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Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool Andrew Bennett and Jeffrey T. Checkel , eds. Cambridge UK : Cambridge University Press , 2015, pp. 342.
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Although its origins lie in cognitive psychology, process tracing has become a "signature method" of many qualitative and multi-method scholars in political science and beyond. Simply put, process tracing is about analyzing the chains of events that lead to an outcome of interest. More formally, the editors of this recent volume, Andrew Bennett and Jeffrey T. Checkel, define process tracing as the "analysis of evidence on processes, sequences and conjunctures of events within a case for the purposes of either developing or testing hypotheses about causal mechanisms that might causally explain the case" (7). As "process tracers" strive at producing sound causal inferences based on a rich and detailed account of one or many cases, they participate in a movement that emphasizes the importance of sound explanation in political science (Daigneault and Béland, 2014; Parsons, 2007).
Not so long ago, the issue faced by scholars was to justify their use of process tracing as a legitimate research method in and of itself, in particular after the publication of Designing Social Inquiry: Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research (King, et al., 1994), which construed process tracing merely as a way to increase the number of observable implications of a theory. Convincing responses to this challenge came from many quarters, including from Henry Brady and David Collier (2004). Today, the question is not whether process tracing can be used to explain important events, decisions, or outcomes--it definitely can--but rather how to use this method transparently, rigorously and effectively.
Process Tracing: From Metaphor to Analytic Tool aims at "making process tracing real" (xii) by showing in a concrete and operational way how to apply this method well. After a brief discussion of the philosophical and conceptual underpinnings of process tracing, a discussion addressing issues such as the nature of causal mechanisms, methodological...