2. Case study research involves the study of an issue
explored through one or more cases within a bounded
system (i.e., a setting, a context).
The case study approach is familiar to social scientists
because of its popularity in psychology (Freud), medicine
(case analysis of a problem), law (case law), and political
science (case reports).
CRESWELL (2007)
3. Some case studies may not have clean begin-ning and ending points, and the researcher will need to
set boundaries that adequately surround the case.
4. Case Study
A Paricular individual, program , or event is studied in depth for a defined period of time
E.g.
A Medical researcher might study the nature or treatment of a rare illness for a particular patient.
An Educator might study and analyse instructional strategies that a master teacher ruses to teach
high school history.
Case study research is a qualitative approach in which the investigator explores a bounded system (a
case) or multiple bounded systems (cases) over time, through detailed, in-depth data collection
involving multiple sources of information (e.g., observations, interviews, audiovisual material, and
documents and reports) and reports a case description and case-based themes.
5. Types of Case Studies
Three variations exist in terms of intent (Creswell 2007):
1. Single instrumental case study:
the researcher focuses on an issue or concern, and then selects one bounded case to illustrate this issue.
1. Collective or multiple case study
The one issue or concern is again selected, but the inquirer selects multiple case studies to illustrate the
issue.Often the inquirer purposefully selects multiple cases to show different perspectives on the issue.
1. The intrinsic case study.
The focus is on the case itself (e.g., evaluating a program, or studying a student having difficulty-see Stake,
1995) because the case presents an unusual or unique situation.
6. Procedures for Conducting a Case
Study
1. Researchers determine if a case study approach is appropriate to the research problem.
2. Identify their case or cases
3. Collecting the data (extensive data)
4. Analyze the data
5. reports the meaning of the case,
7. Data Analysis in a Case Study
1. Organisation of details about the case
2. Categorization of data
3. Interpretation of single instances
4. Identification of pattern
5. Synthesis and generalization
8. The research report of Case Study
If you conduct a case study, you will probably want to include the following in your report:
1. A rationale for studying the case
2. A detailed description of the facts related to the case
3. A description of the data you collected
4. A discussion of the patterns you found
5. A connection to the larger scheme of things
9. Challenges
the researcher must identify his or her case
The researcher must consider whether to study a single case or multiple cases.
Having enough information to present an in-depth picture of the case limits
the value of some case studies.
