Case Study Literature Methods Yin 2003

Sean Gordon's notes from this textbook:

Yin, R.K. 2003. Case study research : design and methods. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Foreword

• the core of the scientific method is not experimentation per se but rather the strategy "plausible rival hypotheses."

Introduction

• types of case studies: exploratory, descriptive, explanatory
• how and why questions are more explanatory and likely to lead to the use of case studies
• deal with operational links needing to be traced over time, rather than mere frequencies or incidents
• research questions have both substance (what is my study about?) and form (am I asking a who, what, where, etc. question)
• how or why questions being asked about the contemporary sets of events, over which the investigator has little or no control
• traditional prejudices
• lack of rigor, generalization (but generalizable to theoretical propositions like experiments, not to populations or universes); analytic generalization not statistical generalization
• investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident
• many more variables of interest than data points
• relies on multiple sources of evidence, triangulation
• benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions to guide data collection and analysis
• in the evaluation research: explain, describe, illustrate, explore, meta evaluation

Designing Case Studies

• study design: a logical model of proof
• components: study questions, propositions (theories), units of analysis, logic linking the data to the propositions, criteria for interpreting findings
• descriptive theories 29
• criteria for quality
  • sound operational procedure (construct validity), proof of causal relations (internal), replicability (reliability), and generalization possible (external validity).
  • ..\..\Research\Prelims\Gordon prelim - Bliss questions.doc
• case study designs
  • single: critical, unique, representative, revelatory, longitudinal
  • holistic versus embedded
  • multiple: literal versus theoretical replication; replication backed sampling logic, feedback can alter sampling (but be clear about reasons)

Conducting case studies: preparing for data collection

• case study research is among the hardest types of research to do because of the absence of routine formulas
• researcher training and case study protocol especially important if multiple researchers or case studies involved
• skills: ask good questions, good listener, adaptive, understand issues, unbiased
• read between the lines
• immediate interpretation
• knowledge needs: why the study is being done, what evidence is being sought, what variations are anticipated (and how to accommodate), what constitutes supportive and contrary evidence
• protocol outline
  • purpose, theory and background
  • data collection procedures
  • outline of the case study report
  • case study questions (interviewees, individual case, pattern across cases, entire study, recommendations and conclusions) and sources of evidence
• case screening: ask key informants, avoid complex screening
• pilot case study

Conducting case studies: collecting the evidence

• six sources: documents, archival records, interviews, direct observation, participant observation, physical artifacts
• principles:
  • using multiple sources of evidence (triangulation: did I sources, investigators, theories, methods of),
  • creating a case study database: Notes documents and interviews
  • maintaining a chain of evidence: report -- database -- protocol -- questions
• interviews: open, focused, survey; recording

Analyzing Case Study Evidence

Miles & Huberman (1994)

• putting information into different arrays
• making a matrix of categories and placing the evidence within such categories
• creating data displays -- flowcharts and other graphics
• tabulating the frequency of different events
• examining the complexity of such tabulations and their relationships by calculating second-quarter numbers such as means and variances
• putting information in chronological order

Three General Strategies

• relying on theoretical propositions
• thinking about rival explanations (with or without an initial theory)
  • nine types of rivals
• developing a case description (descriptive research)

Specific Analytic Techniques

• pattern matching (internal validity)
  • non-equivalent dependent variables as a pattern
  • rival explanations as patterns (pattern of independent variables that is mutually exclusive)
• explanation building (special type of pattern matching, more difficult)
  • presumed set of causal links
  • iterative nature
• time series analysis
• logic models
  • pattern matching with sequential stages
  • individual, organizational, or program level
• Cross case synthesis

Pressing for a high-quality analysis

• show that you attended to all the evidence
• address all major rival interpretations
• address the most significant aspect of your case study
• use your own prior, expert knowledge

Reporting case studies

• compositional structures: linear-analytic, comparative, chronological, theory-building, suspense, unsequenced
• targeting audience: academic, nonspecialists, funders
• formats: single case, multiple case (Cross case analysis), question-answer, Cross case analysis
• integration with other methods
• anonymity
• review and validation (participants)
• exemplary case studies: significance, completeness, consideration of alternative perspectives, sufficient evidence, engaging composition