Nominal, Ordinal, and Narrative Appraisal in Macrocausal Analysis

James Mahoney

Brown University

Macrocausal analysis is often characterized as following only a single strat- egy of causal inference. In fact, however, at least three different techniques are used: nominal, ordinal, and narrative strategies of causal assessment. Focusing on recent works of comparative history, this article presents an evaluation of the strengths and limitations of each strategy. In addition, it considers the trade-offs involved in combining two or more strategies. Fi- nally, the article discusses the role of scholarly tastes and skills, the research question, and ongoing research cycles in shaping the methodological ap- proach selected by investigators.

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