This volume provides a methodological toolbox for conducting policy research. Recognizing that policy research spans various academic disciplines, each of which takes a different view on causality, the volume introduces a methodologically pluralistic approach to policy studies. Each chapter clarifies the research question that each technique can answer, the research design and data treatment that each technique requires for its results to be sound, the validity domain of its results, and the actual deployment of the technique through a replicable example. Techniques covered include quasi-experimental designs, approaches to account for selection bias and observed imbalances, directed acyclic graphs and structural equation models, Qualitative Comparative Analysis, Bayesian case study and process tracing, and Agent-Based Modelling. By working through the volume, readers will understand how to learn from different techniques, apply them consciously, and triangulate them to make better sense of findings. This volume is intended for advanced academic courses, as well as scholars and practitioners in policy-related fields, such as political science, economics, sociology, and public administration.
This is an open access book.
1. Introduction: the Elephant of Causation and the Blind Sages.-
2. Causation in the Social Realm.- 3. Counterfactuals with Experimental and
Quasi-Experimental Variation.- 4. Correlation is not Causation, yet Matching
and Weighting for Better Counterfactuals.- 5. Getting the Most Out of
Surveys: Multilevel Regression And Poststratification.- 6. Pathway analysis,
causal mediation and the identification of causal mechanisms.- 7. Proof by
Testing Joint Sufficiency Twice: Explanatory Qualitative Comparative
Analysis.- 8. Causal Inference and Policy Evaluation from Case Studies using
Bayesian Process Tracing.- 9. Exploring Interventions ogn Social Outcomes
with in Silico, Agent-Based Experiments.- 10. The Many Threats from
Mechanistic Heterogeneity that Can Spoil Multi-Method Research.
Alessia Damonte is Associate Professor at the Department of Social and Political Sciences, University of Milan (Italy). Her research is focused on public policy, comparative politics, political economy, and methods.
Fedra Negri is Assistant Professor in political science at the Department of Sociology and Social Research, University of Milano-Bicocca (IT). Her research focuses on comparative politics, comparative social policies, populism, responsiveness, and quantitative methods for political research. Her publications include articles in Public Choice, Electoral Studies, European Union Politics, West European Politics, and Party Politics.
