Written by Victor Jupp in The Sage Dictionary of Social Research Methods.2006. London: SAGE Publications Ltd. pp 20-21.
I. Definition
An approach that uses in-depth investigation of one or more examples of a current social phenomenon, utilizing a variety of sources of data. A ‘case’ can be an individual person, an event, or a social activity, group, organization or institution.
II. Distinctive Features
A major feature of the case study, according to Hakim (2000), is its flexibility. It can range from a simple narrative description to a very rigorous study achieving experimental isolation by the selection of cases on the basis of the presence or absence of key factors rather than the use of random assignment.
A case study can involve
1. a single case (for example, a community study or a sociobiography’ of a member of a deviant subculture)
2. a number (possibly quite large) of cases (for example, in the analysis of the conflict behaviour of different types of work groups).
According to Yin (1984), the main thrust of a case study can be as follows:
1. Exploratory case
Exploratory case studies may provide initial analysis of a phenomenon that will then be systematically explored in other studies,possibly by the use of another approach, such as a sample survey. Or they may follow on from survey work to provide a more detailed account of particular findings.
2. Descriptive study
A descriptive study will attempt to provide a full portrayal of the case or cases being studied.
3. Explanatory case
An explanatory case study will attempt to provide an account of what caused a particular phenomenon observed in the study.
Case studies have a key place in policy research. They are frequently undertaken to provide examples of good practice in the delivery of a specific policy or programme, or they may be undertaken as part of an evaluation project, providing examples of the impact of a policy. In these, and other instances, a key factor affecting the success of the study will be the criteria for selection of the cases to be studied.
For the results to be persuasive they will normally need to be based on cases that provide a report of the operation of the policy in a range of settings. There may, however, be occasion to test the policy in a ‘critical-case’ setting, which presents the most difficult circumstances for it to succeed.
III. Evaluation
The main criticism of the case study method is that in most circumstances the individual cases are not sufficiently representative to permit generalization to other situations. Efforts to overcome this perceived weakness include increasing the number of cases so as to improve their representativeness, and provide for comparative analysis within the case study (Bryman, 1988). But, as Yin (1984) argues, this issue affects other methods as well. How is it possible to generalize from an individual experiment?
In both instances the generalization involves the statement of a theoretical proposition, which in turn will be tested through the use of further case studies and other methods. This, for example, is often the use of case studies in the study of organizations,where organizational theory has been developed on the basis of one or a small number of cases. The depth and rigour of the analysis will be the crucial issue here. Where negative or critical cases are used to test and develop theories, the term analytic induction is sometimes used.
As was noted above, case studies are frequently exploratory in nature and are linked with other methods. In these instances the case study may be viewed less as a vehicle for generalization than as a form of pilot study. Also, in policy research it may be not necessary to have numerous cases in order to identify
the negative impact of a phenomenon, policy or programme. The main factor here will be whether the criteria for the selection of the case or cases will provide a robust test.
Reference
Bryman, A. 1988. Quantity and Quality in Social Research. London: Unwin Hyman.
Hakim, C. 2000. Research Design. London:Routledge.
Yin, Robert K. 1984. Case Study Research:Design and Methods. Beverly Hills, CA:Sage.
