Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) was developed over 25 years ago to bridge the qualitative and quantitative research gap. On searching PubMed and the Journal of Mixed Methods Research, this review identified 30 original research studies that used QCA. Perceptions that QCA is complex and provides few relative advantages over other methods may be limiting QCA adoption. Thus, to overcome these perceptions, this article demonstrates how to perform QCA using data from 15 institutions that implemented universal tumor screening programs to identify patients at high risk for hereditary colorectal cancer. In this example, QCA revealed a combination of conditions unique to effective universal tumor screening programs. Results informed additional research and provided a model for improving patient follow-through after a positive screen.

Keywords

configurational comparative method effectiveness evaluation cross-case comparison RE-AIM

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Barbour

R. S.

(1998). Mixing qualitative methods: Quality assurance or qualitative quagmire? Qualitative Health Research, 8, 352-361. doi:10.1177/104973239800800306

Bazeley

(2009). Editorial: Integrating data analyses in mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 3(3), 203-207. doi:10.1177/1558689809334443

Bazeley

Kemp

(2012). Mosaics, triangles, and DNA metaphors for integrated analysis in mixed methods research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(1), 55-72. doi:10.1177/1558689811419514

Beamer

L. C.

Grant

M. L.

Espenschied

C. R.

Blazer

K. R.

Hampel

H. L.

Weitzel

J. N.

MacDonald

D. J.

(2012). Reflex immunohistochemistry and microsatellite instability testing of colorectal tumors for Lynch syndrome among US cancer programs and follow-up of abnormal results. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 30, 1058-1063. doi:10.1200/JCO.2011.38.4719

Bellcross

C. A.

Bedrosian

S. R.

Daniels

Duquette

Hampel

Jasperson

. . . Khoury

M. J.

(2012). Implementing screening for Lynch syndrome among patients with newly diagnosed colorectal cancer: Summary of a public health/clinical collaborative meeting. Genetics in Medicine, 14, 152-162. doi:10.1038/gim.0b013e31823375ea

Boeije

Slagt

van Wesel

(2013). The contribution of mixed methods research to the field of childhood trauma: A narrative review focused on data integration. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 7(4), 347-369. doi:10.1177/1558689813482756

Cohen

S. A.

(2014). Current Lynch syndrome tumor screening practices: A survey of genetic counselors. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 23, 38-47. doi:10.1007/s10897-013-9603-5

Cragun

Debate

R. D.

Vadaparampil

S. T.

Baldwin

Hampel

Pal

(2014). Comparing universal Lynch syndrome tumor-screening programs to evaluate associations between implementation strategies and patient follow-through. Genetics in Medicine, 16, 773-782. doi:10.1038/gim.2014.31

Damschroder

L. J.

Aron

D. C.

Keith

R. E.

Kirsh

S. R.

Alexander

J. A.

Lowery

J. C.

(2009). Fostering implementation of health services research findings into practice: A consolidated framework for advancing implementation science. Implementation Science, 4, 50. doi:10.1186/1748-5908-4-50

10.

Dixon-Woods

Agarwal

Jones

Young

Sutton

(2005). Synthesising qualitative and quantitative evidence: A review of possible methods. Journal of Health Services Research & Policy, 10, 45-53.

11.

Gerring

(2007). Case study research: Principles and practices. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.

12.

Glasgow

R. E.

Klesges

L. M.

Dzewaltowski

D. A.

Estabrooks

P. A.

Vogt

T. M.

(2006). Evaluating the impact of health promotion programs: Using the RE-AIM framework to form summary measures for decision making involving complex issues. Health Education Research, 21, 688-694. doi:10.1093/her/cyl081

13.

Glasgow

R. E.

Vogt

T. M.

Boles

S. M.

(1999). Evaluating the public health impact of health promotion interventions: The RE-AIM framework. American Journal of Public Health, 89, 1322-1327.

14.

Hampel

Stephens

J. A.

Pukkala

Sankila

Aaltonen

L. A.

Mecklin

J.-P.

de la Chapelle

(2005). Cancer risk in hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer syndrome: later age of onset. Gastroenterology, 129(2), 415-421. doi: 10.1016/j.gastro.2005.05.011

15.

Hawley

J. D.

(2007). Review of the book Innovative Comparative Methods for Policy Analysis: Beyond the Quantitative-Qualitative Divide, by B. Rihoux & H. Grimm. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(4), 390-392. doi:10.1177/1558689807304641

16.

Janz

N. K.

Becker

M. H.

(1984). The health belief model: A decade later. Health Education Quarterly, 11, 1-47.

17.

Kahwati

L. C.

Lewis

M. A.

Kane

Williams

P. A.

Nerz

Jones

K. R.

. . . Kinsinger

L. S.

(2011). Best practices in the Veterans Health Administration’s MOVE! weight management program. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 41, 457-464. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2011.06.047

18.

Krohwinkel

(2014). A configurational approach to project delays: Evidence from a sequential mixed methods study. Journal of Mixed Methods Research. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/1558689814522709

19.

Lynch

P. M.

(2011). How helpful is age at colorectal cancer onset in finding HNPCC? Diseases of the Colon and Rectum, 54, 515-517. doi:10.1007/DCR.0b013e31820e2f83

20.

Marx

Dusa

(2011). Crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA): Contradictions and consistency benchmarks for model specification. Methodological Innovations Online, 6, 103-148.

21.

Miles

M. B.

Huberman

A. M.

(1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

22.

Morgan

D. L.

(2007). Paradigms Lost and Pragmatism Regained Methodological Implications of Combining Qualitative and Quantitative Methods. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1(1), 48-76. doi: 10.1177/2345678906292462

23.

Onwuegbuzie

A. J.

Bustamante

R. M.

Nelson

J. A.

(2010). Mixed research as a tool for developing quantitative instruments. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4(1), 56-78. doi:10.1177/1558689809355805

24.

Ragin

C. C.

(1987). The comparative method: Moving beyond qualitative and quantitative strategies. Berkeley: University of California Press.

25.

Ragin

C. C.

(2004). Between complexity and parsimony: Limited diversity, counterfactual cases, and comparative analysis. Retrieved from http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/soc/soc237/papers/ragin.pdf

26.

Ragin

C. C.

(2006) User’s Guide to Fuzzy-Set/Qualitative Comparative Analysis 2.0. Retrieved from http://www.fsqca.com

27.

Rihoux

De Meur

(2009). Crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA). In Rihoux

Ragin

C. C.

(Eds.), Configurational comparative methods: Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and related techniques (pp. 33-68). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

28.

Rihoux

Marx

(2013). QCA, 25 years after “the comparative method”: Mapping, challenges, and innovations—mini-symposium. Political Research Quarterly, 66, 167-235. doi:10.1177/1065912912468269

29.

Rihoux

Ragin

C. C.

(Eds.). (2009). Configurational comparative methods: Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and related techniques. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

30.

Rogers

E. M.

(2003). Diffusion of innovations (5th ed.). New York, NY: Free Press.

31.

Sandelowski

Voils

C. I.

Leeman

Crandell

J. L.

(2012). Mapping the mixed methods–mixed research synthesis terrain. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 6(4), 317-331. doi:10.1177/1558689811427913

32.

Schneider

C. Q.

Wagemann

(2010). Standards of good practice in qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and fuzzy-sets. Comparative Sociology, 9, 397-418. doi:10.1163/156913210X12493538729793

33.

Shanahan

M. J.

Vaisey

Erickson

L. D.

Smolen

(2008). Environmental contingencies and genetic propensities: Social capital, educational continuation, and dopamine receptor gene DRD2. American Journal of Sociology, 114(Suppl.), S260-S286.

34.

South

C. D.

Yearsley

Martin

Arnold

Frankel

Hampel

(2009). Immunohistochemistry staining for the mismatch repair proteins in the clinical care of patients with colorectal cancer. Genetics in Medicine, 11, 812-817. doi:10.1097/GIM.0b013e3181b99b75

35.

Stoffel

Mukherjee

Raymond

V. M.

Tayob

Kastrinos

Sparr

. . . Gruber

S. B.

(2009). Calculation of risk of colorectal and endometrial cancer among patients with Lynch syndrome. Gastroenterology, 137(5), 1621-1627. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2009.07.039

36.

Thoits

P. A.

(1995). Stress, coping, and social support processes: Where are we? What next? Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 35, 53-79.

37.

Van Ness

P. H.

Fried

T. R.

Gill

T. M.

(2011). Mixed methods for the interpretation of longitudinal gerontologic data: Insights from philosophical hermeneutics. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 5(4), 293-308. doi:10.1177/1558689811412973

38.

Weiner

B. J.

Jacobs

S. R.

Minasian

L. M.

Good

M. J.

(2012). Organizational designs for achieving high treatment trial enrollment: A fuzzy-set analysis of the community clinical oncology program. Journal of Oncology Practice, 8, 287-291. doi:10.1200/JOP.2011.000507

39.

Wolf

(2010). Enlightened eclecticism or hazardous hotchpotch? Mixed methods and triangulation strategies in comparative public policy research. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 4(2), 144-167. doi:10.1177/1558689810364987

40.

Yin

R. K.

(2008). Case study research: Design and methods (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.39 MB

0.34 MB