INTRODUCTION
Case study is an ideal methodology
when a holistic, in-depth investigation is needed. Case studies have been used
in varied investigations, particularly in sociological studies, but
increasingly, in instruction. Yin, Stake, and others who have wide experience
in this methodology have developed robust procedures. When these procedures are
followed, the researcher will be following methods as well developed and tested
as any in the scientific field. Whether the study is experimental or
quasi-experimental, the data collection and analysis methods are known to hide
some details. Case studies, on the other hand, are designed to bring out the
details from the viewpoint of the participants by using multiple sources of
data.
Yin has identified some specific
types of case studies: Exploratory, Explanatory, and Descriptive. Stake included
three others: Intrinsic - when the researcher has an interest
in the case; Instrumental - when the case is used to understand
more than what is obvious to the observer; Collective - when a group of cases is studied.
Exploratory cases are sometimes considered as a prelude to social research.
Explanatory case studies may be used for doing causal investigations.
Descriptive cases require a descriptive theory to be developed before starting
the project. Pyecha used this
methodology in a special education study, using a pattern-matching procedure.
In all of the above types of case studies, there can be single-case or
multiple-case applications
DISCUSSION
A.
Definition
of Case Study
Case
study refers to the collection and presentation of detailed information about a
particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of
subjects themselves. A form of qualitative descriptive research, the case study
looks intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions
only about that participant or group and only in that specific context.
Researchers do not focus on the discovery of a universal, generalizable truth,
nor do they typically look for cause-effect relationships; instead, emphasis is
placed on exploration and description.
B.
Types of Case Study
1. Illustrative
Case Studies
These are primarily
descriptive studies. They typically utilize one or two instances of an event to
show what a situation is like. Illustrative case studies serve primarily to
make the unfamiliar familiar and to give readers a common language about the
topic in question.
2.
Exploratory (or pilot) Case Studies
These are condensed
case studies performed before implementing a large scale investigation. Their
basic function is to help identify questions and select types of measurement
prior to the main investigation. The primary pitfall of this type of study is
that initial findings may seem convincing enough to be released prematurely as
conclusions.
3.
Cumulative Case Studies
These serve to
aggregate information from several sites collected at different times. The idea
behind these studies is the collection of past studies will allow for greater
generalization without additional cost or time being expended on new, possibly
repetitive studies.
4.
Critical Instance Case Studies
These examine one or
more sites for either the purpose of examining a situation of unique interest
with little to no interest in generalizability, or to call into question or
challenge a highly generalized or universal assertion. This method is useful for
answering cause and effect questions.
C.
Method of
Case Study
To obtain as
complete a picture of the participant as possible, case study researchers can
employ a variety of methods. Some common methods include interviews, protocol analyses, field
studies, and participant-observations. Emig chose to use several methods of
data collection. Her sources included conversations with the students, protocol
analysis, discrete observations of actual composition, writing samples from
each student, and school records.
Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman
collected data by observing classrooms, conducting faculty and student
interviews, collecting self reports from the subject, and by looking at the
subject's written work.
A study that was
criticized for using a single method model was done by Flower and Hayes. In
this study that explores the ways in which writers use different forms of
knowing to create space, the authors used only protocol analysis to gather
data. The study came under heavy fire because of their decision to use only one
method, and it was, at least according to some researchers, an unreliable
method at that.
D.
Participant Selection
Case studies can use one participant, or a small group of participants.
However, it is important that the participant pool remain relatively small. The
participants can represent a diverse cross section of society, but this isn't
necessary.
For example, the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman study looked at just
one participant, Nate. By contrast, in Janet Emig's study of the composition
process of twelfth graders, eight participants were selected representing a
diverse cross section of the community, with volunteers from an all-white
upper-middle-class suburban school, an all-black inner-city school, a racially
mixed lower-middle-class school, an economically and racially mixed school, and
a university school.
Often, a brief "case history" is done on the participants of the
study in order to provide researchers with a clearer understanding of their
participants, as well as some insight as to how their own personal histories
might affect the outcome of the study. For instance, in Emig's study, the
investigator had access to the school records of five of the participants, and
to standardized test scores for the remaining three. Also made available to the
researcher was the information that three of the eight students were selected
as NCTE Achievement Award winners. These personal histories can be useful in
later stages of the study when data are being analyzed and conclusions drawn.
E.
Data Collection
There are six types of data collected in case studies:
- Documents.
- Archival records.
- Interviews.
- Direct observation.
- Participant observation.
- Artifacts.
In the field of composition research, these six sources might be:
- A writer's drafts.
- School records of student writers.
- Transcripts of interviews with a writer.
- Transcripts of conversations between writers (and
protocols).
- Videotapes and notes from direct field
observations.
- Hard copies of a writer's work on computer.
F.
Data
Analysis
As the information is collected, researchers strive to make sense of their
data. Generally, researchers interpret their data in one of two ways:
holistically or through coding. Holistic analysis does not attempt to break the
evidence into parts, but rather to draw conclusions based on the text as a
whole. Flower and Hayes, for example, make inferences from entire sections of
their students' protocols, rather than searching through the transcripts to
look for isolatable characteristics.
However, composition researchers commonly interpret their data by coding,
that is by systematically searching data to identify and/or categorize specific
observable actions or characteristics. These observable actions then become the
key variables in the study. Sharan Merriam suggests seven analytic frameworks for the
organization and presentation of data:
- The role of participants.
- The network analysis of formal and informal
exchanges among groups.
- Historical.
- Thematical.
- Resources.
- Ritual and symbolism.
- Critical incidents that challenge or reinforce
fundamental beliefs, practices, and values.
G.
Composing
The Case of Case Study
In the many forms it can take, "a case study is generically a story;
it presents the concrete narrative detail of actual, or at least realistic
events, it has a plot, exposition, characters, and sometimes even
dialogue". Generally, case study reports are extensively descriptive, with
"the most problematic issue often referred to as being the determination
of the right combination of description and analysis" .
Sharan Merriam offers
several suggestions for alternative presentations of data:
- Prepare specialized condensations for appropriate
groups.
- Replace narrative sections with a series of
answers to open-ended questions.
- Present "skimmer's" summaries at
beginning of each section.
- Incorporate headlines that encapsulate
information from text.
- Prepare analytic summaries with supporting data
appendixes.
- Present data in colorful and/or unique graphic
representations.
H. Issues of Validity and Reliability
Once key variables have been
identified, they can be analyzed. Reliability becomes a key concern at this
stage, and many case study researchers go to great lengths to ensure that their
interpretations of the data will be both reliable and valid. Because issues of
validity and reliability are an important part of any study in the social
sciences, it is important to identify some ways of dealing with results.
Multi-modal case study researchers
often balance the results of their coding with data from interviews or writer's
reflections upon their own work. Consequently, the researchers' conclusions
become highly contextualized. For example, in a case study which looked at the
time spent in different stages of the writing process, Berkenkotter concluded
that her participant, Donald Murray, spent more time planning his essays than
in other writing stages. The report of this case study is followed by Murray's
reply, wherein he agrees with some of Berkenkotter's conclusions and disagrees
with others. As is the case with other research methodologies, issues of
external validity, construct validity, and reliability need to be carefully
considered.
CONCLUSION
The case study
methodology has been subjected to scrutiny and criticism at various times since
the 1930's. As a research tool, it has not been a choice that is listed in the
major research texts in the social sciences. However, as this researcher has
shown in this article and in the preceding article in this journal, case study
is a reliable methodology when executed with due care. The literature, while
not extensive, contains specific guidelines for researchers to follow in
carrying out case studies. Yin and Stake have designed protocols for conducting
the case study, which enhance the reliability and validity of the
investigation.
The current study
followed the design used by Levy in
his case study of the impacts of information technology at the University of
Arizona. The survey instruments used by Levy
were modified for use at Fairfield University. The modifications included
replacing "Fairfield University" for references to the
"University of Arizona", deleting environmental references not
appropriate for Fairfield University, and adding items to the instruments for
the purpose of gathering data on the client/server computing, the Internet, and
the World Wide Web.
REFERENCES
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/page.cfm?pageid=1297
http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/page.cfm?pageid=1299
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-3/tellis2.html
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