Multi-site Case Studies

There is a great deal of literature that addresses case studies as a scientific method of enquiry in social science research (e.g. Flyvbjerg, 2006; Gerring, 2004; Yin, 2014; Stake, 1995). This study is informed by Robert Yin’s definition of case study method:

• A case study is an empirical inquiry that

o investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context,

especially when

o the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not clearly

evident.

• The case study inquiry

o copes with the technically distinctive situation in which there will be

many more variables of interest than data points, and as one result

o relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to converge

in a triangulating fashion, and as another result

o benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions to

guide data collection and analysis. (Yin, 2014, p. 13)

There are debates on strengths and limitations of case study research just like any other qualitative research method (such as ethnographic or phenomenological study). On the one hand, case study research constitutes an all-encompassing method that covers the logic of design, data collection techniques, and specific approaches to data analysis (Yin, 2014). On the other hand, the effectiveness of case study research depends on a researcher’s training of interviewing, observation, as well as on the

sensitivity and integrity of the researcher. Another limitation assumed against case study research is that it cannot produce any valuable general knowledge given that the

findings come from a case specific context. Bent Flyvbjerg argues that this is simply a misunderstanding. He posits that context dependent knowledge driven from case study can be more valuable than universal theoretical knowledge (2006). Case study methods, if based on a carefully chosen case (or cases), can contribute to scientific development (see, Flyvbjerg, 2001, p. 66-77; Flyvbjerg, 2006).

Yin (2014, p. 39) provides four types of designs for case studies in his argument. The matrix in Table 1.1 below is based on the assumption that single- and multiple-case studies reflects different design consideration and within these two types there also can be unitary or multiple unit of analysis. Yin notes that it is necessary to decide, prior to any data collection, on whether a single-case study or multiple cases are going to be

used to address the research questions. This allows relating the data to the theories in an inductive and dialectical way, refining the dialectics between data and theory as the work progresses and making value judgments regarding the relative strength of aspects of each approach for different sections of the study (Creswell, 2003, p. 132-4).

Table 1.1. Basic Types of Designs for Case Studies

Single-Case Designs Multiple Case-Designs Holistic (Single unit of

analysis) TYPE 1 TYPE 3

Embedded (multiple unit of

analysis) TYPE 2 TYPE 4 (This Study)

Note: Adopted from Yin, 2014, p. 39.

There are benefits for researchers to use more than one case, which include broader generalizability, wider validity, and greater flexibility for data collection. However, it also comes with the greater challenge to access multiple media organizations and to manage a bigger amount of data. Marshall and Rossman (2011, p. 103) argue “sample size in qualitative research depends on many complex factors.” They outline how the sample of case studies may consist of studying one person or one institution. In my previous Masters research, I employed a single-case design with holistic (single unit of analysis), taking NTV as a case study. But it represented a unique case rather than an embedded scenario (see Rahman, 2009).27 _{In that research, a crucial complex factor}

was not taken into consideration, that the case study sample was only one organization from the context of private TV channels. Thus, it failed to address why and how a state- owned TV channel may or may not be affected by neoliberal globalization.

For the purpose of this research, three television channels have been selected as core cases after a careful purposive case sampling. It means that most of the interviews of journalists and the journalistic information used in this study derives from these three television channels. This sampling allows me to include and represent at least one organization from diverse types of TV channels currently present in

Bangladesh, which includes a state-administered broadcaster (Bangladesh Television, a general television channel (Channel i) representing the early generation of private

television channels, and a 24/7 news channel (Somoy Television) representing the new generation of private television channels. Such multisite sampling allows flexibility to use various data collection methods, and increases the generalizability of the research findings. In addition to the core cases, the study is enriched with controlled random interviews of journalists representing six additional television channels.

A multisite case study may also contain multiple unit of analysis. Given that the research questions of this study are centrally concerned with commercialization and market-orientation in news production, examining one only unit, which Yin defines as part of his holistic design (Yin, 1994, p. 49), may not reveal the holistic perspective that a critical political economic analysis demands. For example, examining the production of news by interviewing the working journalists in a newsroom will merely disclose the extent of market-orientation from a journalist’s point of view, not the owner’s or marketer’s view. It is equally important to understand the marketer’s point of view to explain how the macro-ideology of neoliberalism is realized as well as contested at the micro-industrial level.

This study primarily focuses on news programs and the production of news in the selected television channels but also draws reference to other programs that are heavily commodified (such as drama show, cinema, talk show, and magazine programs). Media sociologist Michael Schudson (2000) points out that news is a systematic output that depends on how the newsroom interplays with advertisement demands, and the marketing cells of a media organization. As a critical political economy approach

suggests, researchers need to look specifically at “how ownership, support mechanisms (e.g. advertising), and government policies influence media behavior and content” (McChesney, 1998, p. 3). In my previous discussion, the link between neoliberal globalization and transnational and local commodity production becomes evident. This raises the question, to what extent is news commodified by other commodities? How do transnational or local advertisers influence the production of news in television

channels? Why is the ownership of television channels important to understand such linkages? What is the role of government to foster the integration of capital with local media production? This study finds answers to these questions through employing a range of crosscutting interviews between journalists, media owners, marketers, media regulators, and academics. Table 1.2 showcases a range of data collection tools from various sources used from the case studies for this research.

Table 1.2. Research Data Collection Tools and Sources Method Unit of Analysis Data source/positions

Interview News and Current Affairs Director, Head of News, Chief News Editor, Assignment Editor, Staff Reporter, Correspondent, Executive Producer, Producer

Advertising and Marketing Director of Sales and Marketing, Marketing Executive Government officials Minister, Secretary, Joint Secretary, Assistant Secretary,

Assistant Chief

Policy experts University Professor, Program Officer

Document

Study News and Current Affairs Assignment schedules, Program Schedule, List of employees, Organizational structure Advertising and Marketing Advertising rates, List of advertisers

Policy Stakeholders Policy drafts, Meeting documents

Non- participant Observation (Occasional)

News and Current Affairs

Advertising and Marketing Observation

Image analysis Television text Screenshot of News, Advertisements, Corporate branding

Note: For a list of all positions interviewed see Appendix A

The interview sampling is comprised of multiple divisions from the media industry, such as a few media owners, senior and mid-level journalists from News and Current Affairs division from various television channels, and head of Sales and

Advertising who makes decision on advertisng. The sampling also includes government high officials and policy stakeholders such as television channel owners, NGO

representatives, civil society members, and journalists, who comprise a small group of people. I have also interviewed several media industry experts and academic scholars who shared their valuable experience of studying and observing the growth of mass media in Bangladesh for over a decade. I also spoke to several acquaintances who helped me to access the media. This makes the case study design of this research an

embedded (multiple unit of analysis) and a multiple case design at the same time (Table

1.1). A list of all interviewees, with their titles and affiliation, is placed in Appendix A.