Does anyone know, whether there will be an update or any form of further development of fs/QCA 2.5?
I think the QCA package in R on the other hand is continuously being improved.
So, would you recommend to novices to use R rather than the very intuitive fs/QCA program?
Dear Elisabeth, this is a somewhat belated reply, but better late than never.
The problem with fs/QCA is that new versions are frequently uploaded, but neither the version change nor the changes themselves are recorded anywhere. In addition, up to the current fs/QCA version, the software misapplies the Quine-McCluskey algorithm (see my Evaluation Review article [link below] as well as the conference paper by Michael Baumgartner and myself on ambiguities [attached below]), which is why the software is currently unsuitable for causal data analysis. The only two software packages currently available for conducting proper causal data analysis with QCA are the QCA package for R as well as the cna package for R. In the QCA package, however, you have to make sure that both arguments, "min.dis" and "row.dom", are set to FALSE in the eqmcc function! Otherwise you commit the very same mistake as the fs/QCA software does.
As to intuitivity, I think Adrian Dusa is currently preparing a graphical interface for the QCA package.
On the COMPASSS network website (see link below), I also provide an overview of the current QCA software landscape, including new software, version changes and updates.
I hope this help.
Best wishes,
Alrik
http://erx.sagepub.com/content/38/6/487
http://www.compasss.org/software.htm
Conference Paper When There is More Than Meets the Eye: Model Ambiguities in ...
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