Tape-Recording Interviews

I have no doubt that in-depth interviews should be tape-recorded; however, the literature reflects varying opinions on this point (Bogdan & Taylor, 1975; Briggs, 1986; Hyman et al., 1954; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 1989; Weiss, 1994). I believe that to work most reliably with the words of participants, the researcher has to transform

Transcribing Interview Tapes

Transcribing interview tapes is time-consuming and potentially costly work. It can be facilitated by using a transcribing machine that has a foot pedal and earphones. Nonetheless it will normally take from 4 to 6 hours to transcribe a 90-minute tape. If possible, the initial transcrip­tions should be made using a computer-based word-processing program. Later,

Studying, Reducing, and Analyzing the Interview Text

As one can see, in-depth interviewing generates an enormous amount of text. The vast array of words, sentences, paragraphs, and pages have to be reduced to what is of most significance and interest (McCracken, 1988; Miles & Huberman, 1984; Wolcott, 1990). Most important is that reducing the data be done inductively rather than deductively.

Sharing Interview Data: Profiles and Themes

One goal of the researcher in marking what is of interest in the inter­view transcripts is to reduce and then shape the material into a form in which it can be shared or displayed (Miles & Huberman, 1984). Reducing the data is a first step in allowing the researchers to present their inter­view material

Making and Analyzing Thematic Connections

A more conventional way of presenting and analyzing interview data than crafting profiles is to organize excerpts from the transcripts into cat­egories. The researcher then searches for connecting threads and patterns among the excerpts within those categories and for connections between the various categories that might be called themes. In addition to present­ing profiles

Interpreting the Interview Material

Interpreting is not a process researchers do only near the end of the project. Even as interviewers question their participants, tentative inter­pretations may begin to influence the path of their questioning. Marking passages that are of interest, labeling them, and grouping them is analytic work that has within it the seeds of interpretation. Crafting

Interview Note

The number of themes that emerge into prominence in an interview study has implications for the organization of a dissertation. While the format of a dissertation is in the purview of dissertation committees, I think it reasonable to suggest that interviewing studies, so rich in words, may not lend themselves to the conventional five-chapter

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The Case Study as a Research Method

Using case studies for research purposes remains one of the most challenging of all social science endeavors. The purpose of this book is to help you—an experi­enced or budding social scientist—to deal with the challenge. Your goal is to design good case studies and to collect, present, and analyze data fairly. A further goal

Comparing Case Studies with Other Research Methods in the Social Sciences

When and why would you want to do case studies on some topic? Should you consider doing an experiment instead? A survey? A history? An analysis of archival records, such as modeling economic trends or student performance in schools?1 These and other choices represent different research methods. Each is a differ­ent way of collecting

Different Kinds of Case Studies, but a Common Definition

Our discussion has progressed without a formal definition of case studies. Moreover, commonly asked questions about case studies still have been unan­swered. For example, is it still a case study when more than one case is included in the same study? Do case studies preclude the use of quantitative evidence? Can case studies be

General Approach to Designing Case Studies

In identifying the method for your research project, Chapter 1 has shown when you might choose to use the case study method, as opposed to other methods. The next task is to design your case study. For this purpose, as in designing any other type of research investigation, you need a plan or research

Criteria for Judging the Quality of Research Designs

Because a research design is supposed to represent a logical set of statements, you also can judge the quality of any given design according to certain logical tests. Concepts that have been offered for these tests include trustworthi­ness, credibility, confirmability, and data dependability (U.S. Government Accountability Office, 1990). Four tests, however, have been commonly

Case Study Designs

These general characteristics of research designs serve as a background for considering the specific designs for case studies. Four types of designs will be discussed, based on a 2 x 2 matrix (see Figure 2.4). The matrix first shows that every type of design will include the desire to analyze contextual conditions in relation

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;