Case Study Methodology

Shelley Marshall

The University of Melbourne

Outline

What is case study methodology? What is it good for? Different types of case studies Time period for case study Disadvantages of case study methodology

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Introduction

Case study method is a common technique used in social science research to test theoretical propositions or questions in relation to qualitative inquiry.

The strength of the case study approach is that it facilitates simultaneous analysis and comparison of individual cases for the purpose of identifying particular phenomena among those cases, and for the purpose of more general theory testing, development or construction

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What is it?

A case study is a form of research defined by an interest in individual cases. It is not a methodology per se, but rather a useful technique or strategy for conducting qualitative research.

The more the object of study is a specific, unique, bounded system, the more likely that it can be characterised as a case study.

Once the case is chosen, it can be investigated by whatever method is deemed appropriate to the aims of the study.

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What is it good for?

If appropriately designed, case study research will facilitate the identification of significant features of the subject not discernable within more general forms of analysis.

Gives you depth and complexity.

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Can be used to test theories

Case studies are particularly useful for examining a phenomena in context.

The case study methodology is designed to study a phenomenon or set of interacting phenomena in context “when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.”

The lack of distinction between phenomenon and context make case studies ideal for conducting exploratory research designed to stand alone or to guide the formulation of further quantitative research.

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Length of time

Some case studies may be a ‘snap shot’ analysis of a particular event or occurrence.

Other case studies may involve consideration of a sequence of events, often over an extended period of time, in order to better determine the causes of particular phenomena.

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Limitations of case studies

Single case studies will have limited ability to provide an adequate test for a theory.

Unless there is a very large sample of case studies, generally cannot draw ‘quantitative’ generalisations.

At best, the evidence drawn from case studies is generalisable to theoretical propositions and not to populations or other large subject groups

However, case studies can be used to test whether there are exceptions to an excepted theory.

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Theoretical generalisations can however be made.

As long as researchers do not claim more for the cases than is possible methodologically, the limitations need not be an issue.

It is because more is claimed than is sound that case studies are often seen as “a less desirable form of inquiry”.

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Types of case study approaches

Intrinsic cases are studied because the case itself is of interest, not because it is representative of other cases or because it illustrates a more general trend or problem.

Intrinsic cases are not researched for the purpose of understanding the relationship of the individual case to a larger sample or population of cases. Moreover, theory testing or building is not the purpose of carrying out the case study, although it may be a secondary function of the study once carried out.

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Instrumental case studies

The main purpose of instrumental cases is to facilitate understanding of something other than the case itself.

That is, the case is mainly used to build knowledge of an issue or to challenge an existing generalisation.

The case is of secondary interest to the broader goal of advancing the understanding of that other interest.

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Collective case study

The collective case study can be viewed as the extension of the instrumental case study to several cases.

The purpose of choosing the cases is to take advantage of comparison and simultaneous analysis of individual cases to more effectively test or build theory, or develop a better understanding of a particular phenomenon.

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A common trap in multiple case designs is that of using a sampling logic rather than replication logic. That is, treating the cases as if they were a small survey sample from which findings can be extrapolated to the population at large rather than treating them as cases in which we explore the extent to which theoretical propositions are replicated.

Being fairly theory driven in both research design and analysis is important to avoid this trap.

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Examples of case studies

Corporate Governance and Workplace Partnerships: Aimed to explore the effects of change in corporate

governance on labour relations in different company settings. Tried to get a good mix of different types of companies, eg small, large, formerly state owned, listed, unlisted.

Used a mixture of methods: structured interviews, coding of industrial instruments, secondary material.

Used event methodology to examine changes over time. Evidence informed later survey.

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Steps taken

1. Decided on major question or hypothesis

2. Determined the best way to test this

3. Broke the question down into smaller questions

4. Created a short list of companies which had undergone a corporate governance/ownership changes, with short profiles about each from the public record

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Steps taken cont’

5. Decided upon subjects for structured interviews and designed questions for each, eg HR manager, CEO, Chief Legal Counsel, Union representatives

6. Sought ethics approval using multi-case question and subject questions

7. Developed a data base for entering data re companies so that consistent information was gathered

8. Began contacting companies to request that they participate

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Steps taken cont’

8. Upon agreement from company, began background research from public records, including coding industrial agreements over the time period in question.

9. Embarked upon structured interviews, with subjects which were mainly consistent across companies but also contextualised based on background research.

10. Wrote up case studies

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11. Used case studies to inform later survey of directors, whom we had been largely unsuccessful in accessing during original case studies.

12. Conducted further case studies of institutional investors to fill in gap in original case studies.

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Brotherhood of St Lawrence

A survey of a large of companies conducted regarding their attitudes and practices to labour laws, codes of conduct and ethical procurement in order to gain quantitative data.

Questions which arose from this quantitative data are now being tested through case studies.

Want to get more detailed story, but also to test whether the attitudes of respondents - CEOs or Procurement manager - are reflected by workers, managers in other sections, and companies in supply chain.

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Bradshaw, Y. and Wallace, M. Informing Generality and Explaining Uniqueness: The Place of Case Studies in Comparative Research in Ragin, C. (ed), Issues and Alternatives in Comparative Social Research, EJ Brill, Leiden, Netherlands, 1991.

Stake, R.E. Case Studies, in Denzin, N.K. and Lincoln, Y.S. (eds) Handbook of Qualitative Research (2nd ed), Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California, 2000.

*** Yin, R.K. Case Study Research (2nd Ed), Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks, California, 1994.

King, G. Keohane, R.O. and Verba, S. Designing Social Inquiry : Scientific Inference in Qualitative Research, Princeton University Press, Princeton, 1994.

Gregory Mitchell, “Case Studies, Counterfactuals and Causal Explanations” 2004 152 U. Pa. L. Rev. 1517.