CASE STUDY
INTRODUCTION
A research method is a strategy of inquiry which moves from the underlying philosophical assumptions to research design and data collection. The choice of research method influences the way in which the researcher collects data. Specific research methods also imply different skills, assumptions and research practices.
Qualitative research is an umbrella concept in which several methods of inquiry informs researchers about naturally occurring phenomena, processes, or perspectives of the individuals involved. The core notion of qualitative research lies in understanding a phenomenon from the perspective of the participant, not the researcher. The goal of understanding a phenomenon from the point of view of the participants and its particular social and institutional context is largely lost when textual data are quantified. This is why a qualitative approach to this research has been taken.
What
is Case Study?
A case
study is an in-depth analysis of a person, group, event, or community. In
studies, data are collected from various sources like personal interviews,
direct observations, psychometric tests, and historical records to find the
causes of one’s behaviour. Case studies are applied in various
study fields like psychology, medicine,
anthropology, political science, and social sciences, business,
etc. Case study research methods are often used in clinical medicine to analyze patients’
personal and medical histories. In psychology, case studies are restricted to
the study of a particular individual, his biography, past life, and the current
events that are presently happening in one’s day-to-day life. Case studies
offer a systematic approach towards finding events, collecting data, analyzing
information, and communicating the results. Case studies and case methods are
often mistaken as the same, but they are not; case methods are research methods
used to collect data and analysis that will further generate information needed
for case studies.
Some of the other advantages of the case study method are:
1. Provides
a detailed description of rare and specific cases.
2. Provides
an opportunity for innovation
3. Allow
researchers to collect rich qualitative information.
4.
Allow researchers to challenge
theoretical assumptions.
Case studies provide far more detailed information on the rare or hard to study cases and the information concerning measurable or quantitative insights of the case and the detailed information related to the qualitative aspects of human behavior.
Case studies offer in-depth analysis and a multi-sided approach that studies even those aspects of human thinking that is impractical or unethical.
Limitations
of case study method:
Following are the disadvantages of the case study method:
1.
hard to determine cause and effect
relationships
2.
can be possible biased at times
3.
time-consuming and expensive
4.
hard to generalize to the large
population
5.
difficult to recreate
How is
the case study conducted?
ü In the case studies, the data and information are collected through personal interviews, direct observations, psychometric tests, and historical records.
ü The researchers interview the subject of the case, his friends, parents, employer, workmates, and others who know him better and can state reliable facts about him.
ü The information collected through interviews involves comments from the person’s friends, parents, employer, workmates, etc.
ü Apart from the interviews, the case study method also involves simple observations concerning what is happening in the subject’s everyday life. It is a prospective method of the case study which means observing an individual for an extended period to study the developments of a particular disease as they happen.
ü Another method is a retrospective method which involves looking at the historical records of the subject of the case. It means going through the past background of the individual’s life to analyze the factors that have lead to the cause of the particular disease or illness.
The information collected through the case study method is more qualitative, i.e., based on the verbal description of one’s behavior. After collecting all the data, it is possible to analyze the following information through various techniques and theories like grounded theory, interpretative phenomenological analysis, text interpretation, etc. And then interpret the data and decide what is essential or what is not, and then conclude.
Case study research can be positivist, interpretive, or critical, depending upon the underlying philosophical assumptions of the researcher, but it most frequently follows the interpretative rather than the positivist paradigm of research. The interpretive case study is used to understand the meaning of a process or experience. Interpretive researchers start out with the assumption that access to reality (given or socially constructed) is only through social constructions such as language, consciousness and shared meanings. This dissertation was completed using Stake's interpretive design with multiple cases because of the different participants. Multiple case study research is conducted when the study includes two or more case (Yin, 2003).
Case study research is considered one of the best ways to generate new theoretical insights that are not anticipated by the literature. Case studies do not aim to test hypotheses. Rather, they aim to "develop constructs, measures, and testable theoretical propositions"
CONCLUSION
In common with other qualitative research methods the most commonly cited weakness of case studies is that their results do not allow scientific generalisations to be made, that robust conclusions cannot be supported by one case study alone or facilitate the transferability of practice from one context to another (Yin 1988). However In this type of research, generalisation is not a central issue. The relevance of a case study is more important than its ability to be generalised. When a case study is carried out both systematically and critically and aimed at the improvement of understanding then it is relevant, and if any publication of its findings extends or expands the boundaries of existing knowledge of the subject area, then it is a valid form of research.
References
·
https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/11784113.pdf
Jurnal Kemanusiaan bil.9, Jun 2007 Case study as a research method Zaidah
Zainal m-zaidah@utm.my Faculty of Management and Human Resource Development
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
·
https://www.freestudy.com/case-study-method-in-psychology/
·
K, Mathew., Bincy.
(2021, September 25). Spiritual Energy. http://srbincy2015.blogspot.com/
·
UKEssays. (November
2018). Case Study Research And Different Research Methods Psychology Essay.
Retrieved from https://www.ukessays.com/essays/psychology/case-study-research-and-different-research-methods-psychology-essay.php?vref=1
· Yin,
R.K., (1984). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Beverly Hills, Calif:
Sage Publications. Yin, R., (1994). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage
Publishing
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