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Chapter Eleven: Case Research - Coggle Diagram
Chapter Eleven: Case Research
Case Research or Case Study:
a method of intensively studying a phenomenon over time within its natural setting in one or a few sites
Multiple methods of data collection may be used:
interviews, observations, pre-recorded documents, and secondary data
can be employed in a positivist manner for the purpose of theory testing or in an interpretive manner for theory building
more popular in business research than in other social science disciplines
Interpretive case research exemplar
Eisenhardt’s study of how executives make decisions in high-velocity environments
conducted an inductive study of eight firms in the personal computing industry
Inferences derived from this multiple case research contradicted several decision-making patterns expected from the existing literature
Positivist case research exemplar
Case research can also be used in a positivist manner to test theories or hypotheses. Such studies are rare
Markus study of technology implementation at the pseudonymous Golden Triangle Company
goal of this study was to understand why a newly implemented financial information system was supported by accountants but resisted by divisional accountants
Strengths
can be used for either theory building or theory testing
research questions can be modified during the research process if the original questions are found to be less relevant or salient
can help derive richer, more contextualised, and more authentic interpretation of the phenomenon of interest
phenomenon of interest can be studied from the perspectives of multiple participants and using multiple levels of analysis
Weaknesses
internal validity of inferences are weak
quality of inferences derived from case research depends on the integrative powers of the researcher
may be difficult to generalise inferences from case research to other contexts or other organizations
Problems Frequently Encountered in Case Research
many studies start without specific research questions, and end up without any specific answers or insightful inferences
case sites are often chosen based on convenience, and cannot adequately address the research questions of interest
researchers often do not validate or triangulate data collected, which may lead to biased interpretation based on responses from biased interviewees
many studies provide very little details on how data was collectedor analyzed, which may raise doubts about the reliability of the inferences
many studies do not follow through a phenomenon in a longitudinal manner, and present only a cross-sectional and limited view of phenomena
Key Decisions in Case Research
Is this the right method for the research questions being studied?
appropriate for exploratory studies, for studies where the experiences of participants and context of actions are critical, and for studies aimed at understanding complex, temporal processes
What is the appropriate unit of analysis for a case research study?
researcher must decide whether she wishes to study a phenomenon at the individual, group, or organisational level or at multiple levels
Should the researcher employ a single-case or multiple-case design?
single-case: appropriate for theory generation, if the situation is unique or extreme, if it is revelatory, or if it represents a critical or contrary case for testing a well-formulated theory
multiple-case: appropriate for theory testing, for establishing generalizability, and for developing richer interpretations of a phenomenon
What sites should be chosen for case research?
Site selection should not be opportunistic or based on convenience, but rather based on the fit with research questions
What techniques of data collection should be used in case research?
interview, direct observation, documentation, archival records, and physical artifacts;
researcher should triangulate or validate observed data by comparing responses between interviewees.
Conducting Case Research
Eisenhardt's roadmap for building theories from case research
Define Research Questions
Select Case Sites
Create Instruments and Protocols
Select Respondents
Start Data Collection
Conduct Within-Case Data Analysis
2 more items...
After each interview is completed, the entire interview should be transcribed verbatim into a text document for analysis
Select interview respondents at different organisational levels, departments, and positions to obtain divergent perspectives on the phenomenon of interest
interview protocol should be designed to guide the interview process; essentially a list of questions to be asked; may be open-ended or closed-ended or a combination of both
should use a process of ‘theoretical sampling’
Comparisons with traditional research
Positivist case research, aimed at hypotheses testing, is often criticised by natural science researchers as lacking in controlled observations, controlled deductions, replicability, and generalisability of findings
criticisms can be overcome through appropriate case research designs
Problem of Controlled Observations:
difficulty of obtaining experimental or statistical control in case research
researchers can compensate for such lack of controls by employing ’natural controls’
Problem of Controlled Deduction:
lack of adequate quantitative evidence to support inferences
controlled deductions can still be obtained generating behavioral predictions based on theoretical considerations and testing those predictions over time
Problem of Replicability:
difficulty of observing the same phenomenon considering the uniqueness and idiosyncrasy of a given case site
it is possible to replicate the inferences of case research, even if the case research site or context may not be replicable
case research tends to examine unique and non-replicable phenomena that may not be generalised to other settings
additional case studies conducted in different contexts with different predictions can establish generalizability of findings if such findings are observed to be consistent across studies
Karl Popper described four requirements of scientific theories: falsifiable, logically consistent, adequate predictive ability, and provide better explanation than rival theories.
the first three requirements can be improved by increasing the degrees of freedom of observed findings
fourth condition can be accomplished when one hypothesis is found to match observed evidence better than rival hypotheses