case study research method

7/18/2019 Case Study Research Method

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Vladimir Ryabov, PhD, Principal Lecturer

” M E T H O D O L O G Y ” C O U R S E , B M 0 7

CASE STUDYRESEARCH METHOD



LOGIC OF CASE STUDY

PLAN DESIGN

PREPARE

COLLECT

ANALYZESHARE

Based on R.Yin, 2009, Case Study Research, 4th Ed., SAGE.



WHEN TO USE?

• “How” and “Why” research questions

• Researcher has little control over events

• Focus is on contemporary phenomenon within

real-life context



GOALS OF CASE STUDY

• Exploratory

• Descriptive

• Explanatory



CRITICISM

• Rigor of case study research

• Little basis for scientific generalization

• Too long, result in massive, unreadable documents

• Can’t directly address causal relationships



DEFINITION(R.YIN, 2009, Case Study Research, 4th Ed., SAGE. p.18)

1. A case study is an empirical enquiry that• investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and

within its real-life context, especially when

• the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not

clearly evident.2. The case study inquiry

• copes with the technically distinctive situation in whichthere will be many more variables of interest than datapoints, and as one result

• relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing toconverge in a triangulating fashion, and as another result

• benefits from the prior development of theoreticalpropositions to guide data collection and analysis.



NUMBER OF CASES

• Single vs. Multiple

• Comparative case method (distinctive form ofmultiple case study)



DESIGN

PLAN DESIGN

PREPARE

COLLECT

ANALYZESHARE



RESEARCH DESIGN OF CASE STUDY

• Research design – logic linking data to be collectedto the initial questions of study

• Logical connection between questions and findings

• Example: inter-organizational study



COMPONENTS OF RESEARCH DESIGN

• Questions of a study

• Propositions

• Unit(s) of analysis

• Logic linking the data to the propositions

• Criteria for interpreting the findings



ROLE OF THEORY IN DESIGN

• Theoretical framework for a study

• E.g., organizational theories (theories ofbureaucracy, organizational structure and

functions; excellence in organizationalperformance, and inter-organizational partnerships)

• Generalizations: statistical and analytic



CRITERIA FOR JUDGING THEQUALITY OF RESEARCH DESIGN

• Construct validity: identifying correct operational measuresfor the concepts being studied

• Internal validity: seeking to establish a causal relationship,whereby certain conditions are believed to lead to otherconditions

• External validity: defining the domain to which a study’s

findings can be generalized

• Reliability: demonstrating that the operations of a study – such as the data collection procedures – can berepeated, the same results



CONSTRUCT VALIDITY

• Problem:

• Operational set of measures: objectivity vs. subjectivity

• Tactics:

• Use multiple sources of evidence

• Establish chain of evidence

• Have key informants review draft case study report



INTERNAL VALIDITY

• Problem:

• Mainly a concern for explanatory case studies

•Making inferences in a case study

• Tactics:

• Do pattern matching

• Do explanation building

• Address rival explanation

• Use logic model



EXTERNAL VALIDITY

• Problem:

• Is this study generalizable? This is a major concern in casestudies!

• Tactics:

• Use theory in single-case studies

• Use replication logic in multiple-case studies



RELIABILITY

• Problem:

• To minimize errors and biases in a study

• Tactics:

• Use case study protocol

• Develop case study database



PREPARING FOR DATA COLLECTION

PLAN DESIGN

PREPARE

COLLECT

ANALYZESHARE



DESIRED SKILLS

• Ask good questions

• Be a good ”listener”

• Be adaptive and flexible

• Have a firm grasp of the issues being studied

• Be unbiased by preconceived notions



PROTOCOL OF INVESTIGATION

• Major way to increase the reliability of case study

• Guides the investigator in the data collection

• General content of a case study protocol:

• an overview of the project

• field procedures

• case study questions

• a guide for case study report



COLLECTING CASE STUDY EVIDENCE

PLAN DESIGN

PREPARE

COLLECT

ANALYZESHARE



SOURCES OF EVIDENCE

• Documentation

• Archival records

• Interviews

• Direct observation

• Participant observation

• Physical artefacts



DOCUMENTATION

• Strengths:

• Stable, unobtrusive, exact, broad coverage

• Weaknesses:

• Retrievability, biased selectivity, reporting bias, and access

• Use of documents: to corroborate and augmentevidence from other sources

• An Internet search prior to field visit



ARCHIVAL RECORDS

• Strengths:

• Same as for documents

• Precise and usually quantitative

• Weaknesses:

• Same as for documents

• Accessibility due to privacy reasons

• Often take a form of computer files and records

• E.g., organizational records (budget or personnel records)

• Usefulness of archival records vary: from essential to passiverelevance



INTERVIEWS

• Strengths:

• Targeted, insightful

• Weaknesses:

• Bias due to poorly articulated questions

• Response bias

• Inaccuracies due to poor recall

• Reflexivity



DIRECT OBSERVATIONS

• Strengths:

• Reality, contextual

• Weaknesses:

• Time-consuming, selectivity, reflexivity, and cost

• Observations of meetings, factory work, classrooms,etc.



PARTICIPANT OBSERVATION

• Strengths:

• Same as for direct observation

•

Insightful into interpersonal behavior and motives

• Weaknesses:

• Same as for direct observation

• Bias due to participant-observer’s manipulation of events



PHYSICAL ARTEFACTS

• Strengths:

• Insightful into cultural features and technical operations

• Weaknesses:

• Selectivity and availability

• E.g., technological device, tool or instrument, awork of art



PRINCIPLE 1: USE MULTIPLESOURCES OF EVIDENCE

• Use of multiple sources is a strength of a case study

• Triangulation -> findings are more convincing andaccurate

• Convergence and nonconvergence of sources

• Prerequisites for using multiple sources: costs,knowledge in different data collection methods



PRINCIPLE 2: CREATE A CASESTUDY DATABASE

• Way of organizing and documenting the datacollected

• Increases reliability of research

• Database includes:

• case study notes (e.g., results of interviews, observations)

• case study documents

• tabular materials (e.g., survey and other quantitative data)

• narratives (open-ended answers to the questions)



PRINCIPLE 3: MAINTAIN A CHAINOF EVIDENCE

• To allow an external observer to follow thederivation of any evidence from initial researchquestions to ultimate conclusions

• Not only the actual evidence but thecircumstances of its collection



ANALYSIS

PLAN DESIGN

PREPARE

COLLECT

ANALYZESHARE



GENERAL STRATEGIES

• Relying on theoretical propositions

• Developing a case description

• Using both qualitative and quantitative data

• Examining rival explanations



1. PATTERN MATCHING

• Compare an empirically based pattern with apredicted one

• Can help to strengthen the internal validity

• A pattern might be related to the variables of thestudy

• Example of pattern analysis



2. EXPLANATION BUILDING

• Analysis of a case study by building an explanationabout the case

• Mainly relevant to explanatory case studies

• Explanation building occurs most often in anarrative form

• Reflect theoretically significant propositions

• Iterative nature of explanation building

• Potential problems with explanation building



3. TIME-SERIES ANALYSIS

• The ability to trace changes over time is a strengthof case studies

• Single dependent or independent variable

• Statistical tests are used

• Complex time series analysis

•

Chronologies



4. LOGIC MODELS

• The model stipulates a complex chain of eventsover an extended period of time

• Repeated cause-effect-cause-effect patterns

• Can be considered as a form of pattern matching

• Matching empirically observed events totheoretically predicted events



5. CROSS CASE SYNTHESIS

• Applied specifically to the analysis of multiple cases

• Cases for synthesis might come from differentstudies



REPORTING CASE STUDY

PLAN DESIGN

PREPARE

COLLECT

ANALYZESHARE



ISSUES IN REPORTING

• There is no any stereotypic form

• Targeting case study reports

• Structures for case study reports:

• Linear-analytic (for all types)• Comparative (for all types)

• Chronological (for all types)

• Theory-building (for explanatory and exploratory)

• Suspense (only for explanatory)

• Unsequenced (only for descriptive)



REFERENCES

• R. Yin, 2009, Case Study Research: design andmethods, 4th Ed., SAGE.

case study research method

Documents