A topic in research methodology
Case study involves detailed examination of a single case, one instance among many. This is often justified in terms of the complexity of a phenomenon required in-depth enquiry, and the (idiographic) assumption that all instances are somewhat unique and idiosyncratic, so need to be studied individually rather than treated collectively to find typical or average properties (i.e., what would be nomothetic enquiry).
Reports of case study should therefore reflect this by presenting ‘thick description’ – detailed accounts which allow the reader to appreciate the nature and context of the specific case. (The author always faces the interpretative researcher’s dilemma of presenting enough details whilst not overwhelming readers not familiar with the case, and working within journal word limits: see Pope & Denicolo, 1986).
The researcher has an extensive and intimate engagement with the case and so can collect detailed and nuanced information, often from a range of complementary sources. Reporting a ‘thick description’ allows readers to compare the context of the case with other contexts they may be familiar with, and so make judgements about the likely relevance of your findings to their own work.
As a case study cannot be generalised in the statistical sense (case study is selected because the individual properties of a case are important, so we cannot assume this case is the same as others!) However, offering thick description supports ‘reader generalisation’ – where as reader is sufficiently informed about the case to make judgements about the extent to which findings should inform action in other cases.
Source cited:
- Pope, M. L., & Denicolo, P. (1986). Intuitive theories – a researcher’s dilemma: some practical methodological implications. British Educational Research Journal, 12(2), 153-166.)
My introduction to educational research:
Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
