CASE STUDY RESEARCH

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-1
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Case Study Research: Definition and
Purpose
Definition and purpose
• Case study research is an all-encompassing
method that includes specific design, data
collection, and data analysis.
• Case study also refers to the product of the
research.
• Case study research yields concrete knowledge
that readers personally relate to their own
experiences.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-2
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Case Study Research: Definition and
Purpose
• Case study research is a qualitative approach.
• Case study research focuses on a unit of study
known as a bounded system.
• Case study research is not a methodological
choice. It is a choice of what to study.
• Case study research is an all-encompassing
research method.
• Case study is a label for the research approach
and the product of case study research.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-3
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 When to Use the Case Study
Research Approach
• Case study research is appropriate when the
researcher wants to answer:
• a descriptive question (e.g., what happened?) or
• an explanatory question (e.g., how did something
happen).
• Case study can also be appropriate when the focus
of the researcher focuses on process.
– e.g., What challenges does a department face as
they integrate instructional technology for
blended learning?

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-4
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Characteristics of Case Study Research

Case studies can be described as:

• Particularistic: Focused on a particular
phenomenon, situation, or event
• Descriptive: Includes a thick description of the
phenomenon under study
• Heuristic: illuminate readers understanding of the
phenomenon beyond original knowledge
Different disciplines use case study research for
different purposes.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-5
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Case Study Research Design

Determine the research questions.

• Determining the questions is a critical step in case
study research.
• Case study research questions address who, what,
how, and why.
Define the case under study.
• In this step the researcher defines
– the variables under investigation
– educational innovation being implemented

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-6
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Case Study Research Design

Determine the role of theory development in

case selection.
• This step includes making a decision about
whether or not to use theory development in
selecting cases.
Determine the theoretical and conceptual
framework of the case study.
• Theories are a set of formal propositions or
axioms that explain how part of the world
operates.
• Theories and concepts influence the way you
conduct your own research.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-7
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Case Study Research Design

Determine whether a single case study; a

multiple case study; or a collective case study
is appropriate.
• Increasing the number of cases does not
correspond to increased rigor.
• Resist the temptation to add subcases unless it will
strengthen understanding or theorizing of the
phenomenon under investigation.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-8
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Sample Selection in Case Study
Research
• Case study research generally employs purposive
or purposeful sampling.
• Cases are selected because they are information
rich, and the researcher can learn about the
research problem.
• Screening is used to determine if a potential
participant has the necessary experience or
knowledge of the phenomenon under investigation.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-9
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Sample Selection in Case Study
Research
Screening steps
• Review documents about the proposed case study
site.
• Conduct informal interviews with key participants.
• Determine whether participants have the
experience and knowledge of the phenomenon and
ability to provide information.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-10
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Sample Selection in Case Study
Research
Data Collection Techniques
• Case study researchers use the same data
collection techniques as do other qualitative
researchers.
• The data collection techniques are selected to
answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions.
• Case study researchers triangulate their data
through the use of multiple sources.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-11
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Conducting and Analyzing Multiple
Case Studies
• It is often common to find case study research that
studies the same phenomenon at multiple sites.

• Multiple cases improve external validity.

• Multiple cases allows for greater understanding of

contextual variations.

• Multiple case studies require cross-site analysis.

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-12
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Conducting and Analyzing Multiple
Case Studies
Cross-site analysis strategies
• Unordered meta-matrix
– Master charts with descriptive data from each site
– ‘Monster dog’

• Site-ordered descriptive matrix

– Ordered meta-matrix orders sites based upon
critical variable of interest
• Site-ordered predictor-outcome matrix
– Includes more explanation and interpretation
– Order sites to understand variables that appear to
contribute most directly to outcomes

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-13
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Multiple case studies

Cross-site analysis strategies

• Time-ordered meta-matrix
– Uses chronology as an organizing variable for a
meta-matrix
• Scatterplots
– Visual displays of data from all the sites
– Based upon dimensions or themes

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-14
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.
 Multiple case studies

Cross-site analysis strategies

• Site-ordered effects matrix
– Presents potential cause-effect relations
– Presents manifest functions, latent functions,
unintended consequences
• Causal models
– Extends case study analysis
– Presents possible cause-effect relations among
variables

Mills & Gay

Educational Research, 11e, Global Edition 14-15
© 2016 Pearson Education, Ltd. All rights reserved.