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    Case Studies Lecture 4-5

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    Case Studies ROBERT SOME case studios are qualitative studies, some tare not, In this chapter I will concentrate on case studies where qualitative inquiry dominates, with strong naturalistic, holistic, cultural, phenomeno- logical interests. Case study is not a methodologi- cal choice, but a choice of object to be studied. We choose to study the case, We could study itin many ways. The physician studies the child be- ‘cause the child is il. The child's symptoms are both qualitative and quantitative. The physician's record is more quantitative than qualitative, The social worker studies the child because the child is noglected. The symptoms of neglect are both 4quilitative and quantitative, The formal record the social worker keeps is more qualitative than {quantitative,! In many professional and practical fields, cases are studied and recorded. Asa form fof research, case study is defined by interest in individual cases, not by the methods of inquiry used. Perhaps a majority of researchers doing case studies call their work by some other name. Howard Becker, for example, when asked at the second Cambridge Conference (Simons, 1980) what he calls his own studies, reluctantly said, "Field \work,” adding that such Inbels contribute litle to the understanding of what researchers do. The name case study is emphasized by some of us because it draws attention to the question of what specifically can be learned from the single case ‘That epistemological question s the driving ques- tion of this chapter: What can be learned from the single case? I will emphasize designing the study 236 E. STAKE to optimize understanding of the case rather than generalization beyond. Identification of the Case AA case may be simple or complex. It may be a child ora classroom of children or a mobilization of professionals to study a childhood condition. tis one among others. Inany given study, we will concentrate on the one, The time we may spend concentrating our inquiry on the one may be long ff short, but while we so concentrate, we arc engaged in case study. Custom has it that not everything is a case. A child may be a case. A doctor may bea case—but his doctoring lacks the specificity, boundedness, tobe called acase.* An agency may be acase. The reasons for child neglect or the policies of dealing ‘with neglectful parents would seldom be consi¢- cred a case. Those topics aro generalities rather than specificities. The case is a specific. Even more, the case isa functioning specific. The case. inthe words of Louis Smith (1978), is a “bounded system." In the social sciences and human serv- ices, it has working parts, it probably is pur posive, even having a self. It is an integrated system, The parts do not have to be working well. the purposes may be irrational, but itis a system Us behavior is patterned, Consistency and se quentialness are prominent Itis common to rec08- | | © Case Studies size that certain featutes are within the system, ‘sithin the boundaries of the case, and other fea tures ouside. Some are significant as context William Goode and Paul Hatt (1952) have ob- Served that it is not always easy for the case escarcher to say Where the child ends and where the environment begins. But the boundedness and te behavior patterns of the system are key factors in understending the case (Stake, 1988), Uliimately we may be more interested in a phenomenon or @ population of cases than in the individual case, We cannot understand this case ‘without knowing about other eases. But while we are studying it, our meager resourees are concen trated on trying to understand its complexities. For the while, we probably will not study com- parison eases. We may simultaneously carry on ‘more than one case study, but each ease study is a concentrated inquiry into a single case "The concept of case remains subject to debate,? and the term study is ambiguous (Kemmis, 1980). ‘A case study is both the process of learning about the case and the product of oue learning. Lawrence Stenhouse (1984) advocates calling the product a “ease record,” and occasionally we do, but the practice of calling the final report a “case study” is widely established. Custom isnot so strong that researchers other than graduate students) will et into tcouble by calling anything they please a case study. But the mone the object of study is a specific, unique, bounded system, the greater the usefulness of the epistemological rationale de- scribed in this chapter Intrinsic and Instrumental Interest in Cases Different researchers have different purposes for studying eases. To keep such differences in ‘mind, 1 find it useful to identify three types of Study, In what we may call intrinsic ease sind), study is undertaken because one wants better un- derstanding of this particular case, Itis not under- taken primarily because the ease represents other ‘eases oF because it illustrates a particular trait or Problem, but because, in all its particularity and Ordinariness, this case itself is of interest. The fescarcher temporarily subordinates other cori- Ssities so that the ease may reveal its story. The Purpose is not to come to understand some ab- Straet construct or generic phenomenon, such as literacy or teenage drug use of what a school Principal does. The purpose is not theory build- 'ng—thougi at other times the researcher may do “ Jus that. Study is undertaken because of intrinsic ‘teres in, forexample, this particular child clinic, 237 conference, or curriculum, Some books that illus- trate intrinsic case study include the following: ‘+ Akenfield (Blythe, 1985/1969) Argonauts ofthe Western Pacific (Malinowski, 1922/1984) * Bread and Dreams: A Case Study of Bilin- ‘gual Schooling in the U.S.A. (MacDonald, ‘Adelman, Kushner, & Walker, 1982) © God's Choice (Peshkin, 1986) In what we may call instrumental case study, particular caseis examined to provide insight into an issue or refinement of theory. The case is of secondary interest; it plays a supportive role, fa- cilitating our understanding of something else. ‘The case is often looked at in depth, its contexts scrutinized, its ordinary activities detailed, but because this helps us pursue the external interest, ‘The case may be seen as typical of other cases or not. (L will discuss the small importance of typi- cality later. The choice of case is made because itis expected to advance our understanding ofthat other interest. Because we simultaneously have several interests, often changing, there is no line distinguishing intrinsic case study from instru ‘mental; rather, a zone of combined purpose sepa- fates them. The following books illustrate instru- mental case study’ © A Bright and Shining Lie: John Vann and ‘America in Vietnam (Sheehan, 1988) ‘* Boys in White: Student Culture in Medical chool (Becker, Geer, Hughes, & Strauss, 1961) © Middletown: A Study in American Culture (Lynd & Lynd, 1929) *# La Vida (Lewis, 1966) With even less interest in one pasticular case, researchers may study a number of cases jointly in order to inquire into the phenomenon, popula- tion, or general condition, We might call this collective case study. It is not the study of a collective but instrumental study extended to sev- eral eases, Individual cases in the collection may fr may not be known in advance to manifest the common characteristic. They may be similar or dissimilar, redundancy and variety each having voice. They are chosen because itis believed that ‘understanding them will lead to beter understanding, perhaps better theorizing, about a still larger col- lection of cases. Books illustrating collective ease study include the following: 238 *# Children of Crisis (Coles, 1967) # Habits of the Heart: Individualism and Com: mitment in American Life (Bellah, Madsen, Sullivan, Swidler, & Tipton, 1985) ‘+ Innovation Up Close: How School Improve- ‘ment Works (Huberman & Miles, 1984) + Savage Inequalities (Kozol, 1991) Authors and reports seldom fit neatly into such categories, and I see thes three as heuristic more than functional. Peshkin responded to my clasi- fication of God's Choice by saying: “I mean to present my ase so thatitean be read with interest inthe ease set but always haveanother agendo— {o learn from the ease about some class of things Some of what that will be remains an emergent matte fora long lime." For three years, Peskin studied a single school, Bethany Baptist Aced- emy. Until the final chapter, he id not tell the reader about the emergent matters of great impor tance to him and to school people and citizens broadly. The first order of business was to unde stan the case, The immediate, not ultimate, ner- cst was intcnsi. The methods Peshkin used cen- tered on the cas, not intentionally on his abiding concerns about community, freedom, and survival Other types of case study couldbe acknowledged. “Thore isa common form used in teaching, we could callitthe teaching case study. Iis usd to ilstate 8 point, a condition, a category, something impor- tant for instruction (Kennedy, 1979). For decades, Harvard Law School and School of Business pro- fessors have paraded thse cases. For staff develop ‘ment and management training, such reports const- {ute the articles ofthe Jounal of Case Research key publication ofthe Nort American Case Research “Assocation, Used for instruction and conslaton, they result from instrumental case study § One could also make a separate category for biography. Louis Smith's contbution to this Hand- book (Chapter 18) is case centered, noting that biography cals fo demanding chronoiogicalstuc- tures and extra attention to procedures for the protection of human subjects Similarly, tlevie sion documentaries, many of them easily elassifi- able as casestudies, require their own methods Ta avy the case has a special definition: the prac- tice of law itself could be called case study. The work of ethnographers, critical theorists, insttu- tional demographers, and many others has con- ceptual and stylistic patterns that not only amplify the taxonomy but extend the foundation for ease study research in the social sciences and social services. My purpose in categorization here is ‘ore limited: To emphasize variation in the con- cern for and methodological orientation to the case, Thave named thre types of study—intin- Sic, instrumental, and collective STRATEGIES OF INQUIRY Study of the Particular Case researchers seek out both what is common and what is particular about the case, but the end result regularly presents something unique (Stout fer, 1941). Uniqueness is likely to be pervasive, extending to * the nature of the ease its historical background the physical seting other contexts, including economic, polit cal, legal, and aesthetic 5. other cases through which this ease is rec. ognized 6. those informants through whom the ease.can be known, To study the case, many researchers will gather data on all the above. Uniqueness, particularity, diversity is not uni- versally loved. Case study methodology has suf- fered somewhat because it has sometimes been presented by people who have a lesser rogard for study of the particular (Denzin, 1989; Glaser & Strauss, 1967; Herriot & Firestone, 1983; Yin, 1984). Many social scientists have written about case study a5 if intrinsic study of a particular case is not as important as studies to obtain generali- zations pertaining to & population of cases. They hhave emphasized case study as typification of other cases, as exploration leading up to generalization- producing studies, or as an occasional early step in theory building, Thus, by these respected author- ties, case study method has been Hltle honored as the intrinsic study of a valued particular, as iis generally in biography, institutional self-study. ‘program evaluation, therapeutic practice, and many lines of work, But insistence on the ultimacy of theory building appears to be diminishing in quali- tative social science, Case study can usefully be seen as a small step toward grand generalization (Campbell, 1975), bbut generalization should not be emphasized in all, research (Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1991; Sie mons, 1980). Damage occurs when the commit- ment io generalize oF create theory runs so stronz that the researcher's attention is drawn away from features important for understanding the case it- self.” The case study researcher faces a strategic choice in deciding how much and how long the complexities of the case should be studied. Not everything about the case can be understood- how much needs to be? Each researcher will make up his or her own mind. case Studies ‘TABLE 14.1 An Example of Issue Development in a Study Ee ore Tr Topical iseue: The goals ofthe music education program, 2, Foreshadowed problem: The majority ofthe community supports the present emphasis on band, chorus, and performances, but afew teachers and community leaders want a more intellectual emphasis, such as history, Iiteratre, and critical review of musi. 4. Iesue wider development: What isthe extent of interest of this teaching staff in teaching music courses required ofeveryone? 4, Assertion: This community would not generate the extra funding necessaty for providing intellectual learning ‘of music forall secondary school students. ‘Uniqueness of Situations ‘With its own unique history, the case is a com- plex entity operating within anumberof contexts, jnclading the physical, economic, ethical, and aesthetic. The case is singular, but it has subsec- tions (¢.f., production, marketing, sales depart: rents), groups (eg., students, teachers, parents), occasions (e-g., workdays, holidays, days near holidays), a concatenation of domains—many so complex that at best they can only be sampled. Holistic ease study calls forthe examination of these complexities. As Egon Guba and Yvonna Lincoln point out in Chapter 6 of this volume, much qualitative research is based on a holistic view that social phenomena, human dilemmas, and the nature of eases are situational and influ: enced by happenings of many kinds. Qualitative Fesearchers are sometimes disposed toward causal determination of events, but more often tend to perceive, as did Tolstoy in War and Peace, events ‘ot simply and singly caused, Many find the search for cause of little use, dramatizing, rather, the coincidence of events, seeing some events pur- Posive, some situational, many of them interrs- lated. They favor inquiry desigas seeking data describing diverse operaiions of the case. To do ‘ease studies does not require examination of di- Verse issues and contexts, but that is the way that ‘ost qualitative researchers do them. Issues ‘Whether so called or not, the researcher's themes ot “abstract dimensions” are often issues, prob- lematie circumstances that draw upon the com- ‘mon disciplines of knowledge, such as sociology, economics, ethics, and literary criticism, With broader purview than that of crafters of exper ments and testers of hypotheses, qualitative case Fesearciers orient to complexities connecting or- inary practice in natural habitats to the abstrac~ tions’and concerns of diverse academic disci- Plines. This broader purview is applied to the Single case, Generalization and proof (Becker, 1958) are not without risk > Even when stated as generalities, the issues are matters for study regarding the specific case, Start- ing witha topical concern, researchers pose fore- shadowed problems,” concentrate on issue-related ‘observations, interpret patterns of data that re- ‘orm the issues as assertions, The transformation Ihave experienced in my work in program eval- ation is illustrated by the sequence in Table 14,1, issues for a hypothetical case study of a music education program, In choosing issues to organize their study, ro- searchers accentuate one task or another, To treat the ease as an exemplar, they ask, Which issues bring out our initial concerns, the dominant theme? ‘To maximize understanding of the case, they ask, ‘Which issues seek out compelling uniquenesses? For an evaluation study, they ask, Which issues help reveal merit and shortcoming? Aad in gen- eral, they ask, Which issues facilitate the planning. and activities of inquiry, including inspiring and rehabil the researcher? Issues are chosen partly in terms of what can be learned within the ‘opportunities for study, They will be chosen dif- ferently depending on the importance of each task, differenti by different researchers. One might ‘say 2 personal contract is drawn between researcher and phenomenon, For all the devotion to science fr a client, What is to be learned hero that a solitary researcher feels compelled to learn? ‘The issues used to organize the study may or ‘may not be the ones used to report the case to others. Observing is different work from present- ing the ease report, At the end, it may be the readers’ issues that determine what will be said Some researchers choose to serve the readers, even when quite unsure as to who the eventual readers might be and as to the concerns they have. Telling the Story It is not uncommon for qualitative case re- searchers to cal for letting the case “tell its own, story” (Carter, 1993; Coles, 1989). We cannot be sure that a case telling its own story will tell all. or tell well, but the ethnographic ethos of inter retive study, seeking out emic meanings held by 240 the people within the case is strong. The choices of presentation styles are many; John Van Maanen (1988) identifies seven: realistic, impressionistic, confessional, crtieal, formal, literary, and jointly (old. One canaot know at the outset what the {gsues, the perceptions, the theory will be. Case researchers enter the scene expecting, even know- ing, that certain events, problems, relationships will be important, yet discover that some actually are of litte: consequence (Parlett & Hamilton, 1976; Smith, Chapter 18, this volume). Case com- tent evolves in the act of writing itself 'Byen though committed to empathy and multi- ple realities, itis the researcher who decides what is the case's own story, or at least what of the cases own story he or sho will report. More will be pursued than was volunteered. Less will be reported than was learned, Even though the com petent researcher will be guided by what the case ‘ay indicate is most important, even though pa- trons and other researchers will advise, what is necessary for an understanding ofthe ease willbe ‘decided by the researcher. It may be the case's own story, but itis the researcher's dressing ofthe case’s ‘own story, This isnot to dismiss the aim of finding the story that best represents the case, but to remind thatthe eriteria of representation ultimately are de- cided by the researcher. “Many a researcher would like to tell the whole story but of course cannot; the whole story ex- ‘ceeds anyone's knowing, anyone's telling. Even ‘those inclined to tell all find strong the obligation to winnow and consolidate. A continuum runs from telling lots to telling nothing. The holistic resoarcher, lke the single-issue researcher, must choose, Criteria for selecting content are many (Van Maanen, 1988). Some are set by funding agencies, prospective readers, rhetorical conven tion, the researcher's career pattern, the prospect, ‘of publication, Some criteria are set by a notion ‘of what represents the case most fully, most ap- preciably for the hospitality received, most com- prchensibly. These are subjective choices not un- like those al researchers make in choosing what to study. Some are made while designing the case study, but some continue to be made through the final hours, Learning From the Particular Case ‘The researcher is a teacher using at least (yo pedagogical methods (Eisner, 1985). Teaching didacsicaly, the researches teaches what he or she has learned. Arranging for what educationists call discovery learning, the researcher provides mate: tial for readers to fearn, on their own, things the teacher does not know as well as those he or she STRATEGIES OF INQUIRY docs know, What can one learn from a single cease? Donald Campbell (1975), David Hamilton (1980), Stephen Kemmis (1980), Robert Yin (1989), ra Willen Firestone (pres) heve consede y the epistemology of the particular. How we may learn from the singular case ultimately derives from how the case is like and not like other ceases—yet, as T claim later, direct comparison diminishes opportunity to leaen from it, From case reports we learn both propositional and experiential knowledge (Geertz, 1983; Polanyi, 1962; Rumelhact & Ortony, 1977; von Wright 1971). Certain descriptions and assertions are as. similated by readers into memory. When the re searcher's narrative provides opportunity for vieari- fous experience, readers extend their memories of happenings. Naturalistic, ethnographic case ma- is, to some extent, parallel actual experience, feeding into the most fundamental processes of awareness and understanding. Deborah Trumbull and I have called these processes naturalistic gen. cralization (Stake & Trumbull, 1982). The reader ‘comes to know some things told, as if he or she hhad experienced them, Enduring meanings come from encounter, and are modified and reinforced by repeated encounter. In life itself, this occurs seldom to the individ ual alone but inthe presence (if not proximity) of others. In a social process, together they bend, spin, consolidate, and enrich their understandings. We come to know what has happened partly in terms of what others reveal as their experience, ‘The case researcher emerges from one social ex- perience, the observation, to choreograph anothes, the report, Knowledge is socially constructed— we constructivists believe (see Schwandt, Chap- {et 7, this volume)—and thus case study researchers assist readers in the construction of knowledge. Knowledge Transfer From Researcher to Reader Both researcher and reader need conceptual struotutes, advanced organizers (Ausubel & Fitzger ald, 1961), schemata (Anderson, 1977), scaffold ing’ (Cazden, 1988), an unfolding of realization (Bohm, 1985). They do not have to be aware of this need, Thought itself, conversation surely, and writing especially draw phrases into paragraphs, append labels onto constructs. Attention focuses Generalization can be an unconscious process. ‘In private and personal ways, idoas are struc tured, highlighted, subordinated, connected, em bedded in contexts, embedded with illustration, laced with favor and doubt. However moved t0 share ideas, however clever and elaborated theit ‘writings, ease researchers, as others, pass along to readers some of their personal meanings of events and relationships—and fail to pass along | | I | | | } case Studies others. They know thatthe reader too will add and ciivract, invent and shape—reconstructing the ‘uPiwiedge in ways that leave it differently con- atied and more likely to be personally useful, ‘Knowledge ofthe case faces hazardous passage rom writer to reades. The writer needs ways of Efeguarding the trip. Even as reading begins, Stfen much earlier, the case assumes aplace in the Sompany of previously Known cases. Conceptu- Stly for the reader, the new ease cannot be but any e combination of cases already known. A new som without commonality cannot be understood. Yet a new case without distinction will not be Noticed. Researchers cannot know well the al- ready known cases, the peculiarities of mind, of their readers. ‘They seek ways to protect and vai tate the transfer of knowledge. “The researcher recognizes the need to accom modate to readers" preexisting knowledge. Though Everyone deals with this need every day and draws fipon a lifetime of experience, we know precious Hitle about how new experience merges with old. “According to Spiro, Vispoel, Schmitz, Samarapon- jgevan, and Boerger (1987), most personal expe- lence is “ill-structured,” neither pedagogically nor epistemologically neat; it follows that a well- euetured, propositional presentation will often rot be the better way to “transfer” experiential knowledge, The reader has a certain “cognitive flexibility,” the readiness to assemble asituation- relative schema from the knowledge fragments of ‘new encounter. Spiro et al. contend that the best way to lesrn and instruct in order to attain the goa! of cognitive flexibility in knowledge rep- resentation for future application is by a method of ease-besed presentations which teats a content ‘domain as a Landscape that i explored by “eriss- crossing” it in many directions, by reexamining each case “site” inthe varying contexts of differ- fet neighboring eases, and by using a variety of abstract dimensions for comparing cases. (p. 178) Transfer remains difficult to understand. Even less understood is how a small aspect of the case may be found by many readers to modify an existing understanding about cases in general, even when the ease is not typical. In a ghetto school, I observed a teacher with one set of rules forclassroom decorum, except that for one nearly pelled, indomitable youngster, a more liberal set had to be continuously invented. Reading my Account, teachers from very different schools agreed With both. “Yes, you have to be strict with the ules." "Yes, sometimes you have to bend the rules.” They eecognized in the report an unusval bat generalizable circumstance. People find in case reports certain insights into the human con dition, ‘even while they are well aware of the ‘typicality of the case. They may be too quick to 2a accept the insight, The case researcher needs to provide grounds for validating both the observa tion and generalization. ‘Triangulation ‘With reporting and reading “ill-sructured” and within an atmosphere of constructivism, itis not furprising to find tolerance for ambiguity and championing of pluralism. Still, most case re- Searchers are concerned about the validity of their ‘communication, Meanings do not transfer intact, but take on some of the conceptual uniqueness of the reader, but there is expectation that the mean {ngs of situation, observation, reporting, and reading will have a certain correspondence. Joseph Maxwell (1992) has written of the need for thinking of valid- ity separately for descriptions, interpretations, theo ries, generalizations, and evaluative judgments “To reduce the likelihood of misinterpretation, ‘we employ various procedures, including redun- ‘ancy of data gnthering and procedural challenges to explanations (Denzin, 1989; Goetz & LeCompte, 1984), For qualitative case work, these proce dures generally are called triangulation. David ‘Altheide and John Johnson discuss them in Chap- ter 30 ofthis volume, and Michacl Huberman and Maithew Miles address them in Chapter 27. Tri- angulation has been generally considered a pro- tess of using multiple perceptions to clarify mean- ng, verifying the repeatability of an observation ‘or interpretation, But, acknowledging that no ob- fervations or interpretations are perfectly repeat- able, triangulation serves also to clarify meaning by identifying different ways the phenomenon is being seen (Flick, 1992) Comparisons Researchers report their cases as cases that will be compared with others. They differ as to how much they will take responsibility for making ‘comparisons, setting up comparative cases for the reader, or acknowledging reference cases differ- ent for each reader. Most naturalistic, ethnographic, phenomenological researchers will concentrate on eseribing the present case in sufficient detail so thatthe reader can make good comparisons. Some- times the researcher will point out comparisons that might be made, More quantitative case re- Searchers will try to provide some comparisons, Sometimes by presenting one ot more reference cases, sometimes providing staistical norms for reference groups from which a hypothetical ref ‘rence ease can be imagined. Both the quantita- tive and qualitative approaches provide narrow ‘grounds for strict comparison of eases even though tradition of grand comparison exists within comparative anthropology and related disciplines (Firestone, in press; Ragin, 1987; Tobin, 1989). T see comparison as an epistemological func- tion competing with learning about and from the particular ease, Comparison is a powerful con- ceptual mechanism, fixing attention upon the few attributes being compared and obscuring other knowledge about the ease. Comparative descrip- tion is the opposite of what Clifford Geertz (1973) calls “thick description.” Thick description of the ‘music program might include the staffing, recent program changes, the charisma of the choral di rector, the working relationship with the Catholic church organist, a eritical vote of the school board, and the lack of student interest in taking vp the clarinet, Such identify che vitality, trauma, and uniqueness of the case, Comparison might be made on any of these characteristics but tends to bbe made on more general variables traditionally noted in the organization of music programs, such as staffing, budget, and tour policy. Even with ‘major attention to the bases for comparison, they will be fow, with uniquenesses and complexities glossed over. Designed comparison substitutes () the comparison for (b) the case asthe focus of the study. Regardless of the type of case study—intrinsic, instrumental, or collective—readers learn little from researcher-provided cases as the basis for comparison, When there are multiple cases of intrinsic interest, then of course it can be useful to compare them. But usually, forthe researcher, ‘there s but one or none of intrinsic interest. Read ‘rs with intrinsic interest in the case learn more ‘of it directly from the description, not ignoring ‘comparisons with other eases but not concentrat- ing on comparisons. Readers examining insteu- ‘mental case studies are shown how the phenome- thon exists within a particular case. Seldom is there interest in how a case without the phenome- non is different because there are too many ways to be different." Generalizations from differ- ences between any two cases are much less to be trusted than generalizations from one. Illustration as fo how the phenomenon occurs inthe cireum- stances of the particular exemplar can be valued and trustworthy knowledge. Many are the ways of conceptualizing cases to maximize learning from the case. The case is expected to be something that functions, that op- erates; the study is the observation of operations. ‘There is something to be described and inter preted. The conceptions of most naturalistic, holis- Hi, ethnographic, phenomenological case studies emphasize objective description and personalistic interpretation, a respect and curiosity for cultur- ally different perceptions of phenomena, and em- pathic representation of local setings—all blend ing (perhaps clumped) within a constructivist epistemology. STRATEGIES OF INQUIRY Methods of Study Perhaps the simplest rule for method in qual. tative case work is this: Place the best brainy available into the thick of what is going on. Thy brain work ostensibly is observational, but more basically, reflective. (I would prefer to call i interpretive toemphasize the production of mean. ings, but ethnographers have tried to make thay term mean “to lear the special views of actors, the local meanings”; see Erickson, 1986; Schwandt ‘Chapter 7, this volume.) In being ever reflective, the researcher is committed to pondering the im pressions, deliberating recollections and records —- but not necessarily following the conceptualiza tons of theorists, actors, of audiences (Carr & Kemmis, 1986). Local meanings are important: foreshadowed meanings are important; and read crs’ consequential mesnings are important. The cease researcher teases out meanings ofthese three Kinds and, for whatever reason, works on one kind more than the others. In each case, the work is reflective,!! If we typify qualitative casework, we see data sometimes precoded but continuously interpreted, on frst sighting and again and again. Records and tabulations are perused not only for classification and pattern recognition but for “crisscrossed” te- flection (Spiro etal, 1987). Qualitative case study is characterized by the main researcher spending substantial time, on site, personally in contact with activities and operations of the case, reflect- ing, revising meanings of what is going on Naturalistic, ethnographic, phenomenological caseworkers seek to see what is natural in happen- ‘ngs, in settings, in expressions of value. What the researchers are unable to see for themselves is obtained by interviewing people who did see or by finding documents recording it, The contribu- tions to this volume by Paul Atkinson and Martyn. Hammersley (Chapter 15), Andrea Fontana and James Frey (Chapter 22), Patricia and Peter Adler (Chapter 23), Ian Hodder (Chapter 24), Douglas Harper (Chapter 25), and Jean Clandinin and Mi chael Connelly (Chapter 26) elaborate extensively fon the methods of qualitative research. These pertain, of course, to qualitative case study. Reviewing the literature, I have found case study methods written about largely by people who believe thatthe research should contribute to scientific generalization, The bulk of case study work, however, is done by people who have i trinsic interests in the cases. Their intrinsic case study designs draw the researcher toward under- standing of what is important about that case within its own world, not so much the world of researchers and theorists, but developing its i sues, contexts, and interpretations. In contrast the methods of instrumental case study draw the case Stdies esearcher toward illustrating how the concerns festeecarches and theorists are manifest in the or Because the critical issues are more likely fo known in advance and following discipl to expectations, such adesign can take greater nat tage of already-developed instruments and freconceived coding schemes. tn intrinsic ease study, researchers do not avoid encralization—they cannot. Certainly they gen- Betlze o happenings of thei cases at times yet to eSne and in other situations, ‘They expect theit Senders to comprehend their interpretations but to ‘eave as well at their own, Thus the methods for Atfowork actually used are to learn enough about fhe case to encapsulate complex meanings into a {nite report but to describe the case in sufficient Gescritive narrative so that readers can vicariously experience these happenings, and draw their own conclusions. Case Selection Pechaps the most unique aspect of case study in the social seiences and human services is the election of cases to study. Intrinsic casework feaularly begins with cases prespecified. The doc- tor, the social worker, the program evaluator re- ceive their cases; they do not choose them. The ‘cases are of prominent interest before formal study ¢ begins. Instrumental and collective easework regu- larly require cases to be chosen. Understanding the critical phenomena may depend on choosing the ease well Patton, 1990; Yin, 1989). Suppose ‘we are trying to understand the behavior of people ‘who take hostages, and decide to probe the phe- ‘omenon using a case study. Hostage taking does ‘hot happen often—in the whole world there are few cases to choose. Current options—Iet vs imag: ine—boil down to a bank robber, an airline hi- jacker, an estranged father who kidnapped his ‘own child, and a Shi'ite Muslim group. We want to gencralize about hostage-taking behavior, yet realize that each of these cases, his sample of one, weakly represents the larger group of interest ‘When one designs a study in the manner advo- cated by Miles and Huberman (1984; see also ‘Chapter 27, this volume), nothing is more impor- ‘ant than making a proper selection of cases. Ie is sampling problem, The cases will be selected 10 ‘present some population of cases. The phenome- on of interest observable in the case represents the phenomenon generally. For Miles and Huber- ‘man, Yin, and Malinowski, the main work is Science, an enterprise to gain the best possible ¢xolanations of phenomena (von Wright, 1971). inthe beginning, phenomena are given; the cases Se opportunities to study the phenomena. The phenomenon on the table is hostage taking /ewant to improve our understanding of hostage 243 taking, to fit itiato what we know about criminol- ‘ogy, conflict zesolntion, human relations—thatis, various “abstract dimensions."! We recognize a large population of hypothetical cases, a small subpopulation of accessible cases. We want to feneralize about hostage taking without special Interest in any of those cases available for study. Gn sepresentational grounds, the epistemological opportunity seems small, but we are optimistic that we can learn some important things from almost any case. We choose one or a small num- ber of exemplars, Hostages usually are strangers who happen to be available. We might rule out studying a father who takes his own child as hostage, Such kidnappings may actually be more ‘common than other kinds, but we rule out the father, We are more interested in hostage-taking accompanying a criminal act, hostage taking in border to gain refuge. The researcher examines Warious interests in the phenomenon, selecting a cease of some typicality, but leaning toward those tases that seem to offer opportunity to learn. My choice would be to take that ease from which we feel we can lear the most.!3 That may mean taking the one that we can spend the most time ‘with, Potential for earning is a different and some- {mes superior criterion to representativeness. Often itis better to learn a lot from an atypical case than a litle from a magnificently typical case. ‘Another illustration: Suppose we are interested in the attractiveness of interactive (the. visitor ‘manipulates, gets feedback) displays in children’s museums, We have resources to stady four muse~ tums, to do a collective study of four cases. It is Tikely that we would set up a typology, perhaps of (@) museum types, namely, at, science, and his- tory; (b) city types, namely, large and very large: fand (6) program types, namely, exhibitory and pavticipetives making a 12-cell matrix. Examples probably cannot be found for all 12 cells, but Fesources do not allow studying 12 anyway. With four to be studied, we are likely o start out think- ing we should have one art, one history, and two science museums (because interactive displays fre more common in science museums), wo lo- cated in large and two in very large cities, and two teach of the program types. But when we actually Took at existing cases, the logistics, the potential reception, the resources, and additional charac- teristics of relevance, we move toward choosing four museums to study that offer variety (falling, short of structured representation) across the a ibutes, the four that give us the best opportu tiesto learn about interactive displays.'# Any best possible selection of four museums from a bal- fnced design would not give us compelling rep- Tesentation of museums as a whole, and certainly ‘nota statistical basis for generalizing about inter~ otions between interactivity and site characteristics Several desirable types usually have to be omitted. Even for collective casestudies, selection by sam: pling of attributes should not be the highest pri- ority. Balance and variety are important; oppor- tunity to learn is of primary importance Sampling Within the Case ‘The same process of selection will occur as pat of intrinsic ease study. Even though the case is decided in advance (usally), there ae subsequent choices to make about persons, places, and events to observe, Here again, training and intuition tell us to seck a good sample. Suppose that we are studying a program for placing computers fo the homes of fourth graders for scholastic purposes.'5 ‘The eases—thatis the school sites—have already been selected. Although there isa certain coordi- nation of activity, each participating researcher has one case study to develop. A principal issue has to do with impact on the family, because certain expectations of computer use accompany placement inthe home, (The computer should be available for word processing, record keeping, and games by family members, but certain time should be set aside for fourth-grade homework.) {At one site, 50 homes now have computers. The researcher can get certain information from every home, but observation in the home can occur in only a small number. Which homes should be selected? Just asin the collective case study, the researcher notes attributes of interest: gender of the fourth grader, siblings, family stucture, home discipline, previous use of computers and other technology in the homes, and soon. The researcher discusses these characteristics with informants, sets recommendations, visits several homes, and cts attribute data, The choice is made,!® assuring ‘atiety but not necessarily epresentativenes, with: out strong argument for typiclity, again weighted bby considerations of access and even by hospital- ity, forthe time is short and perhaps too litte can be learned from inhospitable parents, Here, too, the primary criterion is opportunity to learn, Bthies Ethical considerations for qualitative resoaich are discussed by Maurice Punch in Chapter 5 of this volume, Case studies often deal with matters of public interest but for which there is neither public nor scholarly “right to know.” Funding, scholarly intent, ora passed preliminary oral docs ‘not constitute license to invade the privacy of others. The value of the best research isnot likely {o outweigh injury to @ person exposed. Qualita- tive researchers are guests in the private spaces of the world. Their manners should be good and their code of ethics strict. STRATEGIES OF INQUIRY With much qualitative work, case study re. search shares an intense interest in personal views and circumstances. Those whose lives and ex, pressions are portrayed risk exposure and embay. rassment; loss of standing, employment, self. teem, Issues of observation and reportage shou) be discussed in advance, Limits of accessibility should be suggested and agreements heeded. Iti, iportant but not sufficient for targeted persons to recsive drafts of how they are presented, quoted ‘or interpreted, and forthe researcher to listen well for cties of concer. It is imperative that great ‘caution be exercised to minimize the risks. Rules {or protection of human subjects should be heeded, ‘The researcher should go beyond those rules, avoiding low-priorty probing of sensitive issues, drawing upon others. to oversee the protective system, Summary As have discussed above, the major concep- twal responsibilities of the qualitative case re- searcher are as follows: 1, bounding the case, conceptualizing the ob- ject of study 2, selecting phenomena, themes, or issues—that is, the research questions—to emphasize 3. secking patterns of data to develop the is 4, triangulating key observations and bases for interpretati 5. selecting alternative interpretations to pursue 6. developing assertions or generalizations about the case [Except forthe frst of these, the steps are similar to those taken by other qualitative researchers. The more the researcher has intrinsic interest in the case, the more the focus of study will usually be on the case's uniqueness, particular context, issues, and story. Some major stylistic options for case researchers include the following: 1. how much to make the report a story 2. how much to compare with other cases 3. how much to formalize generalizations or leave that to readers 4, how much, inthe report, to include descrip tion of the researcher as participant 5, whether or not and how much to anonymize | | case Studies case study sa part of scientific method, butts asgase isnot limited tothe advance of seience purposes single or 2 few cases are poor repre- WWhstion of a population of cases and poor grounds senativancing grand generalization, a single case for ative example can establish limits to grand ‘Sunaiaton. For example, we lose confidence in senetcraizaion theta child of separated parents th Bfer off placed with the mother when we find a sshule instanceof resultant injury, Case studies are se ve incefining theory and suggesting complexi- $e5 for further investigation, as well as helping 1o ‘ablish the limits of generalizability ‘dase study can also be a disciplined force in public policy setting and reflection on human Piperienee. Vicarious experience is an important Sauls for eefining action options and expectations formal epistemology needs further development, put somehow people draw from the description of ttn individual case implications for other cases, ov always correctly, but with a confidence shared by people of dissimilar views. ‘Tae purpose of case study is not to represent the world, but to reprosent the case. Criteria for conducting the kind of research that leads to valid generalization need modification to fit the search {or effective particularization. The utility of case esearch to practitioners and policy makers is in itsextension of experience, The methods of quali- tative ease study ate largely the methods of disci- plining personal and particularized experience. Notes 1. Case study can be qualitative or quantitative or ‘combination of the two, In search of fundamental Parsuits common to both qualitative and quantitative ‘esearch, Robect Yin (1992) analyzed thee thoroughly crated research efforts: a quantitative investigation to retolve disputed authorship ofthe Federalist Papers, a qualitative study of Soviet infent at the time of the aban missle ersis, and his own studies ofthe recon: ieability of hunnan faces. He found four common com) ‘itments: o bring expert knowledge to bear upon the ‘henomena stdied, to round up all the relevant data 0 ‘xamine rival interpretations, and to ponder and probe the degree to which the findings have implication ese Where: These commitments are as important in ease eseacch as in anyother kind of research 2. The editors have reminded me of the ethno- ‘methodological treatment of topic and method. Eth nomethodologists study methods as topics of inguiry, ‘xamining how certain things get done, and so on (Gar Finkel, 1967), Coming to understand a case usually saves extensive examining of how things et done ut the prime referent in ease study isthe cas, not the Tsthods by which eases operat. 24s 3. Definition of the cate is not independent of fnterpetve paradigin or methods of inquiry. Sen from fiferent worldviews and in different situations, the ram” case is diferent. And however we originally define the ease, the working definition changes a5 we fady, And the Jefiniton of the case changes in differ. tet ways under diferent methods of study. The ease of ‘Theodore Roosevelt was not just ditferently portrayed but differently defined as biographer Edmund Mortis (1979) presented him as “the Dude from New York,” “je Dear Old Beloved Brother,” “the Snake in the Grass." “the Rough Rider," “the Most Famous Man in “Ameria,” and soon, “The history of case study, like the history of curiosity and common sens, i found throughout the library. Usefol bref are included in Bogdan and Biklen (41982), Delamont (1992), Feagin, Orum, and Sjoberg (1991), Stake (1978), and throughout this volume ', Collective case sty i essentially what Robert Heeiot and William Firestone (1983) call “multe qualitative research.” A number of German socio {Bit such as Martin Koll and Prite Schutze, have used Ecllctive case studies with Strauss's grounded theory approach, "6, Historians and political scientists regulary ex- amine a singular episode or lationship, such as Napo Ikon’ slege of Moscow othe Cuban missile crisis. 1 ‘choose not oa these cate studies because the episode tr relationship—however complex, impacting, and bounded does aot have its own purpose and self "7 In 1922, Bronislaw Malinowski said, “One of the frst conditions of acceptable Ethnographic work cecal fs that it should deal with the totality ofall Social, cultural and psychological aspects of the com- anit" (1922/1984, p. xvi). Good spirit her, although totalites defy the acuity of the eye andthe longevity of the wate, ‘Generalization from collective case study has been dlacaased by Heritt and Firestone (1983), Loland tnd Lofland (1984), Miles and Huberman (1984), and again by Firestone (in press) ', Malinowski (1922/1984) claims we can distin- uish between arsiving with closed minds and aiving Shith an idea of what t0 look for: “Good taining in theory. and acquaintance with its atest rests, is not {dential with being burdened with peesonceived ideas.” Ia man ses out onan expedition, determined to prove certain hypotheses, if be is incapable of changing his ‘ons constantly and casting hemoff wngrudgngly under the peste of evidence, needless o say his work will Be ‘worthless, Botthe ore problems he brings with him ito the fel, the more be is im the habit of moolding his theories according to fets, and of seeing Facts in thei tracing upon theory, the batter he is equipped for the work, Preconcived ideas are pernicious in any scientific ‘work, but foreshadowed problems are the rman endow tent ofa Scientific thinker, and these problems ae ist reveal to the observer by his theoretical studies" (P 9) 10, Evasion stidies comparing the innovative pro- ram toncontolease regulary failtomake the comparison

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