To take the example of business/management, Romm and Mahler (1991) offer ‘a new approach to an old method’, focusing on the use of case studies in teaching. They provide sets of guidelines for their usage, arguing that:
By tailoring the use of cases to specific objectives and by matching these objectives with a diverse and imaginative case-related repertoire of methodologies, we can turn case analysis into a theoretically relevant, personally meaningful, and thoroughly enjoyable experience. (p. 300)
Contardo and Wensley (2004) also focus on the use of case studies in teaching and, in particular, on how the Harvard Business School has been both celebrated and constrained by its adherence to a particular form of the case method.
While recognising this broader usage, and accepting that teaching and research case studies may overlap, the focus in this book will be primarily on case study as a research method.
Summary
In this chapter, we have:
defined case study as involving the study of a particular case, or a number of cases, where the case will be complex and bounded, studied in its context, with the analysis undertaken seeking to be holistic
indicated that different kinds of case study are recognised, notably whether they are single or multiple, and whether they are theoretical or descriptive
shown that case study has been practised for at least a century, with its popularity and usage varying over time
noted how case study is employed in a wide variety of disciplines, and that it is sometimes used for teaching as well as research purposes.
Key Readings
As will be clear from the discussion and references given so far, this is neither the first nor the only guide to case study research to be published. There are several introductory volumes which may usefully be consulted, including:
Gillham, B (2000) Case Study Research Methods. London, Continuum.
Stake, R (1995) The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
Swanborn, P (2010) Case Study Research: What, why and how? London, Sage.
Thomas, G (2011a) How to Do Your Case Study: A guide for students and researchers. London, Sage.
Yin, R (2009) Case Study Research: Design and methods (4th edition). Thousand Oaks, CA, Sage.
3 Key Debates in Case Study Research
Introduction
Case study has attracted a lot of attention, both positive and negative. This chapter examines in detail the key debates, which have been going on for decades, around and about case study.
We start by considering alternative perspectives on what case study is and what it isn’t. Is it a research method, an approach, a style, a strategy or a design, or perhaps all of these things? Case study is then considered in a comparative perspective in the light of other possible (and popular) forms of research, such as longitudinal, cross-sectional and experimental research. The position of case study with respect to qualitative and quantitative forms of research is also discussed.
The continuing debates around case study are then reviewed. Starting with the positive, the strengths and desirable qualities of case study research are identified. Taking the opposing perspective, its perceived weaknesses – particularly regarding the issues of generalisability, reliability and validity – and the responses that have been made to these, are discussed.
Finally, the criticism that case studies are so endemic and ill-defined that any and every piece of research could be termed a case study (or perhaps a multiple case study) is discussed.
Alternative Perspectives on Case Study
The attention given to case study in the social research methods literature varies widely. Some texts ignore or barely mention it – clearly not considering it to be a major research method or design – while others give it considerable space. Thus, May (2001) devotes only a page and a half to case study research, at the end of a chapter on participant observation, with which he links and compares it. Blaxter, Hughes and Tight (2006) give it just over three pages, presenting it as a research approach, alongside action research, experiments and surveys.
Those who discuss case study at greater length tend to present it in rather different lights. Punch (2005), for example, discusses case study as an approach to qualitative research design, allocating it seven pages, alongside ethnography, grounded theory and action research. He answers his own question ‘what is a case study?’ as follows:
The basic idea is that one case (or perhaps a small number of cases) will be studied in detail, using whatever methods seem appropriate. While there may be a variety of specific purposes and research questions, the general objective is to develop as full an understanding of that case as possible. (p. 144)
He acknowledges that case study ‘is more a strategy than a method’ (p. 144), and accepts that:
almost anything can serve as a case, and the case may be simple or complex. But… we can define a case as a phenomenon of some sort occurring in a bounded context. Thus, the case may be an individual, or a role, or a small group, or an organization, or a community, or a nation. It could also be a decision, or a policy, or a process, or an incident or event of some sort, and there are other possibilities as well. (p. 144)
Burns (2000) takes a similar approach to Punch, treating case studies as a qualitative method, alongside ethnographic research, unstructured interviewing, action research and historical research. Like each of them, case studies are granted a whole chapter, amounting to 22 pages. He makes a number of revealing observations:
The case study has been unfortunately used as a ‘catch-all’ category for anything that does not fit into experimental, survey or historical methods. The term has also been used loosely as a synonym for ethnography, participant observation, naturalistic inquiry and fieldwork… The case study is rather a portmanteau term, but typically involves the observation of an individual unit, e.g. a student, a delinquent clique, a family group, a class, a school, a community, and event, or even an entire culture. (p. 459)
Bryman (2004) treats case study as a research design, but, unlike Punch and Burns, does not see it as being exclusively qualitative in nature. In his presentation, case study is contrasted with experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal and comparative designs. Bryman notes that:
The most common use of the term associates the case study with a location, such as a community or organization. The emphasis tends to be upon an intensive examination of the setting. There is a tendency to associate case studies with qualitative research, but such an identification is not appropriate… case studies are frequently sites for the employment of both quantitative and qualitative research. (p. 49, emphasis in original)
Cohen, Manion and Morrison (2007) take another approach, seeing case study as a style of (educational) research, together with ethnographic, historical, action, experimental, internet-based and survey styles. They assert that case studies:
will have temporal characteristics which help to define their nature
have geographical parameters allowing for their definition
will have boundaries which allow for definition
may