the case study approach; how to design a good interview guide and
TRANSCRIPT
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The case study approach;how to design a good interviewguide and make arrangements
for interviews
Arild Holt-JensenProfessor, University of Bergen
Norway
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• What is a case study?• Misunderstandings related to case studies
(based on Flyvbjerg 2011)• Quantitative and Qualitative methods• Types of qualitative research• Forms of interviews• Semistructured interviews – interview
guide• Formulate appropriate questions• Interviewing practice; preparation and
afterwork – structure of report
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What is a case study?• ’An intensive analysis of an individual unit
stressing environmental factors in relation toenvironment’ (Webster dictionary 2009)
• Today we see case studies as a main approachto social scientific knowledge, but manyscientists think case studies cannot providereliable information about general laws andstructures.
• Case studies are, however, the main focus inwhat Sayer (1984) calls ’intensive concreteresearch’ and recommends as a majorapproach in human geography
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Types of research (Sayer 1984)
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Place (case study area) links physical, socialrelations and ‘meaning’ (Sack 1997)
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Misunderstandings about case studies1. General theoretical knowledge is more valuable
than concrete case knowledge2. One cannot generalize on the basis of case
studies; so useless for scientific development3. Case studies useful for generating hypotheses in
first stages of a total research process, but othermethods needed for theory building
4. The case study contains a bias towardsverification, a tendency to confirm researcherspreconceived ideas
5. Difficult to summarize and develop generaltheories on the basis of specific case studies
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Flyvbjerg(2011):the cited notions are wrong
• Case study work needed for students todevelop from booklearning beginners tovirtuose experts! You learn more fromexperienced reality than from books orlectures!
• Deviant cases are main sources of theorydevelopment and prove that ’placematters’ in a world of general globalisation.
• Formal generalisation is overvalued as asource of scientific development, the ’forceof the example’ and transferability areunderestimated
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Flyvbjerg (2011) continued• The case study is useful for both
generating and testing of hypotheses, butis not limited to that.
• You may learn more from deviant casesthan the typical or average case: theregion with (deviant) successfuldevelopment – can ideas be transferred?
• Researchers often learn from case studiesthat their preconceived views were wrongand lead to new ideas(AHJ:Rauland 1968)
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Conclusion on case studies• The case study approach often lead to
falsification of precoceived notions rather thantheory verification, But there is danger ofsubjectivism (f.ex in selection of informants) .
• There are more discoveries stemming fromintense observations than by statistics froma large group.
• Students can safely be let loose in casestudy reality, which provides a usefultraining ground with insights into real lifepractices which academic teaching oftendoes not provide.
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We need both quantitative andqualitative methods
• There iscomplementaritybetween Case studiesand Statistical methodslike there is betweenextensive’generalisation’ andintensive ’concreteresearch’ in Sayer’smodel.
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Quantitative and qualitative methods• Questionnaire (many units –extensive)• Structured interview• Semistructured interview (interview guide)• Focus group (round table)• Field talks• Observations (on excursion)• Participant observation (few units-intensive)Few units does not offer general conclusions,but deeper understanding of social phenomena
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Main types of qualitative research
• Oral : most used. To get knowledge byspeaking to people (interviews)
• Textual : collect documentaries, fictionand also landscapes used as text (photos,paintings)
• Observational: excursion, get aquainted,can be participant observation if you havetime to live in the area.
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ORAL METHODS
• Biography
• Interviews
• Surveys
• Autobiography• Biography• Oral history
• Unstructured• Semi-structured• Focus groups• Structured• Surveys – structured• Questionnaires-structured
Individual
*
General/Structural
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Textual sources and observationalmethods
• Textual sources and methods– Documentary sources: newspapers, archives, maps– Creative sources: novels, poems, films, arts and music– Landscape: as text: social differences, building types
• Observational methods– Tourist lookaround: get a feeling of the place– Excursion with guide or with textual background– Participant observation: passive or active? Problem/concern:
influence/affect the study/object-subject relations- to understand semiotics (metaphors,signs)
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Which methods should we use?Oral, textual, observational
• We must use the tools most appropriatefor the research questions of the case
• Often we have to use a combination ofmethods in case investigations, but withmain focus on the oral tools
• Interviews gives direct access toinformants. In contrast to questionnairesthey do not intend to be representative;but to understand individuals.
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My MA in Rauland mountain farm district• Very simple structured
interviews (questionaire)inall the 350 households.
• Hypotheses: transition tomarket economy withreduction of old farmpractices lead to populationand industrial decline.
• That summer: local festivaltheater on farm. Localtourism!! NEW INDUSTRY
• Hypotheses falsified!
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Interviews: direct access to informants• In Rauland I just had one page of factual questions as
in population/agricultural census.• But used 2 summers on the survey,lived in families
and used bicycle. Learned much from observations,social life, informal talks.
• The questionaire approach gave statistical data like acensus, but due to my presence and observations itgave indepth knowledge that was absent in the recentcensus!
• Combination of structured questionnaire andunstructured talks was an asset, but in most casestudies time limit means semi-structured interviewsis the best compromise
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Semi-structured interviews• Aim: Not to be representative – but to
understand how individual people(informants) experience the problem youfocus on.
• Interviewing: Face to face conversationwith a purpose
• Critics from positivists: Interviewers biasthe respondents answers by ’leadingquestions’. This is a problem we have todeal with! But: Objectivism; does it exsist?
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More about forms of interviews• Structured interviews: Predetermined
/standardised list of questions (‘How manytimes have you crossed the border toRussia the last 3 years?’)
• Semi-structured interviews: Degree ofpredetermined questions, but more like atalk based on an interview guide to secureyou cover questions related to your problemformulation.
• Unstructured interviews: Talks wherequestions are defined by the informantsresponse (Often used: life stories or ’tell usabout what you did last week’)
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Strength of interviewing• Filling the gaps of knowledge• Investigate complex behaviour /motivations• Collect diversity of meaning
– Opinions, experiences– Variations by position in society, ethnicity, class,
gender, age / How meaning differ among people– Example: NEHOM cases: 20 in depth interviews in
each urban housing area=ca 5 as’informants’/decision makers, 15 with’respondents’/local inhabitants, which the localinitiatives we had as focus, were aimed at
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Interviewing techniques• Interview guide:Used in semi-structured interviews to
remind the researcher on issues to cover – topics andkey concepts to cover – but flexibility in progress sothat it works as a conversation between equals/ createtrust to avoid biased answers.
• Formulate appropriate and good questions:– Language: use neutral, commonly understood concepts –
problems in daily speech with scientific defined concepts– Avoid ambiguity/double meanings / be neutral and non-
offensive– Avoid leading questions!!!!! (Do you agree with the
community elders that inhabitants living in the border regionto Russia should be allowed crossing the border any time?)
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Types of questions/ progress in interviews• Descriptive: Roles – ice breaking• Contextual (storytelling): Identify events
/people /places• Opinions: Personal /individual meanings• Structural: Why this meanings – into peoples
ideology• Contrast /comparison: Reflect on contrary
meanings• Controversial questions: confronting more
sensitive issues in end of interview
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Interview guide – things to consider• Research questions are usually too broad to
serve as productive interview questions Sofocus on the local context in which the localsare the specialists.
• If you ask a question they will answer it. Butthis means that the ’evidence’ you are gatheringmay not accurately reflect real opinions. Therespondent may not have understood thequestion.
• Therefore: Prepare follow-up questions• Adress topics from ’the side’ (compare with
similar cases)
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Interview guide- things to consider• People’s espoused theories (the things they
believe they believe) differ from the theoriesthey use. So to avoid this trap: ask aboutconcrete examples (what they have done ratherthan about general principles)
• Interviews are social occasions. Theinterviewed will want to put his best footforward. Don’t take the first answer as final.– Therefore: Ask for elaboration– Ask for opposing ideas– Ask about Other Influencing Conditions
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Interview guide –things to consider• Testimony statement (’this is the truth’)
alone is weak evidence: In general we needmultiple sources of evidence withtriangulation between different sources andmethods.
• If your study is based entirely on interviewsyou need to interview so many in each groupof respondents that you feel you do not needmore interviews to get new opinions or data.
• It may be an idea to ask the same questionwith different phrases or from different angles.
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Interviewing practice – preparations• Decide how many you need to
interview, which groups of keyinformants and respondents you need tomeet (considering the time at disposal).
• Agree on formulations in the interviewguide
• Take contact by phone /internet as earlyas possible to arrange time of interviewmeetings with key informants andrespondents
• Decide division of work within group
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After the interviews• Write down your notes – immediately: Write
all you remember; behaviour, non-textualresponses, what possibly can have biased theanswers you got
• Transcribe from recording device as soon aspossible.
• Interpretation of the data collected(Hermeneutic approach)- ’reduce your data’
• Write the report – divide the work between youand decide how to present it.
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Structure of report (possible)• Problem formulation (aims of study)• Case study areay (based on statistics,
written and internet sources)• Theory that is relevant• Methods used and weaknesses in
fieldwork situation/ interviews done• Results of fieldwork (presentation of your
work• Conclusions (playback to problem
formulation - aims of study)TWO LAST BULLPOINTS ca 50% of report
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Fieldwork meansknowledge
victory!GOOD LUCK !
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Some references• Flyvbjerg, B.(2011) Case study p. 301-316 in Denzin,N.K. &
Lincoln,Y.S(eds) The Sage Handbook of QualitativeResearch.4th ed. Sage; Thousand Oaks,CAL
• Holt-Jensen, A. (1968) Fjellbygda Rauland. Ad Novas –Norwegian Geographical Studies. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo
• Dunn, K.(2005) Interviewing.Ch.6 p. 79-105 inHay,I.(ed):Qualitative Research Methods in HumanGeography.2nd Ed. Oxford University Press; UK
• Sack, R.D. (1997) Homo Geographicus. John Hopkins;Baltimore
• Yin, R.K.(2009) Case Study Research. 4th ed. Sage; London– Thousand Oaks, CAL. Particularly Ch.4: Collecting CaseStudy Evidence