Case Study Research

1. Case Study Research
By Auliyanti Sahril Nurfadhilah, S.Pd.,M.A. TESOL

2. WHAT IS ACASE STUDY?
Case study is a qualitative
research approach in which
researchers focus on a unit of
study known as a bounded
system.

3. Definitionsof
CaseStudy
STAKE (1995)
 Case study is not a methodological choice but a choice of
what is to be studied
MILES & HUBERMAN (1994)
 An investigation of phenomenon that occurs within a
specific context.
YIN (2003)
 Case study is a research strategy that is an all-
encompassing method covering design, data collection
techniques, and specific approaches to data analysis

4. When to Use the
Case Study
Research
Approach
A case study research method is
appropriate when the researcher
wants to answer a descriptive
question such as what happened?
Or an explanatory question how
and why did something happen?

5. Characteristics
ofCaseStudy
 Particularistic
 Descriptive
 Heuristic

6. Particularistic
A case study researcher may
specifically choose a particular
instance of phenomenon under
investigation to understand a
specific problem that occurs in
everyday practice.

7. Descriptive
Descriptive phenomenon means
that the end result of the case
study, the narrative, includes
‘thick description’ of the
phenomenon, including many
variables and analyses of the
interactions.

8. Heuristic
Heuristic refers to the fact
that case studies ‘illuminate
the readers’ understanding
of the phenomenon under
study’ beyond the readers’
original knowledge.

9. Types of Case
Study
Types of Case Study (Stake, 1995)
1. Intrinsic Case Study
2. Single Instrumental Case Study
3. Multiple Collective Case Study

10. IntrinsicCase
Study
Undertaken because of researcher
intrinsic interest, and aims to get
deep understanding of a certain
case. (Stake, 1995)

11. IntrinsicCase
Study
Focuses on the case itself
The case presents an unusual or
unique situation
Try to better understand the case
Example:
Hellström, Nolan, & Lundh (2005). “We do things
together” A case study of “couplehood” in
dementia. Dementia, 4 (1), 7-22.

12. Single
Instrumental
Case Study
 Provides a base to understand other issues.
Usually this case is a secondary interest of the
researcher and used to support other interest.
(Stake, 1995)

13. Single
Instrumental
Case Study
 Also named ‘Instrumental’ case study
 Focuses on one issue
 One bounded case is used to illustrate the issue
 Provides insight to an issue
 Helps to refine a theory
Example:
Luck, Jackson, & Usher (2007). STAMP: Components of
observable behaviour that indicate potential for patient
violence in emergency departments. Journal of
Advanced Nursing, 59, 11-19.

14. Multiple
Collective Case
Study
 Investigate whether there are similarities or
differences among the cases’ characteristics to
get better understanding of particular interests.
(Stake, 1995)

15. Multiple
Collective Case
Study
Also named ‘Collective’ case study
Focus on one issue or concern
Illustrate the issue
Explore differences within and between
cases
Example:
Campbell & Ahrens (1998). Innovative community
services for rape victims: An application of multiple
case study methodology. American Journal of
Community Psychology, 26, 537-571.

16. Types of Case
Study
Other types of Case Study
1. Explanatory
2. Exploratory
3. Descriptive

17. Explanatory
This type of case study would be used if
you were seeking to answer a question
that sought to explain the presumed
causal links in real-life interventions that
are too complex for the survey or
experimental strategies.
Example:
Joia (2002). Analysing a web-based e-commerce
learning community: A case study in Brazil.
Internet Research, 12, 305-317.

18. Exploratory
It is a type of case study that is used to
explore those situations in which the
intervention being evaluated has no
clear, single set of outcomes.
Example:
Lotzkar & Bottorff (2001). An observational study
of the development of a nurse-patient
relationship. Clinical Nursing Research, 10, 275-
294.

19. Descriptive
This type of case study is used to
describe an intervention or
phenomenon and the real-life context in
which it occurred.
Example:
Mahfoodh & Pandian (2011). Qualitative Case
Study of EFL Students’ Affective Reactions to
and Perceptions of Their Teachers’ Written
Feedback. English Language Teaching, 4, 14-25

20. CaseStudy
Research
Design
 Determine the Research question
 Define the case under study
 Determine the role of theory
development in case selection.
 Determine the theoretical and
conceptual framework of the case
study.
 Determine whether a single case
study, a multiple case study or a
collective case study is appropriate.

21. Sample
Selection
Qualitative Sampling
Purposive Sampling
Viability/Screening

22. Screening
Procedure
 Review documents about the proposed
case study site to determine whether
or not it is an appropriate choice
 Conduct informal interviews of key
participants in the study to determine
their willingness to participate in the
study and to ensure that they fully
understand the nature of their
commitment.
 Determine whether the case study
participants have the necessary
experience and knowledge of the
phenomenon under investigation and the
ability to provide information.

23. Strengths
 Case study enables the experience to be studied
and interpreted in depth.
 Case study is flexible.
 Case studies are inaccessible in language, audiences
directly observe events and accidents.
 Case study is useful for understanding and exploring
the process.
 Case study has dynamics of change, especially in ‘real
life settings’.
 Case study has the potential to engage participants in
the study.
 Case study can include a range of methods, whatever
is most appropriate in understanding the case.
 It can explain how and why things happen.

24. Potential
Limitation
 The subjectivity of the researcher is an
inevitable part of the frame.
 Audiences cannot capture the reality as
lived.
 There are a number of ways to make
inferences from a case or cases that
are applicable to other contexts.
 The findings are dependant on that very
unique subject.

25. References
 Mills & Gay. (2009). Educational Research: Competencies for
Analysis and Applications 12th Edition. New York: Pearson
Education.
 Stake, R. E. (2005). Qualitative Case Studies. In N. K. Denzin &
Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The Sage handbook of qualitative
research (p. 443–466). Sage Publications Ltd.
 Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and
methods (3rd Ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
 Gerring, J. (2005) Case Study Research. New York:
Cambridge University Press.

26. Thank You