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14 - Going Wide, Going Deep

from Part III - Design Choices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 October 2023

Macartan Humphreys
Affiliation:
Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung
Alan M. Jacobs
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver
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Summary

We turn to the problem of choosing between going “wide” and going “deep”: between seeking a little bit of information on a large number of cases versus studying a smaller number of cases intensively. We outline a simulation-based approach to identify the optimal mix of breadth and depth. Simulations suggest that going deep is especially valuable where confounding is a concern, for queries about causal pathways, and where models embed strong beliefs about causal effects. We also find that there are diminishing marginal returns to each strategy and that depth often provides the greatest gains when we have cross-case evidence on only a modest number of cases.

Type
Chapter
Information
Integrated Inferences
Causal Models for Qualitative and Mixed-Method Research
, pp. 347 - 358
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Going Wide, Going Deep
  • Macartan Humphreys, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Alan M. Jacobs, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
  • Book: Integrated Inferences
  • Online publication: 13 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316718636.018
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  • Going Wide, Going Deep
  • Macartan Humphreys, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Alan M. Jacobs, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
  • Book: Integrated Inferences
  • Online publication: 13 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316718636.018
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Going Wide, Going Deep
  • Macartan Humphreys, Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin für Sozialforschung, Alan M. Jacobs, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
  • Book: Integrated Inferences
  • Online publication: 13 October 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781316718636.018
Available formats
×