A Report
Introduction
This report follows the earlier work carried out on the subject of case study as a methodology of research. In the previous report questions regarding what a case study is, how a case study is carried out, what are the different forms of case studies and when best to undertake a case study were discussed. The case study is an important method adopted by many researchers in their research design. The advantages and the shortcomings of such a research design have been well documented and were also discussed in the earlier report.
The report aims at recollecting the experience of researching the case study as research design and also reflects upon the learning I gathered. The report is thus the analysis of the case study methodology. It can also be said as a follow up research on the research methodology that is case study.
Before we begin the recollection of my experiences and opinion, it would be worth to refresh on what a case study actually is. According to Bromley (1990), it is a “systematic inquiry into an event or a set of related events which aims to describe and explain the phenomenon of interest” (p. 302).
According to the researcher Robert K. Yin case study research method is defined as “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used” (Yin, 1984, p. 23)
Applicability of Case Study Research Methodology
The case study methodology adopted by me in this research was of a look through the available academic literature in terms of what a case study is, and when can be applied and what types are case study are at my disposal.
In terms of when to use, as per Yin (2003) a case study research design should be considered when: (a) the focus of the study is to answer “how” and “why” questions; (b) you cannot manipulate and measure the behavior of those involved in the study; (c) you want to cover contextual conditions because you believe they are relevant to the phenomenon under study; or (d) the boundaries are not clear between the phenomenon and context.
Moreover, Darke, Shanks and Broadbent (1998) outlined as many as five questions that are asked by those contemplating a case study research. They are:
1 What kinds of research can be addressed using the case study research approach?
2 How can a case study research project be designed, shaped and scoped in order to adequately answer a research question?
3 How can the participation of organizations in case study research be obtained?
4 How can case study data be collected from cae participants in efficient and effective ways? 5 How can rigor be established in writing up case study research so that it is publishable in academic journals? (Darke, Shanks and Broadbent, 1998)
In my situation, the how and why are very much the biggest question that my dissertation seeks to answer. I am interested in finding out why a case study research methodology would succeed over methods and how is one supposed to go about it. There is little in terms of manipulation that could be done in this situation. The case studies available in a variety of subjects are available for analysis. The inferences and conclusions drawn from it are for all to see, and the interpretations are usually unanimous and universal. The case study inferences drawn are rarely biased as the whole landscape is observed from all angles. The phenomenon under study here is the process of carrying out a research itself. The case study is very much an integral part of research- be it on a topic related to business or otherwise. In terms of contextual conditions, the case study is something that is more often than not truly relevant to a research. The fourth condition outlined by Yin, the boundaries of research is also not very clear. It simply means that even though a lot of researches do adopt the case study methodology for critiquing a topic, event or phenomenon, there is no set rule or process defined. Thus many researches fall into the pits of being unclear, inconclusive and quite simply useless. This happens due to an improper understanding of the researches between the research subject and the methodology adopted.
Thus the above discussion clearly identifies that there exist a strong enough motivation to research the case study methodology of research. The case study has been an effective tool, if understood by the researchers well and are aware of when best to use them. My research is thus motivated by the insufficient literature available in the field of understanding the relationship between case studies and research.
The Opportunities and Challenges in Research Design
The opportunity of carrying out such a research as indicated earlier is derived from the fact that few researches have been carried out in the field. Much literature exists that describe the case studies and the pros and cons, but none take the design of a case study to carry out the case study research. The process is unique in itself, in a way that it tries to look through the kaleidoscope that contains a kaleidoscope itself.
The case study form adopted for the analysis was both Exploratory and Intrinsic. Again recalling information from the previous research, Exploratory studies are type of case studies that aims to explore a phenomenon based on the data that serves as the researcher’s point of interest. It can be employed as a prelude for a more in-depth study as it can be used to gather more information before the research questions and hypotheses are developed. It starts with general questions that can be narrowed down to more specific questions through a more in-depth research. In addition, the results of this study can serve as a framework for further studies. Intrinsic cases are studies where the researcher has a personal interest in the case. As both the conditions are met in this situation, the case study undertook by me lays down the ground work for future studies to be carried out on this subject. There is a high degree of personal interest involved and what began as a basic study to analyze the case study methodology, was later narrowed down to why and how a case study should be used and motivated by looking at case studies through a case study itself.
In terms of challenges the case study has its own set of unique ones. A broad array of it was discussed in the previous assignment too. These included the reliability and validity of the case study. As pointed out earlier too, many case studies, due to unclear understanding of it lose focus and turn useless and invalid. This remained a big threat in my research too. As there was little prior research done on the topic and issue raised by me, there was hardly any help available, in terms of falling back on previous research.
Yin (1994) had identified six primary sources of evidence for use in a case study research. in every case study:
- interviews,
- documentation,
- direct observation,
- archival records,
- participant observation, and
- physical artifacts.
Not all were applicable, but for sake reliability of the study, multiple sources must be relied upon (Stake, 1995). Of the ones outlined above, direct observation, documentation, archival records and physical artifacts were considered.
Another challenge that my research faced is of being too specific. Although the concept of case study is wide and large, case study analysis of case study methodology was never done and might feel as irrelevant to some. However, I argue that to showcase the efficacy of the methodology, there can be no better way to implement it and prove my point.
A serious challenge came in the way of higher level of understanding and logic that was needed. Such a research was new for me, and the idea developed through a lot of research and critical thought. The why’s and how’s were given considerable weight age to ensure that the case study does not go off course due to lack of proper understanding and knowledge of the researcher.
Another challenge came in the way of data collection. The case study methodology is applicable to almost every field and can be both qualitative and quantitative in nature. My case study is a qualitative analysis of the subject matter. However, the qualitative data is difficult to gather and even more difficult to present in a comprehensible form.
Possible Alternative
Other alternatives for researching the topic could be in the form of interviews, questionnaire or other forms of data collected from earlier researchers in finding their opinions and views on the issue. The case study methodology is most flexible form of research and for this reason perhaps the best. It can take any form and design and can even include a mix of other methods. Thus although other less complex form of research designs were available to prove my point, a case study research design can be undoubtedly best defended a case study itself.
Conclusion
Having carried out a case study on the case study as a research design, I can confidently conclude that case studies are indeed a unique and effective way of conducting a research. This form provides maximum flexibility and enables pragmatism to be employed. This does run the risk of case studies turning biased in opinions. But if the risks factors are well established, the case studies can bring forth a point that is often concealed and overlooked.
The reflection task allowed me to recall and recollect my experiences and thus record and organize my learning for future use.
References
Bromley, D. B. 1990. Academic contributions to psychological counselling: I. A philosophy of science for the study of individual cases. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 3, 3, pp.299-307.
Darke, P., Shanks, G. and Broadbent, M. 1998. Successfully completing case research: combining rigour, relevance and pragmatism. Information Systems Journal. 8, pp.273-289.
Stake, R. 1995. The art of case research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Yin, R. K. 1984. Case study research: Design and methods. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
Yin, R. 1994. Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing
Yin, R. K. 2003. Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Thou-sand Oaks, CA: Sage.
