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Key Themes in Qualitative Research: Continuities and Changes

ching theoretical systems in play. Nothing precludes applications of the ideas in this book to other areas of inquiry (as the editors note). But, it will require a priori conceptual work to identify what (if any) necessary condition hypotheses exist in one’s own field before one can apply the general analytic strategies and tools prescribed throughout the chapters. Second, a (in my opinion very) large scope of knowledge is necessary to digest the book in its entirety. A wide variety of approaches are used to describe the logic, methodology, and application of necessary conditions. Some chapters emphasize set theoretic relationships and venn diagrams, others use formal mathematical notation. Still others postulate the logic and application of necessary conditions in a largely discursive manner. Likewise, applications of necessary conditions include Bayesian approaches, Boolean minimization, “fuzzy set” analysis, and even conventional statistics. While breadth, formalism, and sophistication should be regarded as an asset (and is not surprising given that 9 of 13 chapters are reprints, including 6 from leading journals in political science), it may also limit the resonance and readability of the book to a general sociology audience. Third, the notion of necessary conditions means different things to different contributors. In some cases, necessary conditions are pure and unproblematic. A necessary condition must be present for an outcome to occur. In other cases, necessary conditions are probabilistic or distributional. Here, something may be “pretty necessary,” “almost always necessary,” “virtually necessary,” or “usually necessary.” To me this is troubling. It is generally inconsistent with the long list of necessary conditions that are sprinkled throughout the book (see the Index of Necessary Condition Hypotheses) and makes assessment of the arguments across chapters difficult. In the end, it seems to put us on a slippery slope toward the “correlational” view of causality to which the arguments in this book directly challenge. While there is considerable discussion that attempts to justify a probabilistic approach in terms of what is gained, I would have hoped to see some discussion of what is lost with this conceptualization. The optimistic side of me hopes that Necessary Conditions will attract a wide audience. Its sheer breadth may provide a little something for everyone. At the same time, the less optimistic side of me thinks that the way in which this book is written, the form of the analytic and statistical recommendations, and the issues around which the applications are organized will be a barrier for most sociological readers. I hope I am wrong. The central message of Goertz and Starr’s book is important and warrants serious consideration by sociologists. Still, the hegemony of “point and click” statistics and, as Abbott has warned us, the (apparent success of the) theories that they produce is increasingly a tough nut to crack.