Qualitative Case Study: Definitions

1
Qualitative Case Study Definitions

• Case study is the study of the particularity and
  complexity of a single case, coming to understand
  its activity within important circumstances
  (Stake, 1995, p. xi).
• Case study research is the in-depth study of
  instances of a phenomenon in its natural context
  and from the perspective of the participants
  involved in the phenomenon (Gall, Gall, Borg,
  2005).
• Case study is a setting or group that the
  analyst treats as an integrated social unit that
  must be studied holistically and in its
  particularity (Schutt, 2006, p. 293).

2
Case Study vs. Ethnography

• Similarity focus on a case or cases in-depth
  study natural context emic and etic
  perspectives
• Differences (Gall et al., 2005)

3
Case Study Advantages

• Gain a holistic understanding of real-life events
• Seek uniqueness and commonality
• Refine and develop theories
• Generate new insights
• Allow for readers decision-making
• Reflect on human experience
• Suggest a step to action

4
Case Study Limitations

• Concerns about generalizability
• Use of "abnormal" cases
• Issues connected with thick description and
  triangulation
• Objectivity versus subjectivity
• The data-driven rather than theory-driven
  approach
• Attrition
• Constraints on quantitative analysis of
  small-sample data,
• Ethics in protecting the privacy of participants
• (Duff, 2008)

5
Qualitative Case Study Data analysis

• Interpretational analysis involves a systematic
  set of procedures to code and classify
  qualitative data to ensure that the important
  constructs, themes, and patterns emerge.
• Structural analysis Structural analysis involves
  a precise set of procedures for analyzing
  qualitative data that do not need to be inferred
  from the data but are inherent features of the
  discourse, text, or events that the researchers
  are studying.
• Reflective analysis Reflective analysis refers to
  a process in which qualitative researchers rely
  mainly on their own intuition and personal
  judgment to analyze the data that have been
  collected it can also involve critical
  appreciation.
• (Gall et al., 2005)

6
How does case study inform my research?

• Case study informs my research in terms of
• Nature of my study real-life context
  exploratory and descriptive
• Research methods interview and observation
• Sampling strategy convenience sampling
• Data analysis interpretational and reflective
• Report of findings emic and etic perspetives
• Expected outcomes extract commonality and
  uniqueness, transferability to some extent

7
My Current Questions Regarding the Methodology

• Should I study my participants as a single case
  or multiple cases? That is to say, should the
  unit of analysis be the group of immigrant
  Chinese teachers or individual teachers in my
  research?
• Do I need to conduct a cross-case analysis?

8
References

• Cohen, L., Manion, L. (1994). Research methods
  in education. USA Routledge.
• Duff, P. (2008). Case study research in applied
  linguistics. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Gall, J. P., Gall, M. D., Borg, W. R. (Eds.).
  (2005). Applying educational research A
  practical guide. USA Pearson Education, Inc.
• McMillan, J. H., Schumacher, S. (2006).
  Research in education Evidence-based inquiry.
  USA Pearson Education, Inc.
• Schutt, R. K. (2006). Investigating the social
  world The process and practice of research.
  London Sage Publications.
• Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study
  research. Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications.
• Stake, R. E. (2000). Case studies. In N. K.
  Denzin Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), The handbook of
  qualitative research (pp. 435-452). London Sage
  Publications.
• Yin, P. K. (2003). Case study research (3rd ed.).
  Thousand Oaks, CA Sage Publications.