This theme is the
last theme in this course and it included both qualitative research and case studies.
In preparation for the theme I read the article Building theories from cases study (Eisenhardt, 1989), an article that used qualitative methods and an
article that conducted case study. I think that it was quite hard to find
articles that only used qualitative methods. So the article I read used a combination of quantitative and
qualitative. Qualitative methods has the benefit of getting in depth knowledge about the
subject but on the other hand they are hard to generalize. However we didn’t discussed
much about qualitative methods on the seminar, mainly because we actually did
it during the quantitative week and that case studies were more interesting in
our opinion.
As I wrote in my
pre-post Case study is when you try to understand the dynamics present in a certain setting.
As I understood it before this week I actually thought that almost every study
applies for this, because it is hard to watch something in a general setting.
You always have a certain setting. So if I were to explain what a case study is
to a first year student after this theme I would say that it is investigating one particular
thing or event. Now I actually think that case study is more interesting
because it doesn’t necessarily say something about another setting than the one
investigated. When doing a case study we focus our energy on the particular case which can
be beneficial when the area
of study is small and with distinct limitations. By studying a single
case we can come up with theories that could be tested on new cases. This is
something that our seminar leader said wasn’t so common but that Eisenhardt (1989) brings up as a suggestion. However I think that other approaches, than
cases studies, is more
appropriate to test a theory when cases mainly says that it was valid in
that particular setting. However we do case studies with many cases I think the
evidences for the theory is more valid and reliable, than with few cases. When
conducting a case study we might also have found opportunities of other aspects
to investigate in other cases.
The fact that case study investigates a
specific case is both a weakness as described but also something that
can be seen as a strength.
Especially when we encounter
something new we might only have one case of it and without using case
study it would have been impossible to investigate. I liked the example from
the book The power of habits that was
mentioned during the lecture where a man suffered from brain damaged that made
it impossible for him to remember stuff. However his habits were still there so
by studying him it was possible to investigate a lot of things connected to
habits! This example really showed how case studies can contribute to
knowledge!
Finally one thing
that I found interesting at the seminar was when our seminar leader quoted
someone that claimed that “Anything goes” in the context of that we can always
get something out of studying anything! You might not find anything that is
generalizable but you will indeed find something!
Nice and sharp summary of last week's theme! You gave an in-depth explanation on a case study – it seems that the seminar was helpful to give you a better understanding of the term the same way as it did for me. As you emphasized, a case study is better at building theory than testing it. I think you are right, a case study has both its benefits and weaknesses and it is the researcher's choice to choose which type of research fits the topic best. That's also something the statement 'anything goes' underlines: the superior goal should always be to deepen your knowledge. Well-done reflection!
SvaraRaderaYou wrote a very good review and you put some effort into understanding this week’s theme. This is why I only want to add something to one point on that I do not completely agree with you. I do not think that a case study always „investigates a specific case“. If I understand you correctly, by a specific case you mean for example a person with a very rare disease. Indeed, this can be one scenario where it is advisable to use a case study. But a case study is applied in general when the motivation for the study is to explore an yet unknown area of research. If not enough knowledge about this area is gained to ask a specific research question, then the only strategy of choice is a case study.
SvaraRaderaHi,
SvaraRaderayou raised an interesting point on whether case study is suitable for testing theory or not. but as you mention that we rather use case study for the area of study that has limited information or new thing so we can find if there is anything to study about it. i think maybe case study consume alot of time and thats why it doesnt commonly use to test theory and rather use quantitative or qualitative research which is easier to do it ? anyways great reflects. i enjoy reading :)
Hi!
SvaraRaderaIt’s funny that each group seems to have discussed qualitative methods during the quantitative themed week, and that this week’s seminar was mainly focused on case studies and the like. Also, it seems as if most of us have gotten a much better grasp of the concept of case studies after the seminar than before. As you mention, most of us have probably realized that there are better ways of describing the concept for someone who doesn’t know what it is, that the way we described in the week’s beginning. You provide great insight into the concept of case studies and it certainly seems as if you’ve broadened your research theoretical horizons from this week’s theme. Great job on the final post-reflection!
I don’t totally agree with you when you said: ”other approaches, than case studies, are more appropriate to test theory”. Of course, there are other methods which are more appropriated to test theory than case studies, because the goal of the latter is not to test theory,but to build it! Indeed, when you begin a case study, you are supposed not to know a lot about it, that’s why you start it. And thanks to it, you gain data and as a result knowledge about it, and then you can draw hypothesis to build your theory but not the contrary!
SvaraRaderaHej,
SvaraRaderaI enjoyed reading your reflection and have to agree that it was quite hard to find to find appropriate research papers, however it was for me harder to find an interesting article using case study research. One can really see that you thought a lot about the case study research. Did you also discuss in your seminar group that a case study is suitable when a yet unknown area shall be explored. This was quite interesting to me and made perfect sense to me when you actually should use a case study for your research.
One thing you write on qualitative methods that I have found interesting throughout the seminars (we discussed it in comparison with quantitative in an earlier seminar as well) in which we have discussed qualitative methods is that qualitative methods are not easily generalizable.
SvaraRaderaWell, qualitative methods are used to answer a different kind of question, as opposed to quantitative, where often the answers are not simple (though they in very rare cases can be). Instead they tend to be complex simply because the questions where qualitative methods are desirable are of a more complex nature than can be described in numbers.
Hi!
SvaraRaderaThanks for interesting reading and explanation of various key concepts. I think above all, your conclusion that you can study almost anything, and by doing so you can gain some kind of information. Well done!
/Paul