What is a case study?

1. What is a case study? Ros Smith GPI Solutions Joint Information Systems Committee Supporting education and research

2. Aims of this session • Investigate the rationale behind case studies • Explore what a case study needs to offer • Briefly consider different ways of representing exemplar practice • Work towards a definition of a case study by asking questions - think out of the box!

3. What is a case study? • the study of the particularity and complexity of a single case (Stake 1995) • an intensive study of a single unit with an aim to generalise across a larger set of units (Gerring 2002) • a rich picture of complex situation (Beetham 2006) • communicate the perceived value of the experience or initiative to others (JISC guidelines v1) Who will be the end user? Think out of the box What do you intend them to do as a result? What are you telling them?

4. What is a case study? • Do we always know who will access the case studies we produce? Do we know what they will use them for? • In a context in which everything can be searchable and sharable over the web, is that possible? • What then should we focus on when producing case studies of exemplary e-learning practice? • What are the features that identify the type of case study you expect to produce for JISC?

5. Group activity - Working towards a definition You have a number of examples of case studies in your pack • Consider two or three examples • Discuss what these illustrate about the likely components of a JISC case study • Think of other case studies you have found useful • - What features do you need in a case study?

6. Case study checklist 1 – Feedback from group • Finding out what others are doing – curiosity factor, readable narrative, how it happened, spread of practice, possibilities, • What are we looking at cases of – how do we tell that story, lessons learnt – explore the difficulties and challenges – honest • Tied to a context, set of problems or questions you are exploring, case studies presented as a set of solutions, if they are sitting on their own how do you anticipate how others view them. Nest information – basic info – detail contained below; add information in an ongoing basis – eg contact info details?

7. Case study checklist 1 – feedback from group Stories – focused structured story – executive summary – chief executive summary. Readership /audience – what do the readers want to know? Who are the readers – what do they want to know? Survey the audience to see what they want to know. Signposting to case studies – links from appropriate sites and networks – context is key. What are the questions in your mind, what are you looking for? Eg use of tags to support this – which tags would you search for? Capture reflections – how you found out how effective your practice is. Have a clear focus on interviews. 6/3/2014| | Slide 7

8. What matters in a case study • We need to know ‘what works’ and why • We need to get a balanced view (e.g. what didn’t work as well as what did) the learner, the practitioner, the technology, the curriculum, • We need to encourage reflection and evaluation • We need to be enable others to share in what is important and possibly re-use ‘what works’ • We need to capture issues that will be important to other practitioners working in a similar context • We need to focus on what they are likely to need and enable them to move on

9. Ways of describing and sharing effective practice • Audio or video clips • Direct quotation • Narrative text • Structured text • Lesson plans or sequences • Metadata record Richer representationsMore engaging and meaningful to practitioners More formal representations,Easier to collate, evaluate/ analyse, manage & search, share and re-use • Consider: • the list of characteristics given within the current guidelines www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/programme_capital/capital_funded/casestudyguidelines/whatisacasestudy.aspx • - is there anything omitted?

10. Final activity - What is a case study? • From this session identify the three chief features of a case study agreed by your group • Upload these as typed comments (possibly audio) to the What is a case study Voice thread

11. Planning and undertaking - aims of this session • Identify the qualities required of exemplar practice • Explore the best ways of locating such practice • Consider what is appropriate when approaching and working with institutions, practitioners and learners • Identify do’s and dont’s • Investigate the use of a template to collect content for your case study project

12. Planning and undertaking case study collection Whatever its format, a case study needs to be: • worthy of scrutiny i.e. relevant, up to date and of sufficient standing • engaging and different from other examples • informative at a level appropriate to its purpose, audiences and context of use • fit for purpose i.e. meeting criteria relevant to the individual project – for example, use of particular technologies, illustration of pedagogic approaches or evaluation techniques

13. Planning and undertaking case study collection Finding suitable material can mean seeking out emerging rather than well known examples of practice. Useful networks which can assist in the search for suitable material include: • JISC Regional Support Centres [FE &HE] • Other JISC services e.g. JISC infoNet, JISC CETIS, JISC TechDis [HE, possibly also FE] • Higher Education Academy Subject Centres [HE] • ILT Champions mailing list [FE] • JISC Learning and Teaching Practice Experts Group [FE & HE] • Heads of e-Learning Forum [HE] • ALT [HE & FE] • CETLs [HE, England]

14. Activity Recommendation Locating appropriate case study material is unlikely to be achieved quickly. An appropriate allocation of resources – including time – to this stage of the project is vital to its overall success. Are there other recommendations that could be made to help project teams find the right kind of case study content quickly and appropriately?

15. Methods of collecting – some questions Identify the contacts you need – use one main contact within the institution Weigh up the time spent in visiting – clearer picture? -against other options Consider the pros and cons of templates: binding or a flexible prompt? Explore other options eg Gabcast, phone interview > notes for approval, video conferencing > notes for approval What is more important – a full body of information, or a clear focus on a particular angle? Your view of the experience or theirs? How do you ensure that you capture the unexpected? 6/3/2014| | Slide 15

16. Approaching participants – some key guidance • Guidelines produced by the JISC Learner Experiences of e-Learning programme for researchers into learners’ experiences provide some important pointers for researchers of case study material in general. These are especially relevant whenever learners’ perspectives on an initiative are required, but not exclusively so - www.jisc.ac.uk/learnereval •  The underpinning principle behind all case study enquiries should be respect for participants. When asking individuals to be involved in your research, it is important to recognise the personal and cultural reservations they may have about being represented in digital images or on video. It is best practice to invite potential participants to opt into the activity and respect any decision not to do so. • A short account of the interview procedures, including an outline of the right of participants to see and amend the outcomes will win confidence

17. Approaching participants – some key guidance • Maintain the right level of contact to establish and confirm participants’ involvement, including clear instructions about the date, time and place of interviews if conducted face-to-face. • Personalise correspondence to build rapport • Explore techniques for recording information that participants will find natural and unobtrusive • Provide participants with a draft of the interview write-up to confirm its accuracy and appropriateness and request permission to use personalised quotes • Thank those who participated • Involve all concerned in the results of the research, alerting them when the project outcomes are published

18. Activity In your groups with the assistance of the JISC programme manager for your project, consider the template for case study capture included in your pack • Discuss • What you would need to add or omit for your purposes • Whether the template will support the key features your group identified in the session: What is a case study?

19. Working on • Other examples of templates developed by JISC project teams working in the area of e-learning and pedagogy can be found on the JISC e-Learning and Pedagogy website www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/elearning_pedagogy/elp_templates.aspx •  It is helpful if the template is made available to the institution in advance of a visit. • Ensure that details of the main contact at the institution are accurate to enable any subsequent enquiries about the material to be swiftly resolved. • Background information about the institution is best obtained during the interview, since descriptions of the institution, its function and performance given on its website may be out of date and are likely to be written from a marketing perspective.