RESEARCH APPROACH 1 CASE STUDY RESEARCH

Case Study is a, primarily, qualitatively focused research method that is used for the collection and analysis of empirical data. The formal embodiment of the case- study approach is widely accredited to the work of Yin, who broadly defines the approach as a platform from which the conditions and relationships between phenomena and their context can be observed and contextually analysed.321 _The

method is often employed in instances where the lines between the phenomena under observation and the research context are blurred or unclear. One of the key perceived benefits of case study research is that it is considered a 'mixed methods' approach and allows primary empirical data that both qualitative and quantitative to be assembled, showing how key variables interact and influence one another.

322 _{This enables the analysis of the primary data derived from documentation,}

statistics, interviews, survey and other approaches to be used as the basis of the empirical data collection derived from the overall unit of study (i.e. 'the case'). Critics of the case study approach have cited concerns over its inability to provide generalizable outcomes, particularly when using a design focused around the use of a single case.323 _{But prescribers of the approach counteract this by stating that}

the number of cases used is irrelevant as long as the parameters and objectives

321 _{Robert K Yin, “The Case Study Crisis: Some Answers,” Administrative Science Quarterly 26, no.}

1 (1981): 58–65, https://doi.org/10.2307/2392599; Yin, Case Study Research: Design and

Methods.

322 _{Robert E. Stake, The Art of Case Study Research, 1st ed. (London: SAGE, 1995),}

https://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?as_q=the+art+of+case+study+research&as_epq=&as_oq=& as_eq=&as_occt=any&as_sauthors=stake&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&btnG=&hl=en&as_ sdt=0%2C5#0.

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defined by the research can be met through the use of a single case.324 _Further,

the perceived lack of analytical generalisation is also considered irrelevant as generalizations are to be made in relation to theory as opposed to as of a larger population.

For multi-case studies, cross-case examination provides scope for the utilisation of 'sub-cases' for validation purposes to enhance the potential for analytical generalization of the results - and thus the contribution to knowledge of the study as a whole.325 _{Such an approach however relies on comparable cases to facilitate}

this process of cross examination, which in many instances is infeasible since the primary objective is to study a unique phenomenon, event, or entity within its ‘real world’ context. Often, the purpose of the case study, where the data obtained is unstructured and analysis qualitative, is to further understanding of the case itself, rather than generalize or abstract to a wider population.326

In analysing, and ultimately making sense of data from the case, it is necessary to consider, and ultimately adopt, an approach that allows for the development of inductive theory from observations. In this respect, the principals associated with grounded theory have been used historically in support of validating the case study method.327 _{Grounded theory establishes the ability to draw theory from the}

views and experiences of research participants and how they individually, and collectively interpret their respective 'worlds'.328 _{Grounded theory is widely}

accepted, and widely applied as a valid approach across social science research

324 _{Jacques Hamel, Stéphane Dufour, and Dominic Fortin, Case Study Methods (SAGE, 1993).} 325 _{Kathleen M. Eisenhardt, “Building Theories from Case Study Research,” Academy of}

Management Review 14, no. 4 (1989): 6–7, https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1989.4308385.

326 _{Roger Gomm, Martyn Hammersley, and Peter Foster, Case Study Method: Key Issues, Key}

Texts (London: Sage, 2000),

http://www.uk.sagepub.com/textbooksProdDesc.nav?prodId=Book208856.

327 _{Eisenhardt, “Building Theories from Case Study Research.”}

328 _{Barney G. Glaser and Anselm L. Strauss, The Discovery of Grounded Theory: Strategies for}

Qualitative Research, 1st ed. (Chicago: Aldine Transaction, 2000); Juliet Corbin and Anselm

Strauss, “Grounded Theory Research: Procedures, Canons and Evaluative Criteria,” Qualitative

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disciplines, particularly as they commonly deal with contemporary contexts.329

Specifically related to its application in case studies, the use of grounded theory is often referred to as 'theory-generated' case study. This particular description places emphasis on the idea of exploring and eliciting the theory behind a specific case in terms of what objectives are trying to be achieved, and understanding how, and evaluating if, it is being successful in meeting these objectives through an interpretative lens that enables the abstraction of theory of the case. 330

While the use of grounded theory is commonplace in qualitative studies, the approach is in reality more than capable of being used within the context of quantitative types of studies.331 _{Although the overarching principle of grounded}

theory, as the name suggests, is to facilitate the emergence of theory from data, Glaser states that, in practice, an essential part of case study development is the development of prior theory - in this case, we will refer to the concept of 'foreshadowed problems' - as defined by Smith and Pohland as a means of pre- emptively identifying likely areas of interest based upon initial engagement with the case, and those identified through existing literature.332

The case study approach has been supported by advocates of both deductive and inductive approaches. For example, Yin focuses very much on the definition, and subsequent testing, of hypothesis where Eisenhardt instead describes an approach that is more associated to theory generation.333 _{The approach being}

adopted for this particular study is more closely aligned to the latter, in pursuit of the development of a deeper more holistic understanding of a specific cultural system of action. This is supported by Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg's interpretation of

329 _{Gary Thomas and David James, “Reinventing Grounded Theory: Some Questions about}

Theory, Ground and Discovery,” British Educational Research Journal 32, no. 6 (2006): 767–95, https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920600989412.

330 _{Simons, Case Study Research in Practice.}

331 _{Barney G Glaser, Theoretical Sensitivity: Advances in the Methology of Grounded Theory, 1st}

ed. (The Sociology Press, 1978).

332 _{Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods; Louis M Smith and Paul a Pohland, “Education,}

Technology, and the Rural Highlands,” in Case Studies in Computer Aided Learning, ed. Robert L. Blomeyer and Dianne Martin (London: The Falmer Press, 1991), 13–52.

333 _{Eisenhardt, “Building Theories from Case Study Research”; Yin, Case Study Research: Design}

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the case study, as the close investigation of single instances of social phenomena provide opportunity to enhance empirical understanding.334 _{Primarily, the}

justification for utilising the case study approach over other qualitative methods comes from the desire to study the unique phenomena of a specific single case. Although many complementary, and sometimes conflicting definitions of case study exist, the approach is perhaps best summarised as that which allows a particular situation, phenomena or system to be studied within its 'real life' context, enabling understanding of its nuance and complexity. The case study provides an approach through which a particular subject, be it a project, policy, system, etc. can be explored in detail, from a range of perspectives and utilising a range of different evidence bases and research tools towards generating new knowledge to influence professional practice, policy or a specific action or strategy.335 _{Case studies are particularistic, descriptive, and heuristic, relying}

heavily on inductive reasoning in order to handle multiple data sources towards the development of an intensive, holistic description and analysis of a single entity, phenomenon or social unit.336

The reasoning and justification for singular case design as opposed to using a multi-case design comes from the selection of a case which provides "critical,

unusual, common, revelatory or longitudinal" rationale.337 _{Yin similarly theorises}

that the single case approach is analogous to a single, or critical experiment, which themselves deal with the five previously mentioned rationale. Lipset, Trow and Coleman suggest that "case studies, like experiments, are generalizable to theoretical propositions and not to populations or universes.” 338 _{The case study}

334 _{Joe R. Feagin, Anthony M. Orum, and Gideon Sjoberg, A Case for the Case Study, 1st ed.}

(University of North Caroline Press, 1991),

https://books.google.co.uk/books?hl=en&lr=&id=7A39B6ZLyJQC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=.+A+case +for+case+study&ots=H_8v2bomc9&sig=hHliWchqaswJ_mI9RFXqbs5_rzo.

335 _{Simons, Case Study Research in Practice.}

336 _{Sharan B. Merriam, Case Study Research in Education. A Qualitative Approach (Jossey-Bass Inc,}

1988).

337 _{Yin, Case Study Research: Design and Methods.}

338 _{Seymour M. Lipset, Martin A. Trow, and James S. Coleman, Union Democracy: The inside}

Politics of the International Typographical Union (The Free Press, 1956), 419–20,

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does not represent a sample, and in doing case study research the goal is to expand and generalize theories (analytic generalizations) and not to extrapolate probability. Furthermore, even early applications of the case study, such as Alison and Zelikow’s explanatory analysis of the events of the Cuban missile crisis, have demonstrated the utility of the single case as the basis for significantly generalizable outcomes.339

Figure 6 shows a high-level representation that visualises the differences between single and multi-case designs, and those with single and multiple units of analysis.

CONTEXT