Case Study Research. Upon completion of this workshop the participants will be able to.

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as important now than ever

Peter Rawsthorne

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this workshop the

participants will be able to….

{describe what a case study is.

{identify the format and types of case studies.

{discuss the typology of case studies.

{compare and contrast existing case studies.

{identify the different sources of data.

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3

What is a

Case Study

?

z

Fry et al (1999) describe case studies as

complex examples which give an

insight into the context of a problem as

well as illustrating the main point.

z

What case study research have you found

MOST

useful? (as a researcher,

participant or reader). Please describe the

case study.

Case studies as research

z

Intrinsic

z

Instrumental

z

Collective

(Stake, 1994, 1995)

What would be the difference between

Intrinsic and Instrumental?

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5

z

Intrinsic

{Understand the particulars of a case.

z

Instrumental

{Understand something more general.

z

Collective

{Combine multiple cases into a single study.

Case studies as research

z

Intrinsic

z

Instrumental

z

Collective

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7

What’s missing?

z

Intrinsic

z

Instrumental

z

Collective

{Combine multiple cases into a single study.

z

Comparative

{Similar cases across different entities, countries or cultures.

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9 zIllustrative zExploratory zCritical Instance zProgram Implementation zProgram Effects zCumulative

Types of case studies

z

Illustrative Case Studies

{are descriptive; they utilize one or two instances to show what a situation is like. (Mann, 2006)

z

Exploratory Case Studies

{are condensed case studies, undertaken before a large-scale investigation. (Mann, 2006)

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11

z

Critical Instance Case Studies

{Examine one or a few sites for one or two purposes… the examination of a situation of unique interest, with little or no…

generalizability. (Mann, 2006)

{A rarer, application entails a highly generalized or universal assertion which is called into

question. (Mann, 2006)

The most serious pitfall in this application is inadequate specification of the evaluation question. (Mann, 2006)

Types of case studies

z

Program Implementation Case Studies

{help discern whether implementation is in compliance with its intent. (Mann, 2006)

z

Program Effects Case Studies

{Can determine the inpact of programs and

provide inferences about reasons for success or failure. (Mann, 2006)

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13

z

Cumulative Case Studies

{Aggregate information from several sites collected at different times. (Mann, 2006)

Opinions vary as to the credibility of cumulative case studies… publication biases, misleading positive view, verifying the quality of data… (Mann, 2006)

QUIZ:

z

Starting on the next slide, quickly look at

the picture on the left of the slide.

z

Reflect upon the six different types of case

studies.

z

Enter the type of case study the picture

best represents into the Direct Messaging

Window.

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15

zIllustrative zExploratory zCritical Instance zProgram Implementation zProgram Effects zCumulative

Types of case studies

zProgram

Implementation

zHas standardized testing met its goal?

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Types of case studies

zIllustrative

zTwo different views of the same thing.

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19

zCumulative

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zCritical Instance

zExamination of a situation of unique interest.

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23

Types of case studies

zExploratory

zThe beginnings of a large scale (life-long) investigation?

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25

Which one

did I miss?

Some types are missing!

z

Prospective case studies

z

Narrative case studies

z

Specialized case studies

{Continuing Medical Education (CME)

{Continuing Legal Education (CLE)

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27

Typology of Case Studies

z

Snapshot case studies

z

Longitudinal case studies

z

Pre-post case studies

z

Patchwork case studies

z

Comparative case studies

Multi-design approach (patchwork) and multi-observers highlight the increase of reliability when tools and approaches are combined.

Evidence

z

Artifacts and Documentation

{Plethora of items

z

Data

{Archival, Interview & Direct Observation

z

Participant Observer

But it wasn't just blogging. Creating an online community became a snap with tools such as Plone and Drupal... wiki

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z Quantitative (Chptr 6.)

{Intrinsic case study

{Design included a participant observer with open discussion {Attempts and verbalizations were analyzed / codified z Qualitative (Chptr 7.) { Methodological framework, qualitative techniques and the participant observer { Phase Theory 1.Lesson enhancement 2.Online resources 3.Online environment { Data Collection { Data Analysis { Credibility { Limitations

Quantitative vs. Qualitative

z Intrinsic case studies

z Instrumental case studies

z Collective case studies

z Illustrative case studies

z Exploratory case studies

z Critical Instance case studies

z Program Implementation case studies

z Program Effects case studies

z Cumulative case studies

z Prospective case studies

z Narrative case studies

z Specialized case studies

z Snapshot case studies

z Longitudinal case studies

z Pre-post case studies

z Patchwork case studies

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Rolling your own… case study.

z

Define research questions

z

Select case(s)

z

Determine data gathering and analysis

techniques

z

Prepare to collect data

z

Collect the data

z

Evaluate and analyze

z

Prepare the report

Things to consider…

z Circumstances;

{Possible disruptions

{Access to people and places

{Data ownership and release

z Consequences;

{Anonymizing of the research

z The actual case study;

{Primary and secondary sources

{Opportunities to check data

{Triangulation

{Data collection methods

zInterviews, observation, narrative, documents, diaries, etc

{Data analysis

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33

z

plethora of approaches

z

ease of application / execution

z

size and needs of potential audience

z

in relation to Web 2.0

z

growing number of data sources

z

as a socio-contructivist activity

z

ability to be applied across disciplines

References

Case Study. (2007, February 8). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 10, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Case_study

Cohen L., Manion L., & Morrison K. (2000). Research Methods in Education (5th Ed.).New York, NY: Routledge / Falmer

Comparative research. (2007, January 20). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 10, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparative_research

Davis, C., & Wilcock, E. (2006). Teaching Materials Using Case Studies. Retrieved February 5, 2007, from http://www.materials.ac.uk/guides/casestudies.asp

Downes, S. (2005). E-learning 2.0. Retrieved on February 7, 2007 from

http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=articles&article=29-1

Fry, H., Ketteridge, S., & Marshall S. (1999). A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, Kogan Page, Glasgow, pp408

Hansmann, S. (2006). Qualitative Case Method and Web-based learning. Styles Book, Chapter 7.

Lazinger, S., Bar-Ilan, J., & Peritz, B. (1997). Internet use by faculty members in various disciplines: A comparative case study. Journal of the American Society for Information Science. 48(6), 508-518.