Methods for Building Better Theories
Lecturer: Derek Beach
Modality: In-presence
Week 2: 17-21 August 2026
Workshop contents and objectives
How do we craft more interesting and persuasive theories? While young scholars are taught increasingly sophisticated research methods, little attention is paid to how to construct good theories of important social phenomena. As a result, there tends to be a mismatch between very sophisticated research designs and the simple and often common-sense theoretical explanations they are used to analyze. However, compelling theories are required to get published in top research outlets.
Using your own research as the starting point, this hands-on workshop aims to teach participants methods for producing more compelling theories. Through practical exercises and interaction with your own research, the course goes through the key stages in the theorisation process. Theorisation is an iterative process that involves a dialogue between empirics, existing theories, and interesting theoretical explanations. In this course the focus will be on using within-case and cross-case comparative methods to develop better theories that both can provide explanations of both particular cases and more general patterns across cases.
During the course, participants will apply their new skills to your own research to help craft even more interesting theoretical explanations of the phenomena you are interested in. On the completion of the course, participants will be equipped with the necessary skills to engage in better theorisation using case study methods
Workshop design
Each class day will be divided into two main parts. Morning sessions will start with participant presentations based on the previous days work. The session will then introduce the topic of the day, using a combination of lectures and class discussions.
Afternoon sessions (after lunch) will be focused on practical exercises and activities. In many of these exercises you will be asked to use your own research and empirical material. There will also be group exercises where we will unpack published examples, in particular on days 4 and 5.
Detailed lecture plan (daily schedule)
Day 1:
Theorisation and research questions
Day 2:
Casing and conceptualisation
Day 3:
Types of theories and explanations
Day 4:
Theorisation and middle range theories – using case comparisons
Day 5:
Theorisation and generalisation – using cross-case comparisons.
Class materials
All materials will be provided online.
Prerequisites
The course is designed for participants who are at least midway through their doctoral research, meaning that you have a research topic and have engaged in at least some preliminary empirical work. The course is also open to more senior scholars (postdoc) who have a research project that they can utilise in the course.
Recommended readings or preliminary material
Day 1: Theorisation and research questions
- Beach, D., and J.G. Kaas. 2020. ‘The Great Divides: Incommensurability, the Impossibility of Mixed-Methodology and What to Do about It.’ International Studies Review, 22(2): 214–235.
- Swedberg, R.. 2016. ‘Before theory comes theorizing.’, British Journal of Sociology, 67(1): 5-22.
- Swedberg, R.. 2017. ‘Theorizing in Sociological Research.’, Annual Reviews in Sociology, 43:189-206.
Day 2: Casing and conceptualisation
- Soss. J.. 2021. ‘On Casing a Study versus Studying a Case.’ Simmons E.S. and Rush Smith N. (eds) Rethinking Comparison: Innovative Methods for Qualitative Political Inquiry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 84-106.
- Beach, D. and R.B. Pedersen. 2016. Causal Case Studies: Comparing, Matching and Tracing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, chap. 4 (Conceptualisation)
Day 3: Types of theories and explanations
- Sandberg and Alvesson (2020) ‘Meanings of Theory: Clarifying Theory through Typification.’, Journal of Management Studies, 58(2): 487-516.
- Beach, D. and R.B. Pedersen. 2016. Causal Case Studies: Comparing, Matching and Tracing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, Chap. 2 and 3.
Day 4: Theorisation and middle range theories – using case comparisons
- D. Beach and S. Smeets. 2025. ‘Moving towards more cumulative knowledge through the use of meso-level theories to understand how the EU manages crisis.’ Risk, Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy, 16(3), Artikel e70022.
Day 5: Theorisation and generalisation – using cross-case comparisons.
- Beach, D. and R.B. Pedersen. 2016. Causal Case Studies: Comparing, Matching and Tracing. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, Chap. 7.
- Ragin, C.. 2000. Fuzzy-set Social Science. Chicago: Chicago University Press. Pp. 43-63 (chapter two), 120-148 (Logic of Diversity-Oriented Research).
What our participants appreciated most
"| greatly appreciated Derek's engaging teaching style and his opennessto discuss and provide feedback on student's own research."
"| think Prof. Derek Beach is very creative and tackles how to use theory from different perspectivesin a comprehendible way."
Derek Beach
Aarhus University, Denmark
Derek Beach is a professor of Political Science at Aarhus University, Denmark, where he does research on research methodology and European integration. He has authored articles, chapters, and books on research methodology, policy evaluation, international negotiations, referendums, and European integration, and co-authored the book Process-tracing Methods: Foundations and Guidelines (2019, 2nd edition, University of Michigan Press). He has taught case study methods at numerous workshops and ph.d. level courses throughout the world, and conducted evaluations at the national and international level. He was an academic fellow at the World Bank’s Independent Evaluation Group in spring 2022. He is an academic coordinator of the Methods Excellence Network (MethodsNet).