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

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