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Theory Choice in Comparative Social Inquiry

Overdetermination hinders the possibility of empirically arbitrating among competing theories. In situations of overdetermination, social factors are likely to gain influence as determinants of theory choice. Despite strategies to decrease the number of independent variables or increase the number of cases, overdetermination remains a predicament. This article argues that the problem may be solved by treating the dependent variable as a subtype of a more general phenomenon. But, the author concludes, the possibility of substantiating this kind of generalization in the social sciences is low.