Part I. Principles

This part of the book presents the theoretical background and assumptions of NCA. Understanding the principles of NCA is important for recognizing the method’s possibilities and limitations. It is also essential for avoiding unrealistic expectations and misinterpretations.

The first chapter (Chapter 2) discusses NCA’s causality perspective and how it is different from conventional perspectives. The next chapter (Chapter 3) discusses what a necessity theory is. The subsequent two chapters present the mathematical (Chapter 4) and statistical (Chapter 5) backgrounds of NCA. The final chapter (Chapter 6) evaluates NCA’s credibility for identifying necessary conditions from data.