Case Study design

Case study design has a long history of use in the social sciences (Stake 1995; Yin 2009). However, because it has been employed across different disciplines its precise use and classification is often difficult to define (Zucker, 2001). As such, the case study has been identified as a ‘research design, research method, research strategy, data collection method and teaching technique’ (Moriarty, 2011, p.15). Adding to the confusion are the differing methodological perspectives applied by different researchers. For example, Yin (2009, p.32) identifies the case study in terms of the process of ‘empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context’. Stake (1995) on the other hand focuses mainly on the unit of study,

60 For further information on different research designs, see Creswell (2013, pp. 13-15) and Bryman (2008).

or the case, as the defining characteristic. Similarly, for Bryman (2008, p.52) the case study can include detailed and intensive analysis of a single community, a single organisation, a single event, a single family, or a single person. Moreover, the case study can draw on a multitude of research methods from participant observation to statistical surveys and is equally at home within quantitative, qualitative or mixed methods traditions (Bryman, 2008). It is important then to clearly outline why this design was chosen and how it was used in this study.

According to Yin (2009, p.8) the conditions for choosing between research designs ‘is dependent on the nature of the research question, the extent of control the researcher has over the circumstances of the research and the relative degree of focus on contemporary or historical events’. As already discussed the studies philosophical position was selected to deliver the best answers to the research questions formulated from the literature review. These questions were based the need to understand why certain ICT policy initiatives were viewed as being too simplistic in their application and therefore considered ineffective in helping deprived areas overcome the digital divide. Equally important was to explore the relationship between individuals and ICT and the Internet - that is, how they were accessing and engaging with technology. The purpose of the study was to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions which lend themselves to a case study approach (Yin, 2009). Similarly, the ‘case study is preferred in examining contemporary events...but when the relevant behaviours cannot be manipulated’ (Yin, 2009, p.11). In both phases of the research the aim was to discover and interpret events and behaviours as they occurred naturally in the field, with no control over the actions of participants.

A further consideration of case study research lies in delimiting the object of study by effectively creating a bounded system (Bogden and Biklen, 2006). In the context of this study, the research was based within the community of Grimethorpe. According to Bryman (2008, p.53) ‘the most common use of the

case study is with a location such as a community’61. One of the key reasons for this is the enclosed nature of communities with their demarcated boundaries, either real or imagined (Anderson, 1981). Thus the community itself therefore becomes the case and embedded within were units of analysis selected for their suitability to provide answers to the research questions.

In the first phase the research was based in three different types of public or third sector centre each providing the community with access to ICT and the Internet. In the second phase, seven individuals became the units of analysis chosen to explore their relationship with developments in new media. There are two advantages of using what Yin (2009, p.46) calls a ‘single case (embedded design)’ for this study62. Firstly, it allows data to be analysed within each of the units of analysis separately and also collectively across the units. Secondly, it offers the rationale for an element of longitudinal research where the case can be ‘investigated at two or more junctures’ adding a comparative or evaluative angle (Bryman, 2008, p.56). Utilising such a design also allows for the collection of rich, detailed, localised accounts, the analysis of which ‘serves to better illuminate the case’ (Yin, 2009, p.50).

Despite this, case study design is not without its critics. Opposition is focused primarily on issues relating to validity and reliability. Tellis (1997, p.1) also points out how ‘dependence on a single case renders it incapable of providing a generalising conclusion’. These condemnations are nothing new and merely reflect the general critique levelled at qualitative research as a whole (Bryman, 2008; Silverman, 2013). Supporters of case study design have retaliated by arguing the purpose of the design is not to ‘generalise to other cases or populations beyond the case...but to generate an intensive examination of a single case’ (Bryman, 2008, p.57). While others such as Williams (2000, p.57) suggest that case studies can be generalised from by ‘drawing on findings from comparable cases investigated by others’.

61 Bryman (1998, p.52-53) also gives some useful examples of ‘community case studies’ such as ‘Whyte’s (1955) study of Comerville in Boston, Gan’s (1962) study of the East End of Boston, Stacey’s (1960) research on Banbury, and O’Reilly’s (2000) research on a community of Britons living on the Costa Del Sol in Spain’.

62 See Appendix 6 for a diagrammatic representation.

Similarly, one of the essential characteristics of case study design is the aim to preserve the 'wholeness' of the case under study (Yin, 2009). This is due to the recognition that the relationships between actors, the system and their context are often inextricably inter-linked. Accurate description and theoretical findings are possible because of the breadth and depth of the information collected. The case study approach provides mechanisms for ensuring that valid and reliable data could be collected. This is demonstrated in Table 6 below which has been adapted from Yin's (2009) description of design testing.