S-529

Case Study Research Methods

Class Session 4
02/19/2016
Irene A. Liefshitz, Ed.D
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Welcome

AGENDA
– Welcome
– Class Community
– Carter Case Study Discussion
– Break
– Methods Discussion
– Ethics & Politics
– Closure

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 Class
Community
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
02/19/2016
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Class Community

FEEDBACK FROM LAST CLASS

FACILITATION GROUPS

PROJECT PROPOSALS

CRITICAL REVIEW (DUE 3/25)

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S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Class Community
CRITICAL REVIEW (DUE 3/25)

• select a case study research work (or works) for critical analysis
• book, 3 – 5 articles, a dissertation, or technical report
• related to your project topic
• a list of possible studies in Bibliography
• critical review/analysis
• briefly summarize the case study research and explain why it was
selected for analysis;
• draw on course readings;
• clearly identify the methodological, conceptual, and other relevant
criteria used in the appraisal/critique of this case study research
• articulate the “lessons learned,” through the analysis of this case study
research, for own research design
• Purpose = develop a stronger case study research design for own project through
critical application of methodological guidelines to another work

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Stubborn Roots

S-529 Case Study Research Methods

02/19/2016
Case Selection
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
02/19/2016
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Case Selection
Case selection = the heart of CSR

George & Bennett’s CSR design principles

• 1st Phase: Formulate the objectives, design,
and structure of the research
• 2nd Phase: Carry out the study as per the design
• 3rd Phase: Draw on the findings to see how they
contribute to meeting the objectives of the
study

 
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S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Case Selection
Formulate the objectives, design, and structure of the research

Task 1: specify the problem and research objective

• What does the field need?
• The BIG problem in the world: preface vii
• Research gap: preface viii, page 5
• Clearly specify the research objective
• Document, unpack, mechanism: preface viii
• Spotlight array of school-centered factors: preface xii
• Broaden conversation: page 14
• Be clear about what you are doing with theory
• Cultural flexibility: pages 8-9
• Habitus and boundaries: pages 12-13

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S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Case Selection
Formulate the objectives, design, and structure of the research

Task 2: develop a research strategy and specify variables

• Strategic decisions:
• What is the dependent variable to be predicted or
explained?
• Academic incorporation of historically
marginalized students
• Well-being of students: page 2
• What independent variables comprise the theoretical
framework?
• Schools’ resource contexts
• Schools’ integration contexts
• Schools’ sociocultural contexts

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S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Case Selection
Formulate the objectives, design, and structure of the research

Task 3: Select cases

• Not what is accessible/available, but what will allow inferences to
be made
• real life constraints
• Theory in search of test case(s)
• Sociocultural contexts of schools impact student well-
being and incorporation
• Case(s) in search of theory
• What is happening in these post-integration, diverse
schools, “good” by test criteria?

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S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Case Selection
Ways to go about case selection: Curtis et al

General principles of sampling in qualitative research

• Not based on principles of randomness, statistical probability
• Sometimes not wholly pre-specified
• Reflexive and explicit explanation of case selection
• Sampling permits analytic generalization, not statistical generalization
• Sample selection is conceptually driven
– Purposive sampling: there is an existing body of social theory that informs research
inquiry (sociocultural context matters)
– Theoretical sampling (theory is grounded in data, not established prior)
 
Miles & Huberman
• Sample strategy should be relevant to conceptual framework and research questions
• Sample should be likely to generate rich information on phenomenon
• Sample should enhance generalizability of findings
• Sample should produce believable descriptions/explanations
• Sample strategy should be ethical
• Sampling plan should be feasible

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S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Case Selection
Ways to go about case selection: Seawright & Gerring

Guiding assumptions
• representativeness: what can I say about the broader population
• causal inference: making or testing propositions

 
Seven case selection techniques.
Even if we do not think that Carter’s research objective/inquiry is causal…what case
selection technique(s) is she using?

 
 
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S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Case Selection
Ways to go about case selection: Small

Imitation of and pandering to quantitative research

GOOD qualitative research

• makes logical, analytic hypotheses about processes and mechanisms
that illuminate the case-specific research inquiry
• goes beyond the case-specific context to illuminate social structures,
human behavior, etc.

NOT representation of or generalizability to larger populations

What do you make of his

• interpretation of Yin?
• “extended case method”

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Ethics & Politics
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
02/19/2016
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Ethics & Politics

Dyer & Wilkins (1991).

Better Stories, Not Better Constructs, to Generate better
Theory: A Rejoinder to Eisenhardt.
The Academy of Management Review, 16(3), 613-619.

Eisenhardt (1991).
Better Stories and Better Constructs: The Case for Rigor
and Comparative Logic.
The Academy of Management Review, 16(3), 620-627.

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 Closure
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
02/19/2016
S-529 Case Study Research Methods
Class Session 4: Closure

NEXT CLASS: 02/26/2015 (Session 5) Data Collection

• Group will post guiding questions for the 1st part of our case study
discussion (Carter) on Monday
• Readings
• Project Workshop

FEEDBACK!!!!!!!

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