Unit5-assignment
Designing Case Studies for Business
Chapter 11
Doing Research in the Business World
David E. Gray
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Session Objectives
By the end of this session you will be able to:
Describe the purpose of case studies.
Plan a systematic approach to case study design.
Recognize the strengths and limitations of case studies as a research method.
Compose a case study report that is appropriately structured and presented.
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Definition
Yin (2003:13) defines the case study as an empirical inquiry that
Investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when
The boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.
Case studies explore subjects and issues where relationships may be ambiguous or uncertain. But, in contrast to descriptive surveys, they are trying to attribute causal relationships and are not just describing a situation.
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Case studies can be used when…
A ‘how’ or ‘why’ question is being asked
The researcher has no control over the situation
The focus is on contemporary events
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Inductive or deductive case studies?
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Multiple case study method
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The process of case study construction
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Main types of case study design
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Quality in case studies: construct validity
This can only be achieved if the researcher:
Operationally defines the concepts at the outset.
Selects appropriate measurement instruments and/or data sources for the defined concept.
Uses multiple sources of data in a way that encourages divergent lines of inquiry.
Establishes of a chain of evidence during the data collection process.
Evaluates the draft case study report through feedback from key informants
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Quality in case studies: internal validity – pattern matching
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Quality in case studies: internal validity – explanation building
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Quality in case studies: internal validity – time-series analysis
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Limitations of case studies
Tend to be context-specific
Illuminating rather than confirmatory
Limits on generalisability
Types of case study report
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Types of written report structures
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Case studies are often deductive in character, beginning from a theoretical premise or stance.
They should be used when there is no opportunity to control or manipulate variables, but when there is an interest in explanations and analysis of situations or events.
Case study research should involve the development of an initial hypothesis or set of questions, and the design of research tools, protocols and field procedures.
Case studies can involve single or multiple units of analysis (individuals, departments, objects, systems, etc.) in combination with single or multiple case designs.
In case studies, researchers should aim to collect multiple sources of evidence that should evolve into a chain of evidence, linking research questions, data, analysis and case study reports.
Data for case studies are typically collected from multiple sources including documentation, archives, interviews and direct or participant observation.
Summary
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