Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1 Chapter 17: Case Study Research Objectives Define case study, and describe the characteristics of case study research. Describe the processes involved in designing and conducting a case study.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 2 Case Study Research Case study research is an all- encompassing method that includes specific design, data collection, and data analysis. Case study also refers to the product of the research. Case study research yields concrete knowledge that readers personally relate to their own experiences.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3 Case Study Research Case study research is a qualitative approach. Case study research focuses on a bounded system or unit of study. Case study research is not a methodological choice. It is a choice of what to study. Case study research is an all- encompassing research method.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 4 Case Study Research Case study research is appropriate when the researcher wants to answer a descriptive or an explanatory question. e.g., What challenges does a department face as they integrate instructional technology for blended learning?

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 5 Characteristics of Case Study Research Case studies focus on a particular phenomenon. Case studies include thick description of the case and include many variables and analyses of their interactions. Case studies provide new insights to the researcher and the participants. Case study approaches can vary by specific disciplines.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 6 Designing case study research Determine the research questions. Determining the questions is a critical step in case study research. Case study research questions address who, what, how, and why. Define the case under study. In this step the researcher defines the variables. The units of analyses for the case are also determined.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 7 Designing case study research Determine the role of theory development in case selection. This step includes making a decision about whether or not to use theory development in selecting cases. Determine the theoretical and conceptual framework of the case study. Both theories from literature and researchers’ personal theories influence case studies.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 8 Designing case study research Determine whether a single case study; a multiple case study; or a collective case study is appropriate. In case study research, the number of cases is not determined a priori. Increasing the number of cases does not correspond to increased rigor.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 9 Case Study Research Case study research generally employs purposive sampling. Cases are selected because they can provide information regarding the research problem. Screening is used to determine if a potential participant has the necessary experience and knowledge of the phenomenon under investigation.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 10 Case Study Research Screening steps Review documents about the proposed case study site. Conduct informal interviews with key participants. Determine if participants have the experience and knowledge to contribute to the case study.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 11 Case Study Research Case study researchers use the same data collection techniques as do other qualitative researchers. The data collection techniques are selected to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 12 Multiple case studies It is often common to find case study research that studies the same phenomenon at multiple sites (i.e., multicase, multisite, comparative case studies). Multiple cases improve external validity. Multiple cases allow for greater understanding of context considerations. Multiple case studies require cross-site analysis.

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 13 Multiple case studies Cross-site analysis strategies Unordered meta-matrix Master charts with descriptive data from each site ‘Master dog’ Site -ordered descriptive matrix Ordered meta-matrix based upon critical variable of interest

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 14 Multiple case studies Site-ordered predictor-outcome matrix Includes more explanation and interpretation Time-ordered meta-matrix Uses chronology as an organizing variable for a meta-matrix Scatterplots Visual displays of data from all the sites Based upon dimensions or themes

Educational Research: Competencies for Analysis and Application, 9 th edition. Gay, Mills, & Airasian © 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 15 Multiple case studies Site-ordered effects matrix Presents potential cause-effect relations Presents manifest functions, latent functions, unintended consequences Causal models Extends case study analysis Presents possible cause-effect relations among variables