A topic in research methodology
Case study in a common methodology used in educational research. Case study is usually considered a naturalistic form of research.
We enquire into an aspect of teaching and learning as it occurs in the usual classroom context. For example the case study is often of a real teacher working in their own school with their own class, as part of the normal timetable or other school activity.
"Case study work is naturalistic in three senses:
Kemmis, 1980, p.107
(1) It is as much a search for phenomena in the social world as it is an attempt to develop coherent theories about given social phenomena.
(2) It is a quest to articulate the (social) world by creating descriptions of particular (social) contexts.
(3) The 'objects' of case study work are 'given' situations. What is 'given' is a particular issue arising in a particular social situation or social context…In general, the case study worker cannot 'create' the situation he is to observe, nor can he artificially simplify it by manipulation of its context. He must study the situation as a whole."
According to Hamilton (1980: 78), case study "claims to be naturalistic and builds upon the analysis of real-life situations…rejects the technology of manipulation (i.e. randomisation, matching and replication) that is the defining attribute of experimental social research".
Research always involves some level of intervention in a context,
"The interventions of naturalistic research go beyond the theory-and value-ladenness of observation, however. Case study rarely proceeds by observation in the sense of merely watching: observation also entails such interventions as interviewing, recording and participation (which may amount to manipulation of conditions within the situation), let alone data analysis, interpretation, and selection of participants to observe or interview. In these respects case study (and naturalistic research in general) resembles other forms of research as interventive, not passive."
Kemmis, 1980: 109
But, the researchers do not seek to intervene in the situation in order to make a deliberate change.
Can studies of innovations be naturalistic?
The case study may be of an innovation, where that innovation is introduced by the teacher as part of the normal process of trying out new approaches in teaching. Case study is meant to be naturalistic – whereas innovation sounds like an intervention. But some interventions in practice can be considered the focus of naturalistic enquiry where the intervention is part of a natural process of change and development (i..e, internal to the situation), and not imposed externally by the researchers to test their ideas.
It is important to study such innovations, so these may be an important focus for researchers. When a teacher changes the way they do something to try and solve a problem, or simply to find a better way to work, that is a 'natural' part of professional practice. So, the research is about something that is naturally occurring in the classroom context, rather than an intervention imported into the context in order to answer an external researcher's questions.
This can even be so if the teacher is also the researcher:
If a teacher-researcher (as researcher) wishes to enquire into an innovation introduced by the teacher-researcher (as teacher) then this can be considered as naturalistic enquiry.
For example:
- Prelab activities are introduced to improve an undergrduate chemistry course, and a case study is carried out to see if the innovation is productive: Design and Assessment of an Online Prelab Model in General Chemistry
Sources cited:
- Kemmis, S. (1980). The Imagination of the Case and the Invention of the Study. In H. Simons (Ed.), Towards a Science of the Singular: Essays about Case Study in Educational Research and Evaluation (pp. 96-142). Norwich: Centre for Applied Research in Education, University of East Anglia.
- Hamilton, D. (1980). Some contrasting assumptions about case study research and survey analysis. In H. Simons (Ed.), Towards a Science of the Singular: Essays about Case Study in Educational Research and Evaluation (pp. 78-92). Norwich: Centre for Applied Research in Education, University of East Anglia.
- Yin, R. K. (1981). The Case Study Crisis: Some Answers. Administrative Science Quarterly, 26(1), 58-65.
My introduction to educational research:
Taber, K. S. (2013). Classroom-based Research and Evidence-based Practice: An introduction (2nd ed.). London: Sage.
