How does it work? Using process tracing methods to study policy processes - Prof Derek Beach

MRC Epidemiology Unit / CEDAR Seminar - 8 April 2020 How does it work? Using process tracing methods to study policy processes Professor Derek Beach, Aarhus University, Denmark Abstract: In recent years the process tracing method has become increasingly popular in case studies as well as in political science and political economy methodological debates. It is a method for studying causal mechanisms linking causes with outcomes. This enables the researcher to make strong inferences about how a cause (or set of causes) contributes to producing an outcome. Professor Beach will provide an introduction to using this method and explain why it is fast becoming a popular tool to study complex phenomenon such as policy processes. About Professor Beach: Derek Beach is a professor of Political Science at Aarhus University in Denmark, where he teaches international relations, European integration and case study methodology. He has authored articles, chapters, and books on research methodology, international negotiations and European integration, and co-authored the books Process-tracing Methods: Foundations and Guidelines (2013) and Causal Case Study Methods (2016). He has taught qualitative case study methods at ECPR and IPSA summer and winter schools, held numerous workshops and seminars on qualitative methods throughout the world, and is the academic co-convenor of the ECPR Methods Schools. More events and seminars at http://www.mrc-epid.cam.ac.uk/past-se...