Case Studies

Maha Gouda
 ?What is meant by case studies

Case studies are a form of qualitative descriptive research which DO

investigate. a phenomenon within its real-life context .1

look. intensely at an individual or a small group of people related to that phenomenon .2

draw. conclusions only about that participant or group in that specific context .3

examine an interplay of all variables to provide a complete understanding of an event .4

.or situation

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 ?What is meant by case studies

Case studies DO NOT

focus on the discovery of a universal, generizable truth .1

look for cause-effect relationships .2

Case studies are

primarily qualitative Longitudinal

Naturalistic Descriptive

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 ?What are some of the types of case studies

:Exploratory (or pilot) case studies .1

Researchers may undertake them before implementing a large scale investigation to

.identify questions and select types of measurement prior to the main investigation

:Program effects case studies .2

This kind determines the impact of programs and provides inferences about reasons
.for success or failures

:Prospective case studies .3

The researcher formulates a set of theory-based hypotheses related to the evolution

of an on-going social or cultural process and then tests these hypotheses at
a pre-determine follow-up time in the future by comparing these hypotheses with the
.observed outcomes

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 ?What are some of the types of case studies

:Cumulative case studies .4

This type aggregates (clusters) previous information from different sites collected

at different times to allow for greater generalization without additional time or cost.
:Narrative case studies .5

These present findings in a narrative format as events in an unfolding plot with

.actions and actors

:Critical instance case studies .6

These examine one or more sites to examine a situation of unique interest or to

.call/challenge a highly generalized assertion

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 ?How do I design my case study research

:You should

.Adopt a theoretical perspective/Focus on experience .1

:Your adopted theoretical perspective can be related to

a .Individual Theories ,: here, the focus is on the individual development

cognitive behaviour, personality, learning and disability, and interpersonal interactions
.of a particular subject

b .Organizational Theories ,: these focus on bureaucracies, institutions

.organizational structure and function, or excellence in organizational performance

c .Social Theories ,: the focus here is on urban development, group behaviour

.cultural institutions, or market place functions

Maha Gouda 6
 ?How do I design my case study research

:You should

.Determine the goal(s) of your study.2

(Your goal(s) depend on your research question(s). What is /are the question(s
?that you attempt to find an answer for

.Select your participants .3

These subjects can either be entities, situations, or people to be studied. They can
.be one participant or a group of participants

When selecting a case for a case study, researchers often use information-oriented
.sampling as opposed to random sampling

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 ?How do I design my case study research

:You should

.Select the appropriate method(s) of collection .4

:Your data collection method(s) can be

(Naturalistic (participant/direct observation *

(Eliciting (interviews, questionnaires *

Both eliciting and naturalistic *

(Document form (documents, archival records, artifacts *

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 ?How do I design my case study research

:You should

.Analyze your data either holistically or through coding .5

Holistic analysis does not attempt to break the evidence into parts, but rather
to draw conclusions based on the text as a whole. However,coding involves
searching the data to identify and/or categorize specific observable actions or
.characteristics

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 ?How do I design my case study research

:You should

.Provide considerations to the composition of the final draft of your report .6

: Sharan Merriam (1985) offers several suggestions for presentation of data

a .. Prepare specialized condensations for appropriate groups

b.. Replace narrative sections with a series of answers to open-ended questions

c.. Present "skimmer's" summaries at the beginning of each section

d.. Incorporate headlines that encapsulate information from the text

e.. Prepare analytic summaries with supporting data appendixes

f.. Present data in colourful and/or unique graphic representations

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 ?What are the criteria for analyzing case studies

The answers to the following questions will aid in organizing your

understanding of a
case study.
?What is the research question .1

?In what context was the research conducted .2

Who were the participants in the study? How were they selected? What were .3
?their relevant characteristics

?What was the theoretical orientation of the research .4

?What was the role of the researcher .5

What data-collection procedures were used? How much time was spent .6
?collecting data

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 ?What are the criteria for analyzing case studies

The answers to the following questions will aid in organizing

.your understanding of a case study

?How were data analyzed? What were the findings .7

?What conclusions are drawn? Are they logically related to the descriptive data .8

?What is the contribution of the study to our knowledge of social or contextual factors .9

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