Constitutive factors describe what makes up a cause but still explain outcomes

Evidence

1Hall (2003) defines ontology as fundamental assumptions about the nature of causal relationships in the world. By contrast, our understanding of ontology focuses on the way in which secondary-level factors constitute basic-level variables. This constitutive relationship can be modeled with different theoretical or mathematical structures (e.g., equifinality, a conjuncture of necessary conditions), but in each case the assumption is that the secondary-level variables do not cause basic-level causal variables; rather, they describe the ontology or essential make-up of the basic-level causes. Our view of ontology is like Hall’s in that we stress that the secondary-level constitutive factors have causal relationships with basic-level outcome variables. A description of the causal mechanisms will almost always invoke secondary-level variables. Our understanding of an ontological relationship is similar to what Wendt (1999) calls constitutive explanation, though we prefer to reserve the label “explanation” for causal relationships. — Gary Goertz, Social Science Concepts, 1593

Categorization

• DEFINE: Sharpens ‘ontology’ away from Hall’s causal-assumption sense toward a constitutive, make-up sense tied to Wendt’s constitutive explanation.
• XREF: Directly engages Wendt’s constitutive explanation and Hall’s ontology, both standard reference points in social-science methodology.