Case Study Research

What, Why and How?

Peter Swanborn

• Publisher: SAGE Publications Ltd
• Year: 2010
• ISBN:
  9781446241615
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Science Research & Methodology
• Index: Social Sciences

How should case studies be selected? Is case study methodology fundamentally different to that of other methods? What, in fact, is a case?

Case Study Research: What, Why and How? is an authoritative and nuanced exploration of the many faces of case-based research methods. As well as the what, how and why, the author also examines the when and which - always with an eye on practical applications to the design, collection, analysis and presentation of the research.

Case study methodology can prove a confusing and fragmented topic. In bringing diverse notions of case study research together in one volume and sensitising the reader to the many varying definitions and perceptions of ?case study?, this book equips researchers at all levels with the knowledge to make an informed choice of research strategy.

Appendix 1- Selected Literature on Case Studies

An overview of book literature on case study methodology includes the following sources. Publications which we consider of special interest to the reader who wants to deepen an understanding are indicated with one or more asterisk(*). The reader will find complete references in the bibliography, but as a quick guide we provide most titles with a brief synopsis.

Abramson (1992). A peculiar mix of a Yiddish diary of a Jewish-Russian immigrant to the USA (the author's grandfather) and a critical interpretation of it by his grandson, a psychology professor at UCLA. From a Popperian perspective, many questions are raised in connection with quotations from the diary, and alternative interpretations are offered.

Adelman, Jenkins & Kemmis (1984). A brief definition and an analysis of the advantages of the case study, combined with practical tips about how to do a case study. The article is also included in Simons (1980).

*Bergman (2008). An interesting collection of contributions on mixed method research, covering about the whole spectrum of opinions.

Biemans (1989). The author starts with five and later adds 17 case studies to describe designing, adapting and marketing medical-technical apparatus. The attention is focused on networks of firms, research laboratories and users. Data is mainly collected via a restricted number of interviews per case. Biemans presents some practical tips for designing case studies such as this in organisations, gaining access to the field, etc.

Diesing (1972). One of the first extensive treatises based on an holistic point of view in social science, and a discussion of the case study within this framework.

Feagin, Orum & Sjoberg (eds) (1991). This reader is of a typical sociological character and contains a number of essays on the background and procedures followed in several famous case studies (among others ‘Middletown III’). It also contains a plea for holistic, engaged, qualitative research as an alternative to the scientific method in sociology.

Fishman (1999). An important text for everyone interested in developments in the field of case studies in clinical psychology.

*George & Bennett (2005). One of the best publications on (comparative) case study research in the tradition of the political sciences.

*Gerring (2006). A lucid and almost complete handbook on case study research in the political sciences tradition, more or less in the footsteps of George & Bennett (2005).

* Glaser & Strauss (1967). This is the most well-known text on grounded theory research, a strand of qualitative research in the symbolic-interactionist tradition. It is one of the first methodology books that focuses on the relation between meaning and social interaction. As such, it is one of the inspiring sources for our approach of the role of case studies in social research.

*Gomm, Hammersley & Foster (eds) (2000). This book contains ten earlier publications, some of them (very) old, others more recent, by authors such as Eckstein, Robinson, Mitchell, Stake, and Lincoln and Guba. Additionally, two ‘commenting’ and summarising contributions by the editors of this debate-stimulating book focus on generalisation and the use of theory in case studies.

Goode & Hatt (1952). This title is mentioned here for the sole reason that it is one of the oldest and most well-known defences of qualitative case studies. After more than half a century of social scientific research, it is, of course, largely outdated now.

Gummesson (1991). Argues the case for participatory ‘action research’ in organisations and for combining the researcher's and the consultant's role. Gummesson is a protagonist of engaged, qualitative research. The chapter on ‘Case Study Research’, contains few new methodological insights for readers who are acquainted with this type of research, but it offers much information of an anecdotal nature. Many insights have value, but they are consistently presented from a one-dimensional point of view.

Hamel, Dufour & Fortin (1993). This booklet in Sage's ‘Qualitative Research Methods Series’ is of French-Canadian origin. It addresses some of the early sociological and anthropological studies, such as Le Play's work. The case study is defined as a qualitative strategy. The book's main value lies mostly in its very extensive, but rather heterogeneous, bibliography.

Kazdin (1980). A short introduction into the clinical case study and its use, presenting some historical examples.

*King, Keohane & Verba (1994). This book focuses on the design and analysis of case studies in political science. The authors intend to build a bridge between qualitative (i.e. case studies) and quantitative research, but this effort only partly succeeds because of the statistical language used. The book is aimed at a high level, and many parts will be very interesting for qualitative researchers, if they can follow the argument! The publication has received much attention. For examples, see the review series in the American Political Science Review, 1995, 89 (2): 454–481.

Kolodner (1993). At first sight, this book on a specific approach in the field of Artificial Intelligence has nothing to do with case study research. However, the ways in which small differences between comparable situations are classified as less important, and the ways in which these situations are put together as one type, while other differences lead to different types, are very instructive for everyone interested in how to handle differences and similarities between cases.

Merriam (1988). A simple, sometimes superficial, introduction to qualitative case studies, with relatively little attention paid to methodology but a great deal on data collection. The author defines a case study as ‘particularistic, descriptive, holistic and inductive’. All examples are taken from educational research. This book can also be read as a handbook for field studies. It contains many references to other authors.

Merriam (1998). An updated and elaborated version of Merriam (1988).

*Miles & Huberman (1984/1994). A well-known and massive volume that covers qualitative data analysis. The authors offer a multitude of suggestions for the construction of tables, networks and other data displays. Its most significant disadvantage is that it is extremely voluminous, and very impractical if the reader tries to use it as a ‘cookbook’. Many of its ‘techniques of analysis’ are largely trivial, in the sense that an intelligent researcher can think of them him/ herself, but for a student who has lots of time at his/her disposal, there are many useful suggestions, applications, examples and hints to be found in this ‘sourcebook’. References made to ‘Miles and Huberman’ are often regarded as a ‘must’ in research proposals defending a ‘qualitative’ approach. It is, in that context, regrettably almost never stated which specific approach, covered by Miles and Huberman, is meant.

Ragin (2000). This book is a must for anyone interested in fuzzy-set theory.

*Ragin & Becker (eds) (1992). The booklet comprises an interesting collection of contributions from a heterogeneous group of authors, among others Stanley Lieberman's ‘Small N's and big conclusions’.

Rose (1991). A brief introduction consisting mainly of descriptions of organisational examples and comments. Its preoccupation is with qualitative, feminist and Marxist research.

Rothney (1968). A handy, practical booklet (though outdated now) in which data collection and reporting about ‘children as cases’ is described. It is useful for educational scientists and pedagogues.

Shontz (1965). A short plea for case studies, with examples from clinical psychology, and an analysis of different uses of case study research.

*Simons (ed.) (1980). This reader contains a number of high-level contributions in the field of theory of knowledge. Case studies are posited in the qualitative, holistic tradition. Problems about values and ethics, as well as some more practical aspects such as the education of researchers, are not avoided.

Stake (1994). For Stake, ‘a case’ is what we have called ‘the bearer’ of the phenomenon. In this rather philosophical essay, the author, from a constructivist point of view, focuses on learning about ‘the specifics’ in a case.

Stake (1995). A rather opportunistic small book based on seminars with, among others, Swedish students. It focuses more on technical aspects of classic field research than on methodology in a general sense.

Strauss & Corbin (1998). As the successor of Glaser and Strauss's Discovery of Grounded Theory (1967), this book is a much more detailed and advanced study, containing many practical suggestions for qualitative research in this tradition.

*Yin (1984/1994/2003). This is perhaps the best direct source for anyone interested in doing a case study in one or more organisations. It is a brief, very clear introduction to case study methodology, obviously inspired by applied, organisational research. In the reviewed edition of 1989 some pages are added on the use of theory in case study research. In the second edition (1994) and the third edition (2003) a few topics are further expanded and updated.

Yin (1993/2003). This text offers many applications of case study research, and addresses the problem to be solved and the research design. Most chapters refer to case studies in evaluation research. Although this booklet shows a lot of internal overlap, as several chapters are based on earlier articles, it is a useful addition to Yin's earlier book. The author also tackles the topic of ‘ethnographic research’ and ‘the grounded theory approach’, comparing them with his own preferred procedures (Yin 1993: 46, 57).

Appendix 2- The Political Science Debate on Case Studies

Lijphart (1971), in a study that became a classic, distinguished six types of case studies. The first type refers to the antique, descriptive, idiographic case studies. He uses the label ‘atheoretical case studies’ in referring to this set of studies. Cases are used as distinct examples; there are no attempts at generalisation. Also, there is no room for theory development, or for testing. ‘Interpretative case study’ theories are used, but again, they are not developed or tested, and there are no generalisations either. A theory is used to pinpoint of variables and to interpret results. Often a case study is used as an illustration of a certain theory that the researcher is addicted to. We frequently find this approach in symbolic-interactionist research (Swanborn & van Zijl 1984).

If theories are used for developing or testing purposes, Lijphart distinguishes between:

• hypothesis-generating case studies
• theory-confirming case studies
• theory-infirming case studies and
• deviant case studies.

The nature of these types of case study in obvious from their labels. Hypothesis-generating case studies are characteristic of an exploratory approach, resulting in hypotheses or theory. The next two are characteristic of a testing approach. The distinction between confirming and disconfirming (or deviant) case studies, which can only be made after the research is completed, is surprising: both types can be taken together under the label ‘testing research’. Lijphart emphasises that the significance is not that important. Confirmation of a theory that already rests on a firm empirical base is not very interesting, and when such a theory is discredited by one case we are not immediately inclined to throw the theory in the waste paper basket. ‘Deviant case analysis’ serves the special purpose of studying the limits of a theory: what falls within it? Which conditions or cases fall outside the domain of the theory? Why does this case deviate? Do we have to specify a theory in order to include the deviating cases as well? In Lijphart's opinion, the most important types are the hypothesis-generating case s...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• One What is a Case Study?
• Two When to Conduct a Case Study?
• Three How to Select Cases?
• Four What Data to Collect?
• Five How to Enrich your Case Study Data?
• Six How to Analyse your Data?
• Seven Assets and Opportunities
• Appendix 1- Selected Literature on Case Studies
• Appendix 2- The Political Science Debate on Case Studies
• Appendix 3- A Note on Triangulation
• Appendix 4- A Note on Contamination
• References
• Author Index
• Index