[ecrea] Bridging the Quantitative-Qualitative Divide in Comparative Communication

CALL FOR PAPERS

Bridging the Quantitative-Qualitative Divide in Comparative Communication
Research: Heading towards Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA)

International Communication Association Post-conference
London - June 22, 2013, Hilton Metropole, London (ICA conference hotel)

Submission deadline: January 11, 2013

Convenors: Thomas Hanitzsch, University of Munich; James Stanyer,
Loughborough University; Keren Tenenboim-Weinblatt, Hebrew University,
Jerusalem

Comparative analysis in communication and media studies is assuming ever
growing importance. However, it tends to be dominated by quantitative
approaches which explore issues of causation through correlational
techniques. While these methods have been useful, there are limitations to
their application, such as their limited suitability for small- and medium-N
studies with low levels of variance. The widespread alternative, especially
for qualitative re-searchers, has been a primarily descriptive case study
approach.

There are alternatives to these approaches that could advance comparative
research in com-munication and media studies. One such approach is Charles
Ragin’s Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA), as well as its more recent
extension Fuzzy-set QCA. QCA is a set-theoretic approach to examining
causation to provide a systematic account of the way causal conditions work
together to produce an outcome across cases. Ragin argues that his technique
can be applied to small, medium and large-N studies and that it has
advantages over both large-N correlational comparative research and small-N
description. QCA can provide a simple and illuminating analysis of causal
configurations, while bridging between the logics of case-oriented and
variable-oriented approaches to comparative research.

A handful of scholars in media and communication studies have started using
QCA, but there is wider interest that has not been catered for. The aim of
the one-day ICA post-conference is fourfold:
•       First, to provide a hands-on introduction to QCA that acts as an
impetus for researchers to use the method more widely in their own work.
•       Second, to showcase applications of QCA for communication and media
studies, demonstrating its ability to bridge often gridlocked
epistemological and methodological divides in comparative communication
research.
•       Third, to specifically discuss practical issues such as calibration
– a critical step in QCA during which qualitative evidence is “translated”
into numeric values – and identify possible solutions.
•       Fourth, to consider the broader question of systematically
integrating quantitative and qualitative approaches in comparative
communication research and to set a methodological agenda.

The ICA post-conference is sponsored by three ICA divisions: Journalism,
Political Communication, and Global Communication and Social Change. The
workshop will be an ideal opportunity for interested colleagues in the field
to engage with this method, getting to grips with its language and
procedures, as well as for those more acquainted with the method to present
empirical applications. The workshop will bring together experts and users
of the method with those who are interested in utilizing such an approach in
their own work. There will be talks by those who already use QCA in their
own research as well as some of the leading practitioners of the method. The
invited keynote speakers are Prof. Benoît Rihoux from Université Catholique
de Louvain, and Prof. Carsten Schneider from Central European University,
Budapest.

Submissions
This post-conference calls for contributions from those engaged in
comparative research, existing users of QCA, and those who are interested in
utilizing such a method in their own work. While the focus is on QCA, we are
also looking for submissions that consider the broader theme of integrating
quantitative and qualitative approaches in comparative communication
research.
Abstracts of no more than 500 words should be sent to James Stanyer
((j.stanyer /at/ lboro.ac.uk)) no later than January 11, 2013. Authors will be
informed regarding acceptance/rejection of their papers by February 15,
2013.
For informal queries please contact any of the following: Thomas Hanitzsch
((hanitzsch /at/ ifkw.lmu.de)); James Stanyer ((j.stanyer /at/ lboro.ac.uk)); Keren
Tenenboim-Weinblatt ((keren.tw /at/ mail.huji.ac.il))


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