case study

a process or
record of
research in
which detailed

consideration
is given to the
development
of a particular
person, group,
or situation

over a period
of time.
a particular
instance of
something
used or

analyzed in
order to
illustrate a
thesis or
principle

According to
J. Creswell,
data collection
in a case study
occurs over a
"sustained

period of
[8]
time."
One approach
sees the case
study defined
as a research
strategy, an

empirical
inquiry that
investigates a
phenomenon
within its reallife context.
Case-study

research can
mean single
and multiple
case studies,
can include
quantitative
evidence,

relies on
multiple
sources of
evidence, and
benefits from
the prior
development

of theoretical
propositions.
[3]
As such,
case study
research
should not be
confused

with qualitativ
e research, as
case studies
can be based
on any mix of
quantitative
and qualitative

data.
Similarly, sing
le-subject
research might
be taken as
case studies of
a sort, except

that the
repeated trials
in singlesubject
research
permit the use
of

experimental
designs that
would not be
possible in
typical case
studies. At the
same time, the

repeated trials
can provide a
statistical
framework for
making
inferences
from

quantitative
data