Intrinsic case studies

A case study is an enquiry into one specific instance among many. Sometimes the case is selected because it is the specific case we wish to know about. There is something special about that case that makes it worth investigating. Such cases are described as intrinsic cases.

“The case is given...we need to learn about that particular case” (Stake, 1995: p.3)

Stake, R. E. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.

A case may be intrinsically interesting because it is special and unusual among others - and so we wish to investigate it because of its special nature.

“Sometimes … (intrinsic) cases may be selected because they have been identified as special in some sense, and the researchers want to see if they can find out why: for example why one teacher gets especially impressive learning outcomes.”

“Taber, K. S. (2014). Methodological issues in science education research: a perspective from the philosophy of science. In M. R. Matthews (Ed.), International Handbook of Research in History, Philosophy and Science Teaching (Vol. 3, pp. 1839-1893). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands.”

Alternatively, a case may be inherently interesting to us (but perhaps less so to our readers), because it the case which relates to our own practice or experience. That is, the case may be inevitable because we are undertaking primarily context-directed research (rather than theory-directed research)

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