Understanding Case Study Research. Malcolm Tight

process chasing, a technique in which the analyst attempts to locate the causal mechanisms linking a hypothesized explanatory variable to an outcome. Finally, a third technique – causal narrative – combines cross-case analysis and within-case analysis by comparing cases in terms of highly disaggregated sequences of processes and events that lead to outcomes. (p. 409, emphasis in original)

      Noting that the application of these strategies can lead to rather different conclusions being drawn, he argues for greater care in selecting and applying them.

      Elliott and Lukes (2008) consider the ethnographic case study (the combination of case study with ethnography as a research design is discussed further in Chapter 6) in the context of policy-making. They stress the importance of this context, arguing that ‘questions about the level of confidence or warrant that can be placed in different sorts of research evidence and findings cannot be answered independently of forming a view about the appropriateness of the policy culture that shapes political decision-making’ (p. 87). Or, in other words, the research design needs to be agreed between the different parties in the light of their beliefs and plans for using the research findings.

      As these authors indicate, there are likely to be specific issues about the use of case study designs that are particular to their applications in given disciplines or sub-disciplines, or for certain sorts of projects. As with generalisation, validity and reliability, the case study researcher needs to be aware of, and respond to, these issues.

      Is Everything a Case?

      Finally, let us return to the question of whether case studies are so endemic and ill-defined that every piece of research may be regarded as a case study, or, at least, as a multiple case study. Earlier in this chapter, Punch (2005, p. 144) was quoted as remarking that ‘almost anything can serve as a case’. He is not alone in expressing this view. Thus, Stake, one of the key contemporary proponents of case study research, while noting that ‘Custom has it that not everything is a case’ (1995, p. 2; 2005, p. 444), also recognised that ‘Here and there, researchers will call anything they please a case study’ (2005, p. 445).

      If you spend a little time searching an academic library catalogue or a bibliographic database, it will soon become apparent that the words ‘case study’ are very widely used in the titles of academic articles, monographs, reports and theses. These words crop up particularly frequently in sub-titles, where, having indicated what the focus of the study is, it is then described as a ‘case study’ of something or other (this issue is discussed further in the section on Writing on Case Study in Chapter 7).

      This rather loose usage suggests two things. First, that, as Punch and Stake have noted, everything could be regarded as a case. Second, that case study is quite often adopted or identified as the research design when the researcher can think of no clearer or perhaps stronger way of describing it; calling a piece of research a case study and adding a brief reference to the case study literature may then seem to add credibility.

      It is critically important, therefore, that we exercise care and discretion in using the label ‘case study’. Overuse encourages disregard. We need to restrict the use of the term to research which explicitly employs a case study design and criticise those who use it too loosely. While, in one sense, everything is a case (i.e. all individual items may be seen as worthy of analysis), all research is not case study research.

      Summary

      In this chapter, we have:

       considered alternative perspectives on case studies, arguing that it is best seen as a research design

       examined where case study sits in relation to other recognised research designs

       explored the relation of case study to qualitative and quantitative forms of research, concluding that it may make use of either or both

       reviewed its strengths and weaknesses, discussing how these impact on the choice (or not) of case study as the selected research design

       considered the issues of generalisability, reliability and validity as they impact upon case study research

       concluded that while everything may be a case, not all research is case study research.

      Key Readings

      The six articles and book chapters listed here, all of which have been referred to and discussed in this chapter, take critical or supportive perspectives towards case study as a research design. Looking at a number of them should give you a fuller idea of how case study is viewed in contemporary research.

      Diefenbach, T (2009) Are Case Studies more than Sophisticated Storytelling? Methodological problems of qualitative empirical research mainly based on semi-structured interviews. Quality and Quantity, 43, pp. 875–894.

      Flyvbjerg, B (2004) Five Misunderstandings about Case Study Research. pp. 390–404 in C Seale, G Gobo, J Gubrium, and D Silverman (eds) Qualitative Research Practice. London, Sage.

      Gibbert, M, Ruigrok, W, and Wicki, B (2008) What Passes as a Rigorous Case Study? Strategic Management Journal, 29, 13, pp. 1465–1474.

      Riege, A (2003) Validity and Reliability Tests in Case Study Research: A literature review with ‘hands-on’ applications for each research phase. Qualitative Market Research, 6, 2, pp. 75–86.

      Verschuren, P (2003) Case Study as a Research Strategy: Some ambiguities and opportunities. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 6, 2, pp. 121–139.

      Yin, R (2013) Validity and Generalization in Future Case Study Evaluations. Evaluation, 19, 3, pp. 321–332.

Part B Using Case Study