URBS 2005

Research Methods in Urban Studies

Lecture 4: 2/10/2024

Qualitative Research Methods 3

Case Studies
PREVIOUS LECTURE

lQualitative(in-depth) interviews
lFocus groups
TODAY’S LECTURE
lThe History and definition
of case studies
lTypologies and Values of
case studies
lStrengths & Weaknesses
 History of case studies
lFrench economist, engineer, and sociologist Pierre
Guillaume Frédéric Le Play is believed to have created this
method in 1829 to better examine statistical data and its
relationship to family budgeting.
lDuring 1960’s & 70’s researchers looked for alternatives
to standard qualitative methods
- Evolved during the 1980’s as accepted method
lProminently used by anthropologist, sociologist,
psychologist, historians, physicians, etc., as a learning tool:
Through careful examination and discussion of various
cases, “[researchers] learn to identify actual problems, to
recognize key players and their agendas, and to become aware
of those aspects of the situation that contribute to the
problem. . ."
(Merseth, 1991 in
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/research/casestudy/com2a3
.cfm )
 What is case study?

l A study that can be described in terms of a

single system, person, event, program, etc.
l Used in a great variety of fields
l Great variety of research methods, styles
of reports, purposes, etc.
l For example, may include qualitative,
quantitative or a mix of data
 Definition of case studies

l Defining Case Study: an in-depth

description and analysis of a bounded system:
Definition of case studies
lBounded system: a single entity, a unit
around which there are boundaries
Edge of the case

Heart of the study

The phenomenon examined must be

bounded in order to be a case.
Definition of case studies
lBounded system example:
Qualitative study: How older people learn
to use a computer

Case study: How one older person learns

to use a computer
OR:
- one particular program
- one classroom of learners
Types of research (Sayer 1984)
 Why Use Case Studies?
l Knowledge
- More concrete
- More contextual
lDepends on what the researcher
wants to know
Characteristics of case studies
lParticularistic: focuses on a particular situation,
event, program or phenomenon

lDescriptive: the end product is a rich, thick

description of the phenomenon being studied

lHeuristic: the cases studied illuminate the

reader’s understanding of the phenomenon under
study
- brings about the discovery of new
meanings
- extend the reader’s experience
- confirm what is already known
 Misunderstandings about case studies
• General theoretical knowledge is more valuable
than concrete case knowledge
• One cannot generalize on the basis of case
studies; so useless for scientific development
• Case studies are useful for generating hypotheses
in first stages of a total research process, but
other methods needed for theory building
• The case study contains a bias towards
verification, a tendency to confirm researchers
preconceived ideas
• Difficult to summarize and develop general
theories on the basis of specific case studies
 Flyvbjerg(2011)
• Case study work needed for students to develop
from booklearning beginners to virtuose experts!
You learn more from experienced reality than
from books or lectures!
• Deviant cases are main sources of theory
development and prove that ’place matters’ in a
world of general globalisation.
• Formal generalisation is overvalued as a source of
scientific development, the ’force of the example’
and transferability are underestimated

Flyvbjerg, B. (2011). Case study. In: N. K. Denzin and Y. S. Lincoln

(eds.). The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research, 4th ed.
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, pp. 301–316.
 Flyvbjerg (2011) continued
• The case study is useful for both generating
and testing of hypotheses, but is not limited to
that.
• You may learn more from deviant cases than
the typical or average case: the region with
(deviant) successful development – can ideas
be transferred?
• Researchers often learn from case studies that
their preconceived views were wrong and lead
to new ideas (AHJ:Rauland 1968)
 Typology of case studies
lWhat the intention of our case study
research is and what the audience is will
affect what kind of case study research we
undertake:
lFocus on Further Research
 Typology of case studies
lFocus on Public
– Research outcomes of elder housing studies for
promotion to public, clients, students, etc.
– Promote understanding and recognition of ‘aging in
place’ among the public, other professionals, 3rd party
funders, researchers, etc.
lFocus on Practicality
– ‘Research is not so far away…’
– It is close to what we already do in practice: reflecting
on practice, take notes, etc.
– Most case studies will not need a lot of preparation,
large team, lots of funding, etc.
Typology of Case Studies
Historical:
The study of the development of a
particular phenomenon over time
1. Holistic analysis and description
from a historical perspective
2. Preferred when there’s virtually
no access or control
(i.e. an evening school for working
adults in the early 1900s)
Typology of case studies
Observational:
The primary data collection
method is participant
observation supplemented with
formal and informal interviews

(i.e., the use of student learning

commons in HKU Centennial
campus)
Typology of case studies
Illustrative Case Studies:
Primarily descriptive studies
1. Utilizes one or two instances of
an event to show what a situation
is like
2. Tries to make the unfamiliar
familiar and to give readers a
common language about the topic
in question
Typology of case studies
Exploratory (or pilot) Case Studies:
Condensed case studies performed
before implementing a large scale
investigation
1. Basic function is to help identify
questions and select types of
measurement prior to the main
investigation
Typology of case studies
Cumulative Case Studies:
Serves to aggregate information
from several sites collected at
different times
1. The collection of past studies
will allow for greater
generalization without additional
cost or time being expended on
new, possibly repetitive studies
Typology of case studies
Critical Instance Case Studies:
Examines one or more sites for either
the purpose of examining a
situation of unique interest with
little to no interest in
generalizability, or to call into
question or challenge a highly
generalized or universal assertion
Useful for answering cause and effect
questions
Steps of Case Studies
1. Determine topic
2. Determine type of case study
method used and mode of data
collection
- Documents
- Archival records
- Interviews
- Direct observation
- Participant observation
- Artifacts
 Steps of case studies
3. Select participants
4. Collect data
5. Data Analysis
- Typically done holistically or
through coding
6. Write up report
 Steps of case studies
Different ways of presentation:
• Replace narrative sections with a
series of answers to open-ended
questions
• Present "skimmer's" summaries at
beginning of each section
• Incorporate headlines that
encapsulate information from text
 Steps of case studies
Different ways of presentation:
• Prepare analytic summaries with
supporting data appendixes
• Present data in colorful and/or
unique graphic representations
• Prepare specialized condensations
for appropriate groups
Case study – Behaviour
Therapy
Psychology Example – Case studies
are used a lot of in psychology
• https://www.apa.org/depression-
guideline/behavior-therapy-
adults.pdf
Value of Case Study Research
lProfessional practice is always unique, case
study research can capture things about practice
that other kinds of research cannot

lIn some areas of knowledge more understanding

can be gained from studying unique cases

lResearcher's experience can be included as part

of the research process
Value of Case Study Research
l Allows for the study of complex relationships
between the practitioner and student, the
person and their environment, history,
‘variables’ in the ‘intervention’, etc., etc.

lLongitudinal: can follow the development of a

person, a progress, etc.
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
1. Anchored in real-life situations
2. Holistic account of the phenomenon
3. Advances a field’s knowledge base
4. Flexible
5. Contextualization of the phenomenon
Weaknesses:
1. Difficult to generalize
2. Some say it’s too subjective
3. May be costly
- hard to rationalize cost in a budget request
4. Some ethical considerations
- researcher integrity
5. Time consuming
Strengths & Weaknesses
Strengths:
1. Anchored in real-life situations
2. Holistic account of the phenomenon
3. Advances a field’s knowledge base
4. Flexible
5. Contextualization of the phenomenon
Weaknesses:
1. Difficult to generalize
2. Some say it’s too subjective
3. May be costly
- hard to rationalize cost in a budget request
4. Some ethical considerations
- researcher integrity
5. Time consuming
Advantages of Case Study Research
• (case/note
comes easily out of existing practice
taking, reflection on practice,
professional requirements)
• professional
can be done within the constraints of
practice
• does not need extensive training in research
• cheap (no staff, equipment, etc.)
• can be done by individual practitioner (don’t
need large team)
Advantages of Case Study Research

• quick to start (short planning phase)

• changed
flexible (research design and process can be
easily)
• allows for focus on qualities for student and
practitioner
• relationships
helps understanding of process, complex
of variables (not just outcomes or
limited number of variables)
 Disadvantages of Case Study
Research
• possible lack of collaborators may mean
researcher doesn’t see own ‘blind spots’
• alone
researcher may lose momentum working
on a small sample size
• no ‘control’ (non-intervention) group
• no or few objective measures
 Disadvantages of Case Study
Research

• hard to identify which variables are at work,

most important
• results not as generalizable
• not seen as externally valid.
 Short Recap of what is Case
Studies

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-
uAfjm1l7C4
 Case Study Designs
• Single vs. Multiple case
– Single case appropriate in certain
conditions
– Multiple case design better in general
• Embedded vs. Holistic
– Holistic = one unit of analysis
– Emdedded = several units of analysis
 Basic types of Designs
Single-case Designs Multiple-case Designs
Context Context
Context Case Case

Holistic Case
(single unit
of analysis) Context Context
Case Case

Context Context
Context
Case Case

Embedded Case U1 U2 U1 U2
(multiple units
of analysis) Embedded Embedded
Unit of Unit of Context Context
Analysis 1 Analysis 2
Case Case

U1 U2 U1 U2
 Single-case Design
• Five rationales
1. Critical case: clear set of propositions
2. Extreme/unique case
3. Representative/typical case
4. Revelatory case
¨ Previously inaccessible phenomena
5. Longitudinal case
¨ Same things at different points in time
¨ Assumes that conditions changes over time
6. As a pilot case for multiple case studies
¨ Not considered as a case study of its own
 Embedded vs. Holistic Designs

¨Holistic design ¨ Embedded design

– When no logical ¨ Avoids slippage
subunits can be
¨ Extensive analysis
identified.
– study might be ¨ Might focus too
conducted on a too much on subunits,
abstract level loses higher level
– Research question (holistic) aspects.
slippage
 Multiple-case Designs
• More robust results and compelling
arguments
• Require more resources
• Replication rather than 'sampling' logic
• Each case can be holistic or embedded
 Replication vs. Sampling logic
• Replication – analytical generalization
– Analogous to that used in multiple experiments
– Goal is to duplicate results from previous work
– Convergent evidence is sought
• ‘Sampling’– statistical
– Analogous to that used in surveys
– Goal is to gather general information from large
amounts of data
Literal vs. Theoretical Replication
• Literal replication
– Similar results (same treatment—same outcome)
• Theoretical replication
– Contrasting results for predictable reasons (different
treatment—different outcome)
• If cases are contradictory, initial proposition must be
revised
– Without redesign, you can be accused of distorting or ignoring
the discovery to accommodate your design.
• A prerequisite of successful replication is a rich
theoretical framework
• Number of cases is undetermined.
 Rationale for a multiple case
design
• Comes from understanding theoretical and
literal replication
• Simplest multiple case design
– Literal replication among two cases
• More complicated multiple case design
– Theoretical replication between different
types of conditions
– Literal replication
within each type of
condition
 Advice for good practices
• When you have a choice (and resources)
choose multiple case design
– Two cases is significatly better than a single one –
allows for replication.
– Drastical improvment of generalizability
– Theoretical replication with even stronger
arguments
– Avoids critisism and skepticism
• If you use single case
– prepare to make an extremly strong argument in
justifying your choice of case.
 Summary
• https://youtu.be/a60_qcCYHJc?si=eu3uz9_XR
Vy7_KC3&t=30
READINGS

Yin, Chapter 1

Flyvbjerg, B. (2011). Case study. In: N. K. Denzin

and Y. S. Lincoln (eds.). The Sage Handbook of
Qualitative Research, 4th ed. Thousand Oaks, CA:
Sage, pp. 301–316.