Alrik Thiem is Swiss National Science Foundation Professor, with a focus on the development and application of empirical research methods and data analytics. Specifically, his research centers around configurational comparative methods (CCMs) such as Qualitative Comparative Analysis. He also teaches CCMs to researchers in Europe and the USA and carries out consultancy projects on the use of CCMs for applied research teams and international organizations. In addition, he has a strong interest in meta-scientific topics such as publication bias and research ethics. Empirically, he has done work in the area of European foreign, security and defense policy. Recent work of Prof. Thiem has appeared in the American Journal of Evaluation, Comparative Political Studies, Political Analysis, Sociological Methodology and Sociological Methods & Research.

Selected Publications on Configurational Methods

Baumgartner, M., & Thiem, A. (2015). Identifying Complex Causal Dependencies in Configurational Data with Coincidence Analysis. The R Journal, 7(1), 176-184.

Baumgartner, M., & Thiem, A. (2017). Model Ambiguities in Configurational Comparative Research. Sociological Methods & Research, 46(4), 954-987.

Baumgartner, M., & Thiem, A. (2017). Often Trusted but Never (Properly) Tested: Evaluating Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Sociological Methods & Research. Advance online publication. DOI: 10.1177/0049124117701487.

Thiem, A. (2013). Clearly Crisp, and Not Fuzzy: A Reassessment of the (Putative) Pitfalls of Multi-Value QCA. Field Methods, 25(2), 197-207.

Thiem, A. (2014). Unifying Configurational Comparative Methods: Generalized-Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Sociological Methods & Research, 43(2), 313-337.

Thiem, A. (2015). Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis for Identifying Causal Chains in Configurational Data: A Methodological Commentary on Baumgartner and Epple (2014). Sociological Methods & Research, 44(4), 723-736.

Thiem, A. (2016). Standards of Good Practice and the Methodology of Necessary Conditions in Qualitative Comparative Analysis. Political Analysis, 24(4), 478-484.

Thiem, A. (2017). Conducting Configurational Comparative Research with Qualitative Comparative Analysis: A Hands-On Tutorial for Applied Evaluation Scholars and Practitioners. American Journal of Evaluation, 38(3), 420-433.

Thiem, A., Baumgartner, M., & Bol, D. (2016). Still Lost in Translation! A Correction of Three Misunderstandings Between Configurational Comparativists and Regressional Analysts. Comparative Political Studies, 49(6), 742-774.

Thiem, A., Spöhel, R., & Duşa, A. (2016). Enhancing Sensitivity Diagnostics for Qualitative Comparative Analysis: A Combinatorial Approach. Political Analysis, 24(1), 104-120.

Full list of publications