1. Case Study Research: A Primer Mark Widdowson, TSTA (P) University of Leicester

2. Workshop Outline  Why case study research?

3. Why are case studies important?  We work with ‘cases’.  The case represents the most fundamental, basic unit of analysis  Case studies provide rich, contextualised, practice-relevant information  Captures complexity (multiple methods)  Tells a story, shows process unfolding over time

4. Why is case study research so important to TA?  Case study research represents perhaps the single most promising and accessible research method open to the TA community  As an approach it draws upon skills we already have  The accounting for context and unique features are congruent with TA philosophy  The methodological philosophy is congruent with TA philosophy, theory and practice

5. More reasons…  Case study research is efficient  Ease of replication  Sensitive to individual differences  Can be compared to other cases  Can be used to investigate both process and outcome- even within the same study

6. What can we discover from case study research? What are your thoughts?

7. Aims of Case Study Research (McLeod, 2010)  Outcome questions: How effective has therapy been in this case?  Theory-building questions: How can the process of therapy in this case be understood in theoretical terms? How can the data in this case be used to test and refine  Pragmatic questions: What strategies did the therapist use in this case, that contributed to the eventual outcome? What are the principles of good practice that can be derived from this case?  Experiential or narrative questions: What was it like to be the client or therapist in this case? What is the story of what happened, from the client or therapist point of view?

8. Pragmatism- A philosophy for case study research  Pragmatism synthesises positivism and constructivism  Sees both quantitative & qualitative approaches as having something to offer  Truth is seen as an evolving process of ‘what is most true at this time’  Statements evaluated on their usefulness and applicability

9. Methodological Issues: Generalisability  Good research enables us to generalise the findings to other cases  The contextual information contained in the case study enable very specific generalisations to be made:  ‘‘What treatment, by whom, is most effective for this individual, with that specific problem, and under which set of circumstances?’’ (Paul, 1967: 111)

10. Generalisability II  By combining multiple cases, each replication builds up an incremental degree of confidence in the approach tested and also highlights exceptions to its effectiveness, thus enhancing generalisability

11. Methodological Issues: Focus of Case Study Research  ‘case study research is usually interested in a specific phenomenon and wishes to understand it completely, not by controlling variables but rather by observing all of the variables and their interacting relationships’ (Dooley, 2002: 336)  Generally has high external validity but low internal validity

12. Methodological Issues: validity  ‘Trustworthiness’:  credibility (parallel to internal validity- related to internal consistency);  Transferability (parallel to external validity/ generalisability);  Dependability (parallel to reliability- consistency of analysis method);  Confirmability (parallel to objectivity- do the findings represent the phenomena?).

13. Pragmatic perspective on validity:  Pragmatism holds that an understanding of the context of knowledge is essential to making sense of, and using that knowledge- what is ‘true’ in one context does not necessarily mean it is ‘true’ in all.  Truth is considered to be the explanation or theory that is most true at this present time, as opposed to being a fixed truth  Scientific statements are evaluated on their usefulness and applicability

14. Transferability and legitimation  Legitimation : combination of validity and quality checking using criteria from both quantitative and qualitative approaches  Legitimation: is the theory which emerges practical and transferable?  Specific aspects which can be transferred are named and identified as within a particular context  Onwuegbuzie and Johnson (2006)

15. Ethics in case study research  Three main issues:  Confidentiality  Informed consent  Avoidance of harm or exploitation/ client protection

16. Types of Case Study Research  Outcome/ Efficacy Case Studies (e.g. HSCED)  Pragmatic Case Studies  Qualitative Case Studies  Theory-Building Case Studies  Narrative Case Studies

17. Hermeneutic Single-Case Efficacy Design  A Quasi-Legal method of case study analysis  Rich case record compiled  Case analysed and ‘affirmative’ and ‘sceptic’ arguments are developed  The rich case record and affirmative and sceptic arguments are sent to independent judges for adjudication

18. What data should I collect?  Quantitative Minimum of:  2 outcome measures (e.g. CORE, BDI-II, PHQ-9, GAD-7)  1 process measure (e.g. HAT, SEQ, WAI, SRS)  Qualitative data:  For example client interview, client open- ended feedback forms

19. Guidelines for enhancing Case Study Research  Why this case? What is significant about it?  Compile a detailed case record. Tell the story. Provide the context  Use multiple tools  Use a team-based data analysis approach  Make a ‘good-faith’ attempt to examine alternative explanations

20.  Use a member checking procedure- ask the client to comment  What are the theoretical and practice implications of the case? How does the case link to existing theory/ research  How have the ethical aspects of the case study been addressed?  Researcher reflexivity  Account for the limitations of the case