Case Study Research
Dates:
February 13, 2012 - February 17, 2012
Instructor:
Prof. Helen Simons This course explores the theory and practice of case study as a rigorous methodology for understanding and evaluating the complexity and dynamics of innovative programmes and organisations. The course is designed to be useful for those who wish to commission or conduct case study research or evaluation to inform policy decisions or professional practice. The course will be workshop- and seminar-based, working with examples from the field and practical applications. Participants will be encouraged to share potential case study designs and field work dilemmas throughout the course.
Prerequisites:
There are no prerequisites for this course, apart from a curiosity to learn and to challenge assumptions. Participants are welcome from different disciplines and professional fields.
Learning Objectives:
Monday: Evolution and Concept of Case Study Research
Participants’ understandings of case study research and expectations. Reasons for emergence as a major form of inquiry in educational evaluation and related professional fields. Justification for the approach - the kind of knowledge it generates compared with other research approaches – and methodologies employed. Different purposes and types – evaluation, theory led, ethnographic; intrinsic, instrumental, collective. Strengths and limitations.
Tuesday: Planning and Designing Case Study Research
Defining and selecting case(s) and boundaries. Emergent/preordinate designs. Research/evaluation questions/foreshadowed issues. Different planning models. Working with stakeholders in designing/refining goals and outcomes. Use of theory or theoretical framework. Methods of data collection – related to preferred ways of knowing – interviewing, observation, document analysis, use of quantitative data in case study. Sampling within methods.
Wednesday: Relationships in the Field
Gaining access. Choice of researcher role – impartial observer, documentarist, teller of stories. Reflexivity of the researcher. Ethics for gaining access to and release of data – informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity, pre-publication access. Principles and procedures of democratic case study. Managing field relations. Ethical dilemmas in the politics of ‘real life’ cases.
Thursday: Making Sense
Strategies for analysing and interpreting. Reducing or transforming data. Formal analysis – coding/categorising, progressive focusing, concept mapping, grounded theory. Artistic interpretations – narrative/poetic forms. Validity (internal/external), credibility, authenticity. Strategies for enhancing validity: triangulation, respondent validation, metaphors of crystal/prism. Generalising in case study research – cross-case, process, concept, naturalistic, situated, and in-depth particularisation.
Friday: Reporting and Communicating Case Study Research
Forms of reporting – formal, portrayal, conclusion-led, artistic. Appropriateness for purpose. Utility in policymaking. Inspirations for improving writing – literary, biographic, documentary journalism. Re-presenting or fictionalising. Forms of presentation and communication beyond the written form.
Course Text:
The following texts, while not required preliminary reading, offer an introduction to the issues and content to be covered. Further materials and readings will be provided in the course itself.
References:
Simons, H. (2009) Case Study Research in Practice. London: Sage.
Simons, H. (1996) The Paradox of Case Study, Cambridge Journal of Education, 26(2): 225–40. London: Sage.
Flyvbjerg, B. (2006) ‘Five misunderstandings about case study research’, Qualitative Inquiry 12(2): 219–45.
