (PT) has entered the field of political an... more Originating from cognitive psychology, process tracing (PT) has entered the field of political and social sciences as a valuable tool for causal inference (Bennett & Checkel, forthcoming). Because there is a lack of consensus on the definition of PT, Beach and Pederson (2013) conclude that PT is not just one method but consists of three distinct methods, being theory testing PT, theory building PT and explaining outcome PT. The common ground between these three approaches is the aim to unravel the causal mechanisms that explain a specific phenomenon. PT can be compared to detectives’ work in which the researcher looks for evidence at the “finest level of detail observable” (Bennett, 2002: 32) to inductively generate or deductively test (and if necessary adapt) theoretical hypotheses (Brady & Collier, 2010). This paper illustrates that using PT is like walking the tightrope, because some of the method’s main strengths also entail its pitfalls or risks. This will be discussed on the basis of three dilemmas that have been experienced in an ethnographic decision making study within regulatory agencies (Loyens, 2012), in which PT was used as an analytic tool.
Uploads
Papers by Kim Loyens