Preliminary Considerations for Bullying

Case Study

Definition

• An empirical inquiry about a contemporary phenomenon (e.g., a “case”), set within its real-worldcontext—especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident (Yin, 2009a, p. 18).

Characteristics • Small sample • Often exploratory • Can be one or two cases • Very detailed in data collection • Rich focus on context • Theoretically deep and complex • Often represent unusual or rare examples • A "deep thinker" type research • Not for the average student

Strengths

• Real world context • Capturing the complexity of real social life • Often engaging to read • Avoid the "dryness" of numbers and tables • Can readily handle the unique or unusual

Weaknesses

• Time-consuming • Can be ethically complex • Requires an extensive knowledge of theory • Major validity issues • Major reliability issues • Too contextually bound

A Case

• A “case” is generally a bounded entity (a person, organization, behavioral condition, event, or other social phenomenon), but the boundary between the case and its contextual conditions…

• http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm-binaries/41407_1.pdf

Data Collection • Direct observations (e.g., human actions or a physical

environment) • Interviews (e.g., open-ended conversations with key

participants) • Archival records (e.g., student records) • Documents (e.g., newspaper articles, letters and e-mails,

reports) • Participant-observation (e.g., being identified as a

researcher but also filling a real-life role in the scene being studied)

• Physical artifacts (e.g., computer downloads of employees’ work)

• http://www.sagepub.com/sites/default/files/upm- binaries/41407_1.pdf

In Psychology

• Case studies may occur by interviewing unique or typical “clients.” This quite common.

• An event, like the trial of O.J. Simpson, can a case study and wealth, race and power in the criminal justice system.

• The rise and fall of “Big Blue” can serve as a case study for business management.

Science

• Case studies must comply with the rules of science. o Theoretically based o Systematic and organized collection of data o Significant focus on evidence o A skeptical attitude o A deep knowledge of the literature o Deep intellectual awareness of the issues

Imagine • Imagine you are interested in police shooting cases.

o How could you systematically collect a couple of key cases?

o Are the most famous the proper way to gather data? o Would studying a police shooting case in Ross, South

Carolina result in the same findings as Chicago Illinois. o In such a politically and racially charged time can a

researcher be objective? • Two or three cases of police shootings of civilians

could be a powerful case study approach to the issue. They would have to be the right cases, however.