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Markus Grillitsch

Senior Lecturer

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Path tracing in the study of agency and structures : Methodological considerations

Author

  • Markku Sotarauta
  • Markus Grillitsch

Summary, in English

Despite the rapidly expanding literature on agency in regional development, the methodological approaches available to study it have not followed theoretical development and empirical studies. This article aims to shed light on methodological issues related to the study of path dependence, path creation and agency. The article’s main purpose is to construct a methodology - path tracing - that would allow studying path development by scrutinising how structures constrain actors and how actors work to shape the very same structures in which they are embedded. Path tracing draws on critical realism, process tracing and structured narrative analysis.

Department/s

  • Department of Human Geography
  • CIRCLE

Publishing year

2023

Language

English

Publication/Series

Progress in Human Geography

Volume

47

Issue

1

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

SAGE Publications

Topic

  • Human Geography

Keywords

  • agency
  • methodology
  • narrative
  • path development
  • process
  • structure

Status

Published

Project

  • Regional Growth against all odds

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 0309-1325