Case Study Methodology

Case study research is, as the name suggests, concerned with a very specific instance of a phenomenon. It may be described as “a specific instance that is frequently designed to

illustrate a more general principle” (Nisbet & Watt 1984, p72). A case within

educational research may be a child, a group, a class, a school or a community. Within this research, the case is a class within a Scottish primary school.

A case study is particularly relevant when working with a primary school class. Hitchcock and Hughes (1995) note that case studies are of particular value when the research is taking place in a naturalistic environment over which the researcher has little control. Robson (2002) suggests that case studies involve looking at a real life situation with the aim of providing a rich description of the situation through the use of different types of data. The use of different instruments to gather data allows the case study to combine both subjective and objective descriptions (Dyer 1995). Cohen, et al (2007) note that the case study should, as much as is possible, be a reflection of the actual research situation. I understand this within the context of the critical realist paradigm, to mean that the case study will endeavour to uncover as much as can be known within the confines of both my own understanding and those involved in the research study.

Researchers have classified case studies into different types. For example Yin (2003) classifies case studies in terms of their outcomes which may be exploratory, descriptive or explanatory. Exploratory case studies may serve as a pilot to generate hypotheses which may then be tested by larger surveys or experiments. Descriptive case studies provide a narrative account, or story of the situation. Explanatory case studies may be used to test theories.

Merriam (1988) describes three types of case study using similar distinctions to those of Yin (1984). Descriptive case studies give a narrative account of the situation.

Interpretative case studies are used to develop concepts which may be used to confirm hypotheses. Evaluative case studies aim to explain situations. Furthermore, these three types of case study may be classified as ethnographic, psychological, sociological or historical (Merriam 1988).

Stake (1994) categorises case studies as intrinsic, instrumental or collective. Intrinsic case studies are concerned with understanding the particular case that is being studied.

Instrumental case studies use a particular case to provide a richer insight into theory. Collective case studies are groups of individual case studies which combine to provide a more complete understanding of a situation.

Rather than categorising the case study in this thesis as only one of those previously mentioned, I have used the case study in different ways which relate to the type of claims I

am making.

Overall within the context of the thesis, the case study has been used in a descriptive way to provide a story of the situation being researched. I have also used the case study in an

explanatory way, where I have sought to understand if there is a relationship between

collaborative metacognition and the outcome of the problem solving sessions. The use of critical recall interviews may be categorised as an exploratory study with the aim of trying to generate potential hypotheses about why collaborative metacognition did not occur. The case study has also been used in an instrumental way in order to provide richer insight into metacognition in collaborative situations. Finally, the case study is evaluative as I have attempted to explain a situation.

The use of a case study also fits well with an activity theory framework since it represents a naturalistic account of the activity. Furthermore, case studies might utilise many

different methods in order provide a rich understanding of the situation. This allows multiple perspectives to be taken into account, contributing to triangulation of evidence.

Such an approach might be considered a mixed methods approach (Bryman 2004) whereby qualitative and quantitative data are combined during a research study. Bryman (2004) notes that the use of such an approach can vary between research studies. For example, researchers may choose to employ qualitative data as a complement to quantitative

findings. Within this study, the quantitative data and qualitative data have been combined to provide triangulation of evidence. Through this triangulation, qualitative data provide explanations for particular patterns of quantitative data.

This type of research design is not only applicable within an educational setting such as collaborative problem solving in mathematics. Through the unique application of methods, communicative patterns and issues which impact these might be better understood in different domains. For example, within the context of management and organisational behaviour, collaborative decision-making might be better understood through the application of the design reported in this study. In particular, the quantitative analysis of actual talk combined with the qualitative perspectives of those involved, would bring a rich understanding of issues which may impact such decision-making.

Although a case study methodology provides a rich insight to a naturally occurring situation there are also weaknesses. The weaknesses centre on the interpretation of the data. Since the researcher is so closely involved in the research situation, observer bias is an issue whereby the researcher might interpret data to fit their view of the situation. However, this might be overcome to an extent by triangulation of evidence.

Selectiveness of data might also be an issue where only data which fit the research outcomes are used. However, again, the use of multiple data sources might address this shortcoming. Finally, generalisation of results might be limited. When a case study is carried out in a very specific situation it is difficult to produce generalisations to a larger population.

In the case of the research reported in this thesis, the case was a primary school class. Both quantitative and qualitative data were generated. Whilst the results will only refer to the specific research situation, a certain amount of generalisation to similar situations will be possible. This will be addressed in the discussion.

Despite potential weaknesses of the methodology, case studies provide a rich level of data which is required to understand the processes involved during collaborative group work. The case study takes account of the individual within a specific situation, whilst also taking account of the situation. The use of a case study in this research has provided a real life account of the way in which students work together in their classroom, with the

interruptions of daily life. In the following chapter I will provide details of the methods used in the case study.

Chapter Five: Methods

5.1 Introduction

In the previous chapter I outlined the theoretical framework which was adopted in order to understand the data collected in this research. I also provided justification for my choice of case study methodology as fitting with the theoretical framework and ontological

assumptions. The purpose of this chapter is to provide details of the design of the research, to provide information on the methods which were used in order to collect data and also to give an account of the analysis of the data.

Data were collected from three different sources: verbal utterances of students; critical recall interviews with students and teacher focus group data. I will firstly provide an overview of the study and the role of the researcher. I will also provide details on all participants at this point, together with sampling information. I will then separate the data sources into three sections. Within each section I will provide details of the type of data collected and the method of analysis adopted. Some information regarding this study has been explained in chapter three and so will not be repeated here.