Educational Research:

The Case Study Methodology

EDU 8677
Educational Research
Richard M. Jacobs, OSA, Ph.D.
Qualitative research...

 Commonly called “interpretive

research”
…its methods rely heavily on “thick”
verbal descriptions of a particular
social context being studied
 Is useful for describing or answering
questions about particular, localized
occurrences or contexts and the perspectives
of a participant group toward events, beliefs,
or practices

…a helpful process for exploring a

complex research area about which
little is known
 Illuminates the “invisibility of everyday life”

…by making the familiar strange, more

examined, and better understood
Qualitative methods...

 historical research  grounded theory

 ethnography  phenomenology
 case study  symbolic interaction
 ethology  action research
 ethnomethodology
 case study
…examines the characteristics of a
particular entity, phenomenon, or
person
Generally speaking, qualitative
researchers….
…spend a great deal of time in the
settings being studied (fieldwork)
fieldwork
…rely on themselves as the main
instrument of data collection
(subjectivity;
subjectivity intersubjectivity)
intersubjectivity
…analyze data using interpretative lenses
…employ expressive language and voice
in descriptions and explanations
…seek depth of perspective through
ongoing analysis (i.e., “waves of data”)
…judged in terms of believability,
trustworthiness, coherence, and the
logic underlying researcher’s
interpretations
The general characteristics of
qualitative research...

 Data sources are real-world situations

 Data are descriptive

 Emphasizes a holistic approach

(processes and outcomes)

 Data analysis is inductive

 Describes the meaning(s) of research

finding(s) from the perspective of the

research participants
Uses inductive reasoning…
reasoning
…involves developing generalizations
from a limited number of specific
observations or experiences
…highly dependent on the number and
representativeness of the specific
observations used to make the
generalization
• Issues in qualitative research...

a. gaining entry
b. contacting potential research
participants
c. selecting participants
d. enhancing validity and reducing
bias
e. leaving the field
a. gaining entry...

 access is very much dependent upon

the researcher’s personal characteristics
and how others perceive the researcher
 may require considerable negotiation
and compromise with a gatekeeper
 trust is earned, not given
b. contacting participants...

 gaining access
 dealing with gatekeeper(s)
 issues of building trust and
ensuring confidentiality and
anonymity
c. selecting participants...

 the goal is to get the deepest

possible understanding of the
setting being studied
 requires identifying participants
who can provide information about
the particular topic and setting
being studied
 is fraught with difficulties in
identifying and selecting an
appropriate number of participants
who can provide useful information
about the particular topic and setting
being studied
 utilizes purposive sampling
 two general guidelines: the number of
participants is sufficient when…
…the extent to which the selected
participants represent the range of
potential participants in the setting
…the point at which the data
gathered begins to be redundant
(“data saturation”)
saturation
The threats to validity in qualitative
studies...

observer bias…
bias
…invalid information resulting from the
perspective the researcher brings to
the study and imposes upon it
observer effects…
effects
…the impact of the observer’s
participation on the setting or the
participants being studied
d. strategies to enhance validity and
to reduce bias...

 extend the time for observing the

setting
 include more participants to make
the study more representative
 focus upon building participant trust
in order to access more detailed and
honest data
 identify biases and preferences,
seek them out by asking others
 work with another researcher and
compare field notes and impressions
from independent observations
 after observations are completed,
offer participants an opportunity to
validate accuracy of the verbatims
 journalize one’s own reflections,
concerns, and uncertainties during
the study and refer to them when
examining the data
 carefully examine unusual or
contradictory results for
explanations (“outliers”)
outliers
 utilize a variety of data sources to
confirm one another to corroborate
participant information
(“triangulation”)
triangulation
e. leaving the field…

 The question is when and how to

exit
…the bonds formed with study
participants complicate leaving
the setting
…time constraints
…when the amount of accessible
data is sufficient
The basic steps of qualitative
research...

1. Write a tentative research proposal

2. Intensive participation in a field
setting
3. Collect detailed data from field
activities
4. Synthesize and interpret the meanings
of the field data
5. Write the research report
1. The qualitative research proposal...

 defines area of study

 identifies setting or context of study
 specifies the kinds of data to be
collected
 describes methods to be used
 provides the researcher’s rationale
for undertaking the study
 identifies the study’s potential
contribution(s)
2. Intensive participation in a field
setting...

 participation: as a participant
(“participant observer”)
observer or
nonparticipant
 approach to participation: overt or
covert
 requires experiencing the situation
from the perspective of both an
observer and a participant
3. Collecting and analyzing data...

 primary tools include observations

and interviews but can also include
personal and official documents,
photographs, recordings, drawings,
emails, and informal conversations
 multiple data sources are normative
 the researcher records descriptive
as well as reflective notes about
what one has seen, heard,
experienced, and thought about a
during an observation session
 regarding field notes…
notes
…put aside assumptions,
experience context first
…see phenomena through
participants’ perspective
…write up notes immediately
following an observation
…detail is critical: include date,
site, time, and topic on every set
of field notes; leave wide margins
for writing impressions; use only
one side of a page of paper; draw
diagram of site (if necessary)
…list key words first, then outline
one’s observations
…keep the descriptive and reflective
sections separate
…use memos to record hunches,
questions, and insights after each
observation
…number the lines or paragraphs
for easy access
 regarding interviews…
interviews
…the purpose is to explore and to
probe the interviewee’s responses
in order to gather in-depth data
…the interviewer inquires into the
interviewees’ attitudes, interests,
feelings, concerns, and values as
these relate to the context being
studied
…meaning is jointly constructed
between the interviewer and the
interviewee; meaning is not just a
construction on the part of the
interviewee
…be alert for openings in responses
to probe more deeply, starting
with mundane questions and
gradually easing into more
sensitive and more complex
questions
…interview data collection
techniques include taking notes
during the interview, writing notes
after the interview, or tape
recording and transcribing the
interview (the transcript is a
“verbatim”)
verbatim
Interview do’s and don’ts...

 Do listen more and talk less

 Do follow up on what is not clear and
probe more deeply into what is
revealed
 Don’t use leading questions; do use
open-ended questions (“probes”)
probes
 Don’t interrupt; do wait
 Do keep interviewee(s) focused
 Do ask for concrete details
 Do tolerate silence and space between
interviewee’s responses; do allow the
interviewee time to think
 Don’t be judgmental about or react to
an interviewee’s opinions, views, or
beliefs
 Don’t engage in debate with an
interviewee
 Do record everything the interviewee
says and note impressions of
interviewee’s nonverbal behavior
4. Synthesis and interpretation of the
meanings of field data...

 a formidable task because data are

thick and deep as well as voluminous
and unorganized (“field notes”)
notes
 involves a systematic and iterative
process of searching, categorizing,
and integrating data (“managing
data”)
data
 understanding emerges as data are
integrated
Analyzing field data…

data pieces

data categories

data patterns
• four-step iterative process of data
management...

a. reading and memoing to become

familiar with data and to identify
main themes
b. examining data to develop detailed
descriptions of the setting,
participants, and activities
c. classifying the data, including
categorization, coding, and
grouping into thematic units
d. interpreting and synthesizing the
organized data into general
conclusions or understandings
 Involves working with field notes…
…deconstructing data into pieces
…reconstructing the data pieces
into categories
…identifying patterns for
understanding, synthesis, and
interpretation
• Criteria suitable for qualitative data
analysis...

a. credibility or plausibility
b. transferability
c. including a methods section
 credibility or plausibility
…to demonstrate that the study was
conducted in such a manner as to
ensure that the subject was
accurately identified and described
 transferability
…to demonstrate that the results of
the study are generalizable to
others in the original research
context or to contexts beyond the
original study
 including a methods section
…to provide an in-depth description
of the processes and methods
used in the study
• Strategies for analyzing qualitative
data...

a. constant comparison method

b. negative case and discrepant data
methods
c. analytic induction
 constant comparison method
…compares new evidence to prior
evidence to identify similarities
and differences between
observations
 negative case and discrepant data
methods
…the search for contradictory,
variant, or disconfirming data
within the body of data collected
that provides an alternative
perspective on an emerging
category or pattern
 analytic induction
…a process concerned with
developing and testing a theory in
order to generalize a study’s
findings
5. Writing the research report...
 provide a setting where the data
were collected
 identify characters who provide
information
 describe the social action in which
the characters are engaged
 offers an interpretation of what
the social action means to the
characters
 offers an interpretation of what the
social action means to the characters
 follow all APA Publication Manual
guidelines