1 / 27

M ethodologies : Case Studies

M ethodologies : Case Studies. INF5000 Brian Nicholson HISP group. Agenda. Introduction Definitions Principles Examples. Definition of case study research in business.

papas
Download Presentation

M ethodologies : Case Studies

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Methodologies: CaseStudies INF5000 Brian Nicholson HISP group

  2. Agenda • Introduction • Definitions • Principles • Examples

  3. Definition of case study research in business • ‘Case study research in business uses empirical evidence from one or more organizations where an attempt is made to study the subject matter in context. Multiple sources of evidence are used, although most of the evidence comes from interviews and documents.’ • In business and management, case study research almost always involves a firm or organization • Case study research can be positivist, interpretive or critical

  4. Research cases • Research cases can be used: • In exploratory research – to discover • In explanatory research – to test, to explain, or to compare • The purpose of case study research in business and management is to use empirical evidence from real people in real organizations to make an original contribution to knowledge

  5. Doing case study research • Make sure that you find an interesting case • Make sure you have good people skills • Student A asked : • “How can I study a case of the barriers to blockchain innovation in Oslo?”

  6. Finding the suitable case • Warm contacts: • Personal Contacts & Networks: • Family, friends, colleagues, lecturers, professional networks (linkedin, alumni, attend conferences, meetups); news articles • Survey / questionnaire • Cold calls • PR / media depts. tend to lead to dead end • Target firm key to your domain of interest – go to the top, make the call & ask for an interview !

  7. SELECTING ACASE • Strategic choice of case • Learn from atypicalcases • Accessiblecases • Possibility to staylong (longitudinal design) • (Stake 2005, Flyvbjerg2006)

  8. Selecting Cases Critical Cases Highlights Issues Extreme Cases Extend the Scope of the Theory Multiple Cases Replication x case comparison

  9. Gaining and Maintaining Access Setting Up Study Access Point (Potential Bias?) Explaining the Study and Commitments Confidentiality – NDA? What Does Subject Receive?

  10. Gaining and Maintaining Access Maintaining Access Explain Progress Meeting Commitments Ethical Considerations

  11. CASE STUDYRESEARCH • When probing the particular and common (but mostly the uncommon) of a case, take into account and gather materialon: • The nature of the case, particularly its activity and functioning • Its historicalbackground • Its physicalsetting • Other contexts, such as social, economic, political, legal • Other cases through which this case is recognized,and • Those informants through whom the case can beknown • (Stake2005:447)

  12. Positivist case studies • Good case study design is vital • Yin (1994) suggests five components of good case study design: 1. A study’s questions 2. its propositions, if any 3. its unit(s) of analysis 4. the logic linking the data to the propositions 5. the criteria for interpreting the findings

  13. Interpretive case studies • Interpretive case studies generally attempt to understand phenomena through the meanings that people assign to them • Interpretive case studies define quality in terms of the plausibility of the story and the overall argument (not validity and reliability) • Interpretive case studies focus on the social construction of reality – how and why people see the world the way they do

  14. Critical case studies • Critical case study research involves critical reflection on current practices, questions, taken-for-granted assumptions, and critiques on the status quo based on the theories of one or more critical theorists • Words such as ‘validity’ and ‘reliability,’ which imply an objective reality independent of social reality, are not normally used in interpretive or critical studies

  15. METHODS • Interview • Observation • Documents • Triangulation • Coding(GT) • Interpretation • (Stake 2005)

  16. Role of Theory in Case Studies As input: Theoretical approach: • Sensitising framework / template analysis • Drawing boundaries

  17. Role of Theory in Case Studies As output: • Explaining the case • Theory development • Theoretical generalisation Dynamic relationship: • between input and output, and • between the theory and the case

  18. DESCRIBING THE CASE1 • Report the collection of fielddata • The researchsites • The reason for thischoice • The number of peopleinterviewed • Theirpositions • Other datasources • Over whatperiod • How the iterative process between field dataand theory took place andevolved • (Walsham2002)

  19. DESCRIBING THE CASE2 • Converge data from multiplesources • Chronological report, a story or address issues (Baxter and Jack2008) • Good narratives express complexities of real life • Details, not general conceptualizations • (Flyvbjerg2006) • “Present a coherent point of view with grace, wit and felicity” (Van Maanen 1989, p32)

  20. CASE STUDYRESEARCH • Figure out what is important about the case within its own world: its own issues, contexts, and interpretations, its “thick description”1 • Focus on the case and its activities and functioning + its contexts (social, cultural, economic, legal, political,historical) • What is going on? – What can be learned from thecase? • Be reflective: think about what you encounter. Dig into meanings, relate them to contexts and experiences. Revise. • Seeking the particular more than theordinary • (Stake2005) • 1) Clifford Geertz is one of the founding fathers of this notion by which is meant that ethnographic accounts should include contexts to fully capture and lay bare acase.

  21. CASE STUDY EXAMPLES2

  22. Dobson and Nicholson (2018) • Longitudinal case of ICT adoption in a Mexican handicraft village • Sensitising frame of institutional theory • Survey of ICT use • Interviews and ethnographic techniques • Theorises technology non adoption and explains why in a series of vignettes

  23. What makes an exemplary case study? • See papers that provide principles (reading list) • The case study must be ‘interesting’ • The case study must display sufficient evidence • The case study must be ‘complete’ • The case study must consider alternative perspectives • The case study should be written in an engaging manner • The case study should contribute to knowledge • One case study is fine! A common error: sampling logic

  24. Critique of case study research • Case study research is the most popular qualitative research method used in the business disciplines • Case study research allows researchers to explore or test theories within the context of messy real-life situations • A disadvantage of case study research is that it can be difficult to gain access to the particular company or group of companies that you want to study • Another disadvantage is that the researcher has no control over the situation • Case study research can be time consuming

More Related