creswell qualitative inquiry 2ecase study 1. a case study is the study of an issue through one or...

Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e Case Study 1

A case study is the study of an issue

through one or more cases in a setting or context (a bounded system)

It is an object of study and a product of the inquiry

One case or multiple cases over time can be studied


Case Study:Definition and Background

Multiple sources of data are used that

result from detailed in-depth data collection

The report consists of description of the case and theme development about the case

Case study research is interdisciplinary


Case Study:Definition and Background

Single instrumental case study -

The researcher focuses on a single issue then selects a single case to illustrate the issue

Collective or multiple instrumental case study – The researcher focuses on one issue but selects multiple cases to illustrate the issue that can be purposefully sampled from one site or several sites


Types of Case Studies

Intrinsic case study – This

approach focuses on the case itself because the case presents an unusual or unique situation (e.g., evaluating a program or one particular student who is having difficulty studying)


Types of Case Studies

Determine if a case study is appropriate for

the research problem Identify the case or cases to be studied

What kind of case study is most appropriate What case or cases will be studied Select cases that show different perspectives

through maximal variation sampling Engage in multiple forms of data collection

including interviews, observations, documents, audio visual materials, participant-observations to develop an in depth understanding of the case(s)


Case Study Research Procedures

Develop a detailed description of the

case(s) and common themes in the cases When using multiple cases describe each

case and themes first (within-case analysis) Compare cases to look for common themes

(cross-case analysis) Look for common assertions and meanings

within the case Report the lessons learned from the case

regarding the issue of the case (instrumental) or learning about an unusual situation (intrinsic case)


Case Study Research Procedures

Overview of the study

The study described a campus reaction to a gunman incident on a mid-western university campus

The study began with a detailed description of the incident including a description of the city, campus, and the incident

The study used multiple sources of data


Case Study Example: Asmussen & Creswell

1995

Overview of the study

Five themes emerged: denial, fear, safety, retriggering, and campus planning

The themes were narrowed to two overarching perspectives, an organizational and social-psychological response

A suggestion was made that campuses need to develop a plan to respond to campus violence


Asmussen & Creswell 1995

Overview of methodology

The problem appropriate for case study (description of a campus response to a gunman incident)

The data was collected through multiple sources Interviews Observations Documents Audiovisual materials



Overview of methodology

The data was analyzed for codes and themes The themes were used to form over-arching

perspectives that were also related to the literature

The case study structure was followed – the problem, the context, the issues, and lessons learned

The study included practical and useful implications

The authors were reflective about their prior experiences related to the problem (epilogue)



Features of case study

The authors identified a case for study The authors chose an instrumental case to

illustrate the problem of potential campus violence

The case was a bounded system The authors used extensive multiple sources of

data to provide a detailed picture of the incident and campus response

The authors spent considerable time describing the context for the case



Case study Bounded single or collective Case Event Process Program


Words to Use in Encoding the Purpose

Statement in Case Study

Although scholars have shown thatsport is fundamental in constitutingand reproducing gender inequalities,little attention has been paid to sport and gender relations in later life. Inthis article we demonstrate how menexploit women’s labor in the sport oflawn bowls, which is played predominately by older people. (Boyle & McKay, 1995, p. 556)


The Purpose Statement:

A Case Study ExampleElements of Case Study •Description•Specific Case•Bounded System

demonstratedemonstrate how menhow men

exploit women’s labor in the sport ofexploit women’s labor in the sport of

lawn bowls,lawn bowls,

predominately by older peoplepredominately by older people

A case study example (Asmussen &

Creswell, 1995) The authors posed five central guiding

questions in the article What happened? Who was involved in response to the incident? What themes emerged during the eight-month

period that followed this incident? What theoretical constructs helped us to

understand the campus response? The questions focused on the development of

a description of the incident, the emergence of themes, and finally theoretical constructs


The Central Question

Description of the case and its setting

If there is a chronology of events, find evidence for each step

Determine how the case or incident fits into the larger situation

Approaches to analysis and interpretation Categorical aggregation: the researcher

collects instances from the data to look for issue-relevant meanings

Direct interpretation: the researcher looks at a single instance and draws meaning from it


Analysis Within the Approaches to Inquiry:

Case Study (Stake 1995)

Approaches to analysis and interpretation Cross-case analysis: the research studies two

or more cases to look for similarities between the two

Naturalistic generalizations: the researcher notes what can be learned for individuals or a larger population from the case


Analysis Within the Approaches to Inquiry:

Case Study (Stake 1995)

Entry vignette Introduction (problem, questions, case study,

data collection, analysis, outcomes) Description of the case(s) and its (their)

context Development of issues Detail about selected issues Assertions Closing vignette(Adapted from Stake, 1995)

Reporting Structures

Writer opens with a vignette so the

reader can get a feel for the time and place of the study

The issue is identified along with the method and purpose

Extensive description of the case Key issues are presented so the reader

can understand the complexity of the case Creswell Qualitative Inquiry 2e Case Study 19

Case Study: Overall Rhetorical

Structure (Stake, 1995)

Several issues are probed further Assertions are presented The writer ends with a closing

vignette to remind the reader that this is one person’s encounter with a complex case


Case Study: Overall Rhetorical

Structure (Stake, 1995)

Vignettes Description – from broad to narrow Relative balance of description,

themes, and interpretation Use chronologies in the description End with “lessons that I learned” –

assertions or generalizations


Case Study: Embedded Rhetorical

Structure

Identifying cases to study Identifying whether a single case or multiple

cases are needed Selecting an appropriate purposeful sampling

strategy Having access to multiple sources of data Deciding how the boundaries of a case might

be constrained by time, events, or processes


Case Study Challenges