A configurational analysis of mass shootings and background checks
Alexei Anisin · 2021
This chapter features a crisp-set qualitative comparative analysis (csQCA) based on the theoretical framework presented in earlier segments of this book. Eight different conditions are introduced alongside explanations which justify their theoretical inclusion into analysis. Empirical tests are carried out via the R programming language beginning with single tests for necessity and sufficiency. These tests reveal that on its own, no single factor can account for why background checks increase in the month after a shooting. Further tests through Boolean minimization produce ten different solutions that account for the outcome, eight of which are salient. The two most prominent solutions feature the condition of cultural importance, while the two least salient pathways feature the condition of a presidential election. These results are visualized in a Venn diagram, and lend support to the theoretical premises of this book. This chapter yields new insight into the causal pathways that drive post-shooting firearm purchasing behavior.