Literature

Methodological Applied Conceptual Protocol Book chapters PhD theses

The methodological literature on CNA and the applied literature using CNA is rapidly growing. This page provides a mere snapshot. For a full list of CNA resources visit the Zotero CNA Group library.

Methodological

The details of the state of the art of the CNA method, as implemented in the cna R package, are described in:

Short and informal introductions to configurational causal modeling are provided in the following papers:

This paper introduces CNA robustness scoring, as implemented in the frscore R package:

This paper discusses a protocol for finding optimally obtainable consistency and coverage scores for a given data set. (The algorithms introduced in this paper are implemented in the cnaOpt R package):

These papers uncover shortcomings of consistency and coverage and introduce two evaluation measures:

This paper investigates the impact of data imbalances (skewness) on CNA’s performance:

These papers compare CNA and QCA:

This paper compares CNA and Logic Regression:

Older versions of the CNA method are introduced/discussed here:

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Applied

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Conceptual

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Protocol

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Book chapters

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PhD theses using or on CNA

  • Anna C. Quon, 2025 (Rush University), “Exploring factors associated with mammography screening among women with autism spectrum disorder and/or intellectual disabilities.”
  • Sarah Shaw, 2025 (University of Washington), “Moving Beyond Research Settings to Strengthen HIV Services: Determinants of Intervention Sustainability and Community-Generated Implementation Strategies.” link
  • Luna de Souter, 2025 (University of Bergen), “Defining and discovering causal regularities.”
  • Nattarinee Jittiang, 2025 (RMIT University), “What Drives Transition from Natural Rubber to Other Types of Farming in Thailand: An Exploratory Study.” link
  • Jennifer Gothilander, 2025 (Mälardalen University), “Exploring contexts for participation in daily and physical activities among adolescents with and without disabilities.” link
  • Lauren Niles, 2022 (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD), “Effectiveness of Maryland Opioid Treatment Program Response During the COVID-19 Pandemic and National Regulatory Exemption Period.” link
  • Claire Gwayi-Chore, 2022 (University of Washington, Seattle), “Scaling up deworming programs: implementation science approaches to guide the transition from school-based to community-wide mass drug administration for soil-transmitted helminths.” (This multi-method study included a CNA analysis to identify necessary and/or sufficient combinations of intervention delivery activities related to successful implementation of a community-wide public health intervention in three countries: Benin, India and Malawi.)
  • Sepheen Byron, 2022 (University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill), “State Medicaid Policy Levers Related to Successful Health Information Exchange Among Providers.”
  • Laysse Fernanda Macêdo dos Santos, 2022 (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG/Brazil), “O desenvolvimento da resiliência nas redes de suprimentos da administração pública: a perspectiva do capital social.” (ENG: “The development of resilience in public administration supply networks: the perspective of social capital”)
  • Kelly Coates, 2021 (Portland State), “Affecting Absenteeism Through School-Based Health Services Delivery: A Configurational Comparative Methods Study of Oregon’s Public Secondary Schools.” link (First standalone use of CNA in an applied analysis in any doctoral-level dissertation in any subject.)
  • Jessica Dodge, 2021 (USC), “Exploring the Social Determinants of Health in a Population with Similar Access to Healthcare: Experiences from United States Active-Duty Army Wives.” (First formal pairing of CNA and QCA in an applied analysis in any doctoral-level dissertation in any subject.)
  • Davi Pires Andrade Brescia, 2021 (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG/Brazil), “Respostas gerenciais a dilemas estratégicos: capturando políticas de decisão e suas fundações morais.” (ENG: “Managerial responses to strategic dilemmas: capturing decision-making policies and their moral foundations”)
  • Christoph Falk, 2020 (University of Geneva), “Konfigurationales kausales Modellieren. Ein theoretisches Fundament und Verfahren für Kausalanalysen mit crisp-set Konfigurationen.”
  • Bruno de Castro Rozenberg, 2020 (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG/Brazil), “Complexidade causal na seleção de startups para programas públicos de aceleração: uma abordagem configuracional comparativa.” (ENG: “Causal complexity in the selection of startups for public acceleration programs: a comparative configurational approach.”)
  • Felipe Alexandre de Souza Félix Nunes, 2020 (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG/Brazil), “Comportamento de não consumo de produtos dos patrocinadores de Cruzeiro e Atlético-MG pelos torcedores do clube rival.” (ENG: “Non-consumption of products from the sponsors of Cruzeiro and Atlético-MG by fans of the rival club”)
  • Rebecca Whitaker, 2019 (UNC-Chapel Hill), “A Study of Preventable Hospital Utilization Among Medicaid-Insured Pediatric Patients in North Carolina’s Federally Qualified Health Centers.” (First doctoral-level dissertation in the United States to prominently feature CNA in an applied analysis.)
  • Rui Fernando Correia Ferreira, 2018 (Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, UFMG/Brazil), “Estratégia de influência: O ganho de vantagens competitivas de empresas em suas relações com o Estado.” (ENG: “Influence strategy: Gaining competitive advantages for companies in their relations with the State”)

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A Zotero Group Library on CNA provides more detailed bibliographic information.