Respond to at least two of your colleagues’ postings

Discussion: Yin and Stake Case Study Philosophical Worldviews

Robert Yin and Robert Stake are two major voices in the field of qualitative research, but they also have differing philosophical orientations. Yin’s work, with its post-positivist perspective, has been most commonly represented, with Stake’s constructivist approach less so. Many of the design decisions you make will be determined by the philosophical orientation—post-positivist or constructivist—you employ for your Doctoral Study. See if your philosophical orientation is more aligned with Yin or Stake, or perhaps a combination of both.

To prepare for this Discussion, review this week’s Required Readings that include the different perspectives of Yin and Stake and consider which one is most appropriate to your work as an independent scholar and doctoral researcher.

Guillermo

Perspective as a qualitative doctoral researcher.

My perspective as a qualitative researcher aligns with Yin’s (2018) post-positivist approach at the data collection and interpretation stages. However, validation aligns more to Stakes’ approach as explained by Boblin, Ireland, Kirkpatrick, and Robertson (2013). Yin’s post-positivist approach proposes that knowledge can advance by understanding phenomena in its natural state through multi-method observation and interpretation of events using questions, propositions, an analysis unit(s), logic and interpretation criteria while recognizing the inherent limitations of the observer (Yazan, 2015).

 

Stake’s constructivist approach uses the scientific method approach of isolating the variable to test relationships (Yazan,2015). Social science seeks to understand the behaviors of groups, where interactions are complex and rarely isolated (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2015). The complexity of interactions demands vast amounts of data to cover all possible variables for an empirical explanation using Stake’s approach. Big data and artificial intelligence allow computers to analyze complex iterations to establish and prioritize relationships (Femina Bahari, Sudheep Elayidom, 2015). Yin’s post-positivist approach can help analyze the phenomena, uncover the most salient interactions, identify possible relations and moderating factors, as well and help formulate the theory. Stake’s constructivism can empirically test, and even re-define the relevant variables and influences to add validity and possibly generalizability of the study.

 

 References

Boblin, S. L.,  Ireland, S., Kirkpatrick, H., & Robertson, K. (2013). Using Stake’s qualitative case study approach to explore implementation evidence-based practice. Qualitative Health Research, 23, 1267–1275. doi:10.1177/1049732313502128

Femina Bahari, T., Sudheep Elayidom M., (2015). An efficient CRM-data mining framework for the prediction of customer behavior, Procedia Computer Science, 46, 725-731. doi.org/10.1016/j.procs.2015.02.136.

Saunders, M. N. K.,  Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2015). Research methods for business students (7th ed.).  Essex, England: Pearson Education Unlimited.

Yazan, B. (2015). Three approaches to case study methods in education: Yin, Merriam, and Stake. The Qualitative Report, 20(2), 134–152. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR20/2/yazan1.pdf

Yin,  R. K. (2018). Case study research and applications: Design and methods (6th  ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Michael

here are many decisions to make when conducting qualitative research. One of the various considerations is the philosophical orientation or perspective as a researcher. For this week’s discussion, I will describe the perspective I chose for my qualitative doctoral research and the rationale behind my decision. 

Two Different Approaches

The post-positivist researcher seeks truth through valuing processes and exploring an ultimate truth or reality whereas constructivist researchers claim that truth is relative or a result of a perspective (Boblin, Ireland, Kirkpatrick, & Robertson, 2013). Robert Yin and Robert Stake are two seminal authors who provide case study procedures with Yin demonstrating positivistic leanings in his perspective while Stake orients his viewpoint from constructivism (Yazan, 2015). Neither one of these perspectives is wrong. A researcher must examine his or her professional and academic worldviews to determine which view works for them epistemologically. 

My Research Approach

Yazan (2015) stated that as a researcher, he closely subscribed to a constructivist paradigm in which he conceived knowledge as being socially constructed and emerging from people’s social practices. I tend to agree with this methodology and see myself as a follower of the constructivist approach. Boblin et al. (2013) described the constructivist style as the search for happenings and not causes while the post-positivist sees a conceptual framework as essential in portraying a hypothesized cause-and-effect relationship. I want to research, describe what happened, and not pay as much attention to the causes. A post-positivist orientation uses a formal conceptual framework and propositions but with a constructivist orientation, researchers can use a conceptual framework to guide the study, but it is not required, and the researcher may develop issue statements, but they are also not necessary (Boblin et al., 2013). It seems to me, Yin provides a more structured approach that could limit the new researcher whereas Stakes allows more flexibility and the design better suits my perspective. 

Conclusion

          Researchers have different views from which to frame their qualitative research. Using a post-positivist or a constructivist approach yields a different outcome to interact with readers. This week, I discussed my qualitative research philosophical approach and my motivation for using it. 

 

References

Boblin, S. L., Ireland, S., Kirkpatrick, H., & Robertson, K. (2013). Using Stake’s qualitative case study approach to explore implementation evidence-based practice. Qualitative Health Research, 23, 1267-1275. doi:10.1177/1049732313502128

Saunders, M. N. K., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2015). Research methods for business students (7th ed.). Essex, England: Pearson Education Unlimited.

Yazan, B. (2015). Three approaches to case study methods in education: Yin, Merriam, and Stake. The Qualitative Report, 20(2), 134-152. Retrieved from http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR20/2/yazan1.pdf