Case study

In the social sciences and life sciences, a case study is a research method involving an up-close,
in-depth, and detailed examination of a subject of study (the case), as well as its related
contextual conditions.

Case studies can be produced by following a formal research method. These case studies are
likely to appear in formal research venues, as journals and professional conferences, rather than
popular works. The resulting body of 'case study research' has long had a prominent place in
many disciplines and professions, ranging from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and
political science to education, clinical science, social work, and administrative science.[1][2]:5–
6

In doing case study research, the "case" being studied may be an individual, organization, event,
or action, existing in a specific time and place. For instance, clinical science has produced both
well-known case studies of individuals and also case studies of clinical practices.[3][4][5]
However, when "case" is used in an abstract sense, as in a claim, a proposition, or an argument,
such a case can be the subject of many research methods, not just case study research.

Another suggestion is that case study should be defined as a research strategy, an empirical
inquiry that investigates a phenomenon within its real-life context. Case study research can
mean single and multiple case studies, can include quantitative evidence, relies on multiple
sources of evidence, and benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions. Case
studies should not be confused with qualitative research and they can be based on any mix of
quantitative and qualitative evidence. Single-subject research provides the statistical framework
for making inferences from quantitative case-study data.[2][6]

Case studies may involve both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Different types of case study research methods

In business research, four common case study approaches are distinguished.[7][8] First, there is
the "no theory first" type of case study design, which is closely connected to Kathleen M.
Eisenhardt's methodological work.[7][9] The second type of research design is about "gaps and
holes", following Robert K. Yin's guidelines and making positivist assumptions.[7][2] A third
design deals with a "social construction of reality", represented by the work of Robert E.
Stake.[7][10] Finally, the reason for case study research can also be to identify "anomalies"; a
representative scholar of this approach is Michael Burawoy.[7][11] Each of these four
approaches has its areas of application, but it is important to understand their unique
ontological and epistomological assumptions. There are substantial methodological differences
between these approaches.

Case selection and structure

An average, or typical case, is often not the richest in information. In clarifying lines of history
and causation it is more useful to select subjects that offer an interesting, unusual or particularly
revealing set of circumstances. A case selection that is based on representativeness will seldom
be able to produce these kinds of insights. When selecting a case for a case study, researchers
will therefore use information-oriented sampling, as opposed to random sampling.[12] Outlier
cases (that is, those which are extreme, deviant or atypical) reveal more information than the
potentially representative case, as seen in cases selected for more qualitative safety scientific
analyses of accidents.[13][14] A case may be chosen because of the inherent interest of the case
or the circumstances surrounding it. Alternatively it may be chosen because of researchers' in-
depth local knowledge; where researchers have this local knowledge they are in a position to
"soak and poke" as Richard Fenno put it,[15] and thereby to offer reasoned lines of explanation
based on this rich knowledge of setting and circumstances.

Three types of cases may thus be distinguished for selection:

 Key cases
 Outlier cases
 Local knowledge cases

Whatever the frame of reference for the choice of the subject of the case study (key, outlier,
local knowledge), there is a distinction to be made between the subject and the object of the
case study. The subject is the "practical, historical unity" through which the theoretical focus of
the study is being viewed.[16] The object is that theoretical focus – the analytical frame. Thus,
for example, if a researcher were interested in US resistance to communist expansion as a
theoretical focus, then the Korean War might be taken to be the subject, the lens, the case study
through which the theoretical focus, the object, could be viewed and explicated.[17]

Beyond decisions about case selection and the subject and object of the study, decisions need
to be made about purpose, approach and process in the case study. Gary Thomas thus proposes
a typology for the case study wherein purposes are first identified (evaluative or exploratory),
then approaches are delineated (theory-testing, theory-building or illustrative), then processes
are decided upon, with a principal choice being between whether the study is to be single or
multiple, and choices also about whether the study is to be retrospective, snapshot or
diachronic, and whether it is nested, parallel or sequential.[18]

Types of case studies

In public-relations research, three types of case studies are used:[21]

1. Linear,
2. Process-oriented,
3. Grounded.

Under the more generalized category of case study exist several subdivisions, each of which is
custom selected for use depending upon the goals of the investigator. These types of case study
include the following:

Illustrative case studies. These are primarily descriptive studies. They typically utilize one or two
instances of an event to show the existing situation. Illustrative case studies serve primarily to
make the unfamiliar familiar and to give readers a common language about the topic in question.

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.

Cumulative case studies. These serve to aggregate information from several sites collected at
different times. The idea behind these studies is that the collection of past studies will allow for
greater generalization without additional cost or time being expended on new, possibly
repetitive studies.

Critical instance case studies. These examine one or more sites either for the purpose of
examining a situation of unique interest with little to no interest in generalization, or to call into
question a highly generalized or universal assertion. This method is useful for answering cause
and effect questions.

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