Case Study

prepared by Jane M. Gangi, Ph.D.February 24, 2011

Rationale for Case Study

Anthropologist Clifford Geertz:

“…no one lives in the world in general…”

(as cited in Dyson & Genishi, p. 121).

Purpose

“A case study is employed to gain an in-depth understanding of the situation and meaning for those involved. The interest is in process rather than outcomes, in context rather than a specific variable, in discovery rather than confirmation. Insight gleaned from case studies can directly influence policy, practice, and future research” (emphasis added, Merriam, 1998, p. 19).

When Is Case Study Appropriate?

Case study is “particularly suited to situations where it is impossible to separate the phenomenon’s variables from their context” (Merriam, summarizing Yin,1988, p. 10).

Merriam’s (1998) Definition

“Case studies are differentiated from other types of qualitative research in that they are intensive descriptions and analyses of a single unit or bounded system…such as an individual, program, event, group, intervention, or community. “From Volunteer to Advocate: The Empowerment of an Urban Parent,” for example, is a case study of one low-income, single mother who participated in a decision-making process at the her daughter’s school (Etheridge, Hall, and Etheridge, 1995)” [emphasis in the original, p. 19]

Case Study Research Questions

Anekwe (2008):1. What are the characteristics of high-achieving second-generation Nigerian immigrant youths in the United States?2. What are the effects of personal, family, school, and community factors on the academic achievement of high-achieving second-generation Nigerian youths?3. What challenges do high-achieving second-generation Nigerian youths face in the schools and how do they deal with the challenges of being of Black, of immigrant origin, and high achieving? (p. 12)(for reference, please Research Design powerpoint, Gangi—2/10/2011)

Case Study Research Questions,continued

La Banca (2008):1. What are the distinguishing problem finding features of externally-evaluated, exemplary, open inquiry science research projects? 2. How do parents, teachers, and mentors influence student problem finding? (p. 14)(for reference, please Research Design powerpoint, Gangi—2/10/2011)

Researcher’s Role in Case Study

Dyson and Genishi (2005):“Multiple questions occur to a researcher before she officially gets on the case: How will I dress? Where will I sit? How much should I talk with people in the classroom, and in what kind of language? Will the children expect me to act like an assistant teacher now that I’ll be visiting more often? And if I decide to assist, how will I work in the extra visits when I’ll help particular children?” (p. 51).

Intentions…and, Reality

Dyson and Genishi (2005):

“In my project…I planned to adopt a role as an unhelpful but attentive adult friend of children…

Being ‘busy’ is understood by children. However, in practice, I did not always maintain this stance…if a child was just sure I would want to interrupt my work to hear a story she or head just written, I tended to do so, relying on my tape recorder to help fill in my observational gaps. I tied shoes, struggles with zippers, and retrieved tissues for dripping noses, even as I listened to unsanctioned, talk…and silently witnessed snacking from an out-of-place bag of chips” (pp. 52-53).

Data Analysis

• Looking at a case in-depth over time allows you, the instrument, to watch for recurring patterns.

• Although not a case, a teacher Rick Lavoie describes a teacher who figured out why a high school student with special needs kid skipped school on “D” day: He couldn’t figure out the schedule when periods rotated.

• Look for what’s unique in the case.• Try to challenge your perceptions; that’s part of

rigor. Deliberately try to prove yourself wrong.

Watch out for…

• The process can become too rich, too exhausting

• Or, you may come to closure too soon

• You can see what you want to see—depends on knowledge base

Writing Fieldnotes in Case Study

Abbreviations are helpful; see Dyson and Genishi (2005) handout, p. 68.

“Another sort of generalizing…”

Karp (2001):“The conventional wisdom in the social sciences is that the capacity to generalize from studies with relatively small samples is limited. Most research methods textbooks maintain that firm generalizations require large samples of respondents who are chosen through processes of random selection. For this reason, small sample in-depth interview studies…are often judged to have limited generalizability. While I certainly agree that ‘statistical’ generalizations of the sort generated by survey research studies require large samples, there is another sort of generalization possible from relatively small sample studies….I make the distinction between ‘empirical’ and ‘analytic’ generalizations” (emphasis added, p. 278)

Karp on generalizing, cont.

“Empirical generalizations are of the sort made in large-scale survey research studies in which the goal is to generalize from a ‘representative sample’ of people to a larger ‘universe’ of individuals. In contrast, the theorist Georg Simmel argued that the goal of sociological research ought to be the discovery of generic, underlying ‘forms’ of social life….Although it is always important to consider the limitations of any sample, I maintain that the discovery of such underlying and patterned dimensions to social life is best realized through…qualitative, in-depth data…” (p. 278)

Heuristic Case StudyMerriam (1988): “Heuristic means that case studies illuminate the reader’s understanding of the phenomenon under study. They can bring about the discovery of new meaning, extend the reader’s experience or confirm what is known.

“The heuristic quality of case study is suggested by these aspects:• It can explain the reasons for a problem, the background of a

situation, what happened, and why.• It can explain why an innovation worked or failed to work.• It can discuss and evaluate alternatives not chosen.• It can evaluate, summarize, and conclude, thus increasing its

potential applicability” (emphases added, Merriam, 1988, p. 14).

Descriptive Case Study

Merriam (1988):“Descriptive means that the end product of the case study is a rich, “thick” description of the phenomenon under study. Thick description is a term from anthropology and means the complete, literal description of the incident or entity being investigated. It also means ‘interpreting the meaning of…demographic and descriptive data in terms of cultural norms and mores, community values, deep-seated attitudes and notions, and the like’ (emphases in the original, Guba and Lincoln, 1981, p. 119).

Particularistic Case Study

Merriam (1988): “[F]ocuses on a particular situation, event, program, or phenomenon. The case itself is important for what it reveals about the phenomenon and for what it might represent….Case studies ‘concentrate attention on the way particular groups of people confront specific problems, taking a holistic view of the situation. They are problem centered, small scale, entrepreneurial endeavors’ (Shaw, 1978, p. 2)” (p. 11).

Case Study Websites

Colorado State University:http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/

Googling “case study”: 35,900,000 hits!

ReferencesDyson, A. H., & Genishi, C. (2005). On the case: Approaches to language and literacy research. New York, NY: Teachers College Press. Karp, D. A. (2001). The burden of sympathy: How families cope with mental illness. New York: Oxford University Press.

Merriam, S. B. (1988). Case study research in education: A qualitative approach. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Stake, R. E. (2006). Multiple case study analysis. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd. ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Resources Compton-Lily, C. (2006). Identity, childhood culture, and literacy learning: A case study. Journal of Early Childhood Education, 6(1), 57-76.

Cordeiro, P. A., & Carspecken, P. F. (1993). How a minority of the minority succeed: A case study of twenty Hispanic achievers. Qualitative Studies in Education, 6(4), 277-290.

Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Eder, D. (1983). Ability grouping and students’ academic self-concepts: A case study. Elementary School Journal, 84(2), ____.

Etheridge, C. P., Hall, M. L., & Etheridge. G. W. (1995). From volunteer to advocate: The empowerment of an urban parent. Qualitative Studies in Education, 8(2), 109-119.

Erickson, F. (1986). Qualitative methods in research on teaching. In M. Wittrock (Ed.), Handbook of research on teaching (3rd ed., pp. 119-161). Washington, D. C.: American Educational Research Association.

Resources, continuedFlyvberg, B. (2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219-245.

Goodman, J., & Adler, S. (1985). Becoming an elementary social studies teacher: A study of perspectives. Theory and Research in Social Education, 15, 1-20.

Schilling, T. A. (2008). An examination of resilience processes in context: The case of Tasha. Urban Review, 40(3), 296-316. Merle, Emily?

ERIC: 23, 328 studies with phrase “case study.”

See also the Bibliography of Suggested Qualitative Studies Published in Journal Articles

See Helena’s profile on Stake’s multicase; Mathew ‘s (next week) on Stake’s single case; and, Katie’s on Yin

From Hart & Risley