Modest Advice in Selecting Case Study Designs

Now that you know how to define case study designs and are prepared to carry out design work, three pieces of advice may be offered. 1. Single- or Multiple-Case Designs? The first word of advice is that, although all designs can lead to successful case studies, when you have the choice (and resources), multiple-case

The Case Study Investigator: Desired Skills

Too many people are drawn to the case study strategy because they believe it is “easy.” Many social scientists—especially budding ones—think the case study strategy can be mastered without much difficulty. Their belief is that they will have to learn only a minimal set of technical procedures; that any of their own shortcomings in

Preparation and Training for a Specific Case Study

1. Human Subjects Protection Some time between the completion of your design and the start of your data collection, you will need to show how you plan to protect the human subjects in your case study. You will need to obtain formal approval for your plan. Such approval should not merely be viewed as

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The Case Study Protocol

A case study protocol has only one thing in common with a survey question­naire: Both are directed at a single data point—either a single case (even if the case is part of a larger, multiple-case study) or a single respondent. Beyond this similarity are major differences. The protocol is more than a questionnaire or

Screening the Candidate “Cases” for Your Case Study

Another preparatory step is the final selection of the case(s) to be part of your case study. Sometimes, the selection is straightforward because you have cho­sen to study a unique case whose identity has been known from the outset of your inquiry. Or, you already may know the case you will study because of

The Pilot Case Study

Pilot cases may be conducted for several reasons unrelated to the criteria for selecting the final cases in the case study design. For example, the informants at a pilot site may be unusually congenial and accessible, or the site may be geographically convenient or may have an unusual amount of documentation and data. One

Six Sources of Case Study Evidence

The sources of evidence discussed here are the ones most commonly used in doing case studies: documentation, archival records, interviews, direct obser­vations, participant-observation, and physical artifacts. However, you should be aware that a complete list of sources can be quite extensive—including films, photographs, and videotapes; projective techniques and psychological testing; proxemics; kinesics; “street” ethnography;

Three Principles of Data Collection in Case Study Method

The benefits from these six sources of evidence can be maximized if you fol­low three principles. These principles are relevant to all six sources and, when used properly, can help to deal with the problems of establishing the construct validity and reliability of the case study evidence. The three are as follows. 1. Principle

An Analytic Strategy in Case Study Research: More Than Familiarity with Analytic Tools

1. Need for an Analytic Strategy Introduction. The analysis of case study evidence is one of the least developed and most difficult aspects of doing case studies. Too many times, investigators start case studies without having the foggiest notion about how the evidence is to be analyzed (despite Chapter 3’s recommendation that the analytic

Five Analytic Techniques in Case Study Research

None of the analytic techniques should be considered easy to use, and all will need much practice to be used powerfully. Your objective should be to start modestly, work thoroughly and introspectively, and build your own analytic repertoire over time. The reward will eventually emerge in the form of com­pelling case study analyses and,

Pressing for a High-Quality Analysis in Case Study Research

No matter what specific analytic strategy or techniques have been chosen, you must do everything to make sure that your analysis is of the highest quality. At least four principles underlie all good social science research (Yin, 1994a, 1994b, 1997, 1999) and require your attention. First, your analysis should show that you attended to

Targeting Case Study Reports

Giving some initial thought to your likely or preferred audience and reporting formats serves as a good starting point for composing your case study. It can have a more diverse set of potential audiences than most other types of research, including (a) academic colleagues; (b) policy makers, practitioners, community leaders, and other professionals who

Case Study Reports as Part of Larger, Mixed Methods Studies

Your completed case study may include data from other methods (e.g., surveys or quantitative analysis of archival data such as health status indicators). In particular, Chapter 2 pointed to the possibility that within a single case might exist embedded units of analysis, which might have been the subject of data collection through these other

Illustrative Structures for Case Study Compositions

The chapters, sections, subtopics, and other components of a report must be organized in some way, and this constitutes your case study report’s composi­tional structure. Attending to such structure has been a topic of attention with other methodologies. For instance, L. Kidder and Judd (1986, pp. 430-431) write of the “hourglass” shape of a

Procedures in Doing a Case Study Report

Every investigator should have a well-developed set of procedures for analyz­ing social science data and for composing an empirical report. Numerous texts offer good advice on how you can develop your own customized procedures, including the benefits and pitfalls of using word-processing software (Becker, 1986, p. 160). One common warning is that writing means

What Makes an Exemplary Case Study?

In all of case study research, one of the most challenging tasks is to define an exemplary case study. Although no direct evidence is available, some specula­tions seem an appropriate way of concluding this book.3 The exemplary case study goes beyond the methodological procedures already highlighted throughout this book. Even if you, as a

Action Research Defined

Action research is social research carried out by a team that encompasses a professional action researcher and the members of an organization, commu- nity, or network (“stakeholders”) who are seeking to improve the participants’ situation. AR promotes broad participation in the research process and sup-ports action leading to a more just, sustainable, or satisfying

General Overviews of Action Research Are Hard to Find

We decided to write a general overview of AR because of our experience with university students and practitioners encountering the subject for the first time. In our experience, students and novice practitioners generally lack access to a sufficiently comprehensive and balanced way to learn about the diverse origins, theories, methods, motives, and problems associated

Action Research, Applied Research, and Qualitative Versus Quantitative Research

Action research refers to the conjunction of three elements: action, research, and participation. Unless all three elements are present, the process may be useful but it is not AR. Put another way, AR is a research strategy that gener­ates knowledge claims for the express purpose of taking action to promote social analysis and democratic

Action, Research, and Participation

Despite the significant differences among AR practitioners and their life situa­tions, we believe that several important commitments link most of us. AR is composed of a balance of three elements. If any one of the three is absent, then the process is not AR. This is not to say that al non-AR processes are