The study adopted a collective casestudy design stake, 2005 which is well suited to a naturalistic. On the other hand, case study research is a means of advancing theories by comparing similarities and differences among cases. A case study is a common framework for conducting qualitative research stake, 2000. Each of the information and interpretation categories is driven by the.
Strengths and limitations of case studies tomorrows. A case study can be considered qualitative in the sense that it studies a smaller sample of something, but in some ways the case study can also be considered a quantitative or mixedmethods study sandelowski, 2011. International journal of doctoral studies volume 10, 2015 cite as. Mixed methods case study research university of alberta. Types of case studies case studies are distinguished by the. Each case was selected as a tool to illuminating a particular issuep.
I selected these three methodologists and their particular books for the following. Robert stakes article in the the sage handbook of qualitative research is far more informative about how to conduct case study research from a qualitative perspective, though it is obviously much shorter. Download limit exceeded you have exceeded your daily download allowance. Certainly get used to the idea of working weekends, holidays and. Design and methods applied social research methods. Boblin, sandra ireland, helen kirkpatrick, and kim robertson qualitative health research 20 23.
He explains that many phenomenological, narrative and ethnographic studies are actually qualitative descriptive studies with narrative, phenomenological and. A case of information systems research in small and medium enterprises. Despite being one of the most frequently used qualitative research methodologies in educational research, the methodologists do not have a full consensus on the design and implementation of case study. To study a case, we carefully examine its functioning and activities, but the first objective of a case study is to understand the case. Large parts of stakes book read as a kind of manual for qualitative researchers. Stake uses and annotates an actual case study to answer such questions as. Certainly get used to the idea of working weekends, holidays and late at night. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves. Case studies have been described as best suited to research that asks how and why questions stake, 2005. Data gathering ontario institute for studies in education.
For instance, the uppsala model which is wellknown to those. According to stake 2005, analysis of the collective cases can be developed further by theorising based on a comparative approach with reference to a broader. To my graduate students since 2005, who made my old seem young and who. Using stakes qualitative case study approach to explore. The sage handbook of qualitative research book, 2005.
Moreover, certain activities or problems come up in many cases because of the great realm of. Qualitative case study methodology provides tools for researchers to study. Usually, a case study is considered equivalent to a qualitative research method. The use of qualitative content analysis in case study. Qualitative research international student case study research qualitative researcher apply linguistics these keywords were added by machine and not by the authors.
Summary the major conceptual responsibilities of the qualitative case researcher are as follows. The posting below looks at, as the title suggests, the strengths and limitations of case studies research. The nature of case study does not lend itself to generalizability unless it is a collective case study. Examining situational complexity is a vital part of social and behavioral science research. Case study qualitative research guidelines project. Stake 1995 systematically establishes procedures for case study research and cites them extensively in his example of harper school. It includes a good introduction to the theoretical principles underlying qualitative research, and discusses a wide range of qualitative approaches, namely naturalistic, holistic, ethnographic, phenomenological and biographic research methods. On the other hand, case study research is a means of advancing theories by comparing similarities and differences among cases e.
Using interpretive qualitative case studies for exploratory. A case study is considered by some researchers to be a part of qualitative research a type and, sometimes. Despite being one of the most frequently used qualitative research methodologies in educational research, the methodologists do not have a full consensus on the design and. For the actual conduct of case study research, the researcher should be familiar with both robert stake and robert yin, best articulated ina case study research. This book could be the basis for a superb graduate seminar or simply the manual for a research. Stake case studies in qualitative inquiry rebecca west burns. Three approaches to case study methods in education. Case studies, international business, and qualitative research introduction the case study method has been used in several areas of international business ib research. Additionally, case studies can be qualitative andor quantitative. Graduate students faced with the subtleties of writing up qualitative researchand there are many such subtle. Stake 2005 qualitative case studies doctoral readings. Although the use of qualitative case study research has increased during the past.
Feb 23, 2015 case study methodology has long been a contested terrain in social sciences research which is characterized by varying, sometimes opposing, approaches espoused by many research methodologists. Acknowledging multiple realities in qualitative case studies, as is now commonly done, involves discerning the various perspectives of the researcher, the case participant, and others, which may or may not converge yin, 1994. Grounded theory merged qualitative field study methods from the. Working toward broad generalizations requires broad studies, most of which need. It is from chapter 3, qualitative case study reseaarch in the book qualitative research. Collective case study is the study of multiple cases to understand a phenomenon. This book could be the basis for a superb graduate seminar or simply the manual for a research team facing a dozen piles of results from case studies. Bounding the case, conceptualizing the object of study. Case studies, as a research design, are also being conducted across disciplines and research traditions. Stewart, 2014, qualitative case study merriam, 2009, or describe case study as an approach simons, 2009. Their manners should be good and their code of ethics strict p. The input of other researchers is acknowledged in passing, andor as a tool to get some comments on the work.
When methods were described, they followed the principles of yin. Case study methodology has long been a contested terrain in social sciences research which is characterized by varying, sometimes opposing, approaches espoused by many research methodologists. Definition of the case study the most defining characteristics of case study is delimiting the object of the study. This may not always be the case so you may wish to see if you can negotiate informally about some flexibility in your working commitments. An instrumental case study takes a supportive role to deepen our understanding of a larger issue. Yin 2003 offers a more detailed and technical definition of case studies as an empirical inquiry that investigates a. International journal of doctoral studies, 10, 535550. Oct 20, 2005 examining situational complexity is a vital part of social and behavioral science research.
The theory contribution of case study research designs. Yin, merriam, and stake nsuworks nova southeastern university. Stake s advancement of a typology of case study research iterative, instrumental, and collective is useful, as is his insistence on. Pdf the case study as a type of qualitative research. Stakes advancement of a typology of case study research iterative, instrumental, and collective is useful, as is his insistence on. Note that the form has space for needed qualitative and quantitative information. Furthermore, stake 2005 makes a distinction between case studies that are undertaken because of the particular case of interest, i. This book presents a disciplined, qualitative exploration of case study methods by drawing from naturalistic, holistic, ethnographic, phenomenological and biographic research methods. Stake s most recent book on multiple case study analysis presents a stepbystep approach and provides rich. Qualitative research, case study methods, epistemological foundations. Written in an engaging style that doesnt simplify even as it keeps things simple, its a must read for anyone deigning to design and execute a qualitative study. In contrast to this, stake 2000 identifies three types of case studies intrinsic, instrumental, and collective with the distinction between intrinsic and instrumental a collective case study is instrumental study extended to several cases addressing the degree to which the focus is on the unique or the generalizable features of the.
Note that the form has space for needed qualitative and quantitative information, a narrative account, and commentary on one or more issues. From a stakian view of case study, a precise definition of cases or case studies is not. Case study research may feature single cases or multiple cases e. Revised and expanded from qualitative research and case study applications in education. Chapter 11, for instance, is entitled writing the final report. Specifically the case study method of qualitative research would be used for this study. After exploring the characteristics of qualitative research, the course will investigate different appr oaches to qualitative research. Merriam 1998 advocates a general approach to qualitative case studies in the field of education. The art of case study research sage publications inc. Using interpretive qualitative case studies for exploratory research in doctoral studies. Although the use of qualitative case study research has increased during the past decade, researchers have primarily reported on their findings, with less attention given to methods. A case study is viewed as a personal contract that is drawn between researcher and phenomenon stake 2005, p. Moreover, certain activities or problems come up in many cases because of the great realm of considerations in a complex case. Download citation qualitative case studies case studies are a common way to do qualitative inquiry.
In summary, case study research is a comprehensive. The most notable case studies include thomas and znanieckis. Stakes most recent book on multiple case study analysis presents a stepbystep approach and provides rich. Keywords case studies, evidencebased practice, practice guidelines, research design, research, qualitative. Qualitative me thods are closely link ed to case studies. Creswell 2014 refers to case studies as a qualitative design, while others use the term case study flyvbjerg, 2011. We can use the case as an arena or host or fulcrum to bring many functions and relationships together for study. Case study methods and data method an instrumental. It is quite likely, as stake 1994 points out, that researchers doing case study research are calling it by another name.
Using stakes qualitative case study approach to explore implementation of evidencebased practice sheryl l. This book, as far as methodology books go, is a joy to behold. Robert stake s article in the the sage handbook of qualitative research is far more informative about how to conduct case study research from a qualitative perspective, though it is obviously much shorter. Stake 2005 case studies focus on activities, functionings and local meaning within speci. Qualitative researchers are guests in the private spaces of the world. Application of case study conducting program evaluations, examples. Stake guides readers through the preparation of such a report. Case study is not a methodological choice but a choice of what is to be studied p. Case study research is a qualitative approach in which the investigator explores a bounded system a case or multiple bounded systems cases over time through detailed, indepth data collection involving multiple sources of information e.
First, both stake 1995 and yin 2003 base their approach to case study on a. For example, stake 2005 refers to teaming in the context of data. Acknowledging multiple realities in qualitative case studies, as is now commonly done, involves discerning the various perspectives of the researcher, the caseparticipant, and others, which. Bound each case study was bounded by one individual and by the time he or she matriculated. Studying how things work, one could say that stakes research question is what can qualitative research tell us about how things work, particularly as it relates to how the actions of people make them work. The book is a concise and very readable guide to case study research. Case studies have become one of the most common ways to do quali tative inquiry, but they are neither new nor essentially qualitative. Recommendations for using the case study method in. Merriams qualitative research and case study applications in education1998, and robert e.
1538 1567 572 577 60 410 1276 840 199 887 292 773 96 1182 1094 326 1073 672 575 1194 357 2 392 1298 749 710 297 1176 1251 245 934 134 844 1336 527 213 1340 673 783 948 874 621 1379