The document discusses the case study research method, highlighting its use for deep and intensive studies across various contexts, and its evolution as a response to quantitative research limitations. It presents different types of case studies, such as intrinsic and instrumental case studies, and outlines data collection methods and limitations. Key references include works by Merriam, Yin, and Glaser & Strauss, establishing the foundation of case studies in social science research.

1. Dr. Sarita Anand
Assistant Professor
Department of Education
Vinaya Bhavana, Visva-Bharati
Santiniketan
sarita.anand@visva-bharati.ac.in
CASE STUDY
RESEARCH METHOD

2. Case studies have been used for various purposes-
• Deep & Intensive study
• Descriptive
• Exploratory
• Explanatory
• Also generates theory (Yin, 1989)
PURPOSES

3. •Preferred Strategy when “how, who, why, and what”
questions are being asked or when the locus is on a
contemporary Phenomenon within a real life context.
•Case Study is not a method of data collection; rather it is a
research strategy or an empirical inquiry that investigates a
contemporary phenomenon by using multiple sources of
evidence.
CLARIFICATION

4. •Qualitative research & qualitative analysis
•Studies whole units in their totality
•Single individual or example
•Extensive data collection employs several methods in data collection
to prevent errors and distortions
•Perceives the respondent as knowledgeable person, not just as a
source of data
• Data collection till the ‘saturation point’
•Studies a typical case not general
CHARACTERISTICS

5. Merriam (1988) originally viewed it as “an intensive, holistic description
and analysis of a single instance, phenomenon, or social unit.”
Frederick Le Play (1829) was the first to introduce case study method
into the field of social scientific investigation as a handmaiden to
statistics in his studies of family budgets. (Les Ouvriers Europeens; 2nd
edition, 1879).
The use of case studies for the creation of new theory in social sciences
has been further developed by the sociologists Glaser and Strauss who
presented their research method, Grounded theory (1967).
HISTORY

6. Case study research evolved as a distinctive approach to
scientific inquiry, partly as a reaction to perceived limitations of
quantitative research (Gall, Borg, and Gall, 1996).
Yin (1994) defines case study in terms of the research process
as “. . . an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary
phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the
boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly
evident.”
DEFINITION

7. • an individual (Not
necessarily a disabled or
Special child)
• a family
• a system
• a social unit
• a social group
• a social situation
CASE
• an incident
• an accident
• an event
• an institution
• an organization
• a community (e.g., a school
drop-out, a village school, a, a
tribal village, delinquent group
etc.).
A case may be-

8. 1. Intrinsic Case Study
2. Instrumental Case Study
3. Multiple or Collective Case Study
TYPES OF CASE STUDIES

9. Researcher interested in understanding a specific individual
or situation
Why?
Goal = understand the case in all its parts
Exploratory Research
1. INTRINSIC CASE STUDY
Image: www.flickr.com

10. Researcher interested in understanding something more
than just a particular case
Studies the case only as a means to some larger goal
Goal = global
Draws conclusions that apply beyond a particular case
2. INSTRUMENTAL CASE STUDY

11. Researcher studies multiple cases at the same time
Overall study
3. MULTIPLE OR COLLECTIVE
CASE STUDY

12. 1. Historical case studies
2. Observational case studies
3. Oral history case studies
4. Situational case studies
5. Clinical case studies
6. Multi-case studies
TYPES BY BURNS (2000)

13. Primary: Interview (through questionnaire and schedule)
and
Observation (Participant and Non-Participant)
Secondary: Variety of sources like-
• Reports
• Records
• Books
• Files
• Diaries
• News papers
• Magazines
SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION

14. The researcher is the interviewer/ observer and the analyzer.
Conclusion is generally used to develop a further more intense
study.
ANALYSIS & CONCLUSION

15. • One researcher
• Personal or subjective bias
• Little evidence for scientific or valid generalizations
• Not all environments are identical
• Time consuming
• Doubtful reliability
• Missing Validity
• Require extensive/deep research
LIMITATIONS

16. REFERENCES
Ahuja, Ram (2011).Research Methods, 261-272. Rawat, New Delhi.
Burns, Robert B. (2000). Introduction to research Methods (4th ed.). Sage, London.
Frederick Le Play (1829). Les Ouvriers Europeens (2nd ed.), Paris.
Gall, M., Borg, W. and Gall, J. (1996). Educational Research. Longman, NewYork.
Glaser, B. G., & Strauss, A. L. (1967). The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for
Qualitative Research. Aldine. https://doi.org/10.1097/00006199-196807000-00014
Merriam, S. B. (1988). Case study research in education: A qualitative approach. Jossey-Bass,
San Francisco.
Yin, R.K. (1989). Case study Research: Design and Method (revised ed.), Sage, Newbury Park.
Yin, R.K.(1994). Case study research: Design and methods. Sage, Beverly Hills.