Central components of a case study design & their functions:
1) A study’s questions – “how”, “why”
2) Study’s (theoretical) propositions – pointing attention, limiting scope, suggesting possible links between phenomena
3) Study’s units of analysis – main units must be at the same level as the study questions & typically comparable to those previously studied
4) Logic linking the data to the propositions – matching pieces of information to rival patterns that can be derived from the propositions
5) Criteria for interpreting the findings – iteration between propositions and data, matching sufficiently contrasting rival patterns to data; there is no precise way of setting the criteria
Research design links the data to be collected and conclusions to be drawn to the initial questions of the study – it provides a conceptual framework & an action plan for getting from questions to set of conclusions.
Preliminary theory & blueprint of the study: having solved the five steps mentioned above leads to the formation of a loose theory & a blueprint related to the topic of study
-Initial theory & understanding of what is being studied is necessary before any field contacts; the complete research design embodies a “theory” of what is being studied
Deciding between explanatory, exploratory and descriptive designs:
-Depends on the richness of the rival propositions in theories related to the topic of the study; richest theories allow explanatory designs
-> Search for theoretical propositions that can be elaborated to cover study questions, propositions, units of analysis, data-proposition links & criteria of interpretation
-> Reviewing literature, discussing with investigators, asking challenging questions, thinking what is to be learned from the study
-> Being aware of the range of theories & selecting the required level (individual, organization, societal)
-> Construction of the design / conceptual framework takes time & can be difficult, but is a crucial step for the success of the study
Selection of the cases:
-Cases should be selected in the same way as the topic of an experiment is selected
-> Developed preliminary theory is used as a template with which to compare the characteristics & empirical findings from the case(s)
-> Selected cases should reflect characteristics & problems identified in the underlying theoretical propositions / conceptual framework
The level of generalization of the study results = appropriately developed preliminary theory / study design
-Mode of generalization = theory-related analytic generalization, not statistical
-Analytic generalization possible from one or more cases
1) A study’s questions – “how”, “why”
2) Study’s (theoretical) propositions – pointing attention, limiting scope, suggesting possible links between phenomena
3) Study’s units of analysis – main units must be at the same level as the study questions & typically comparable to those previously studied
4) Logic linking the data to the propositions – matching pieces of information to rival patterns that can be derived from the propositions
5) Criteria for interpreting the findings – iteration between propositions and data, matching sufficiently contrasting rival patterns to data; there is no precise way of setting the criteria
Research design links the data to be collected and conclusions to be drawn to the initial questions of the study – it provides a conceptual framework & an action plan for getting from questions to set of conclusions.
Preliminary theory & blueprint of the study: having solved the five steps mentioned above leads to the formation of a loose theory & a blueprint related to the topic of study
-Initial theory & understanding of what is being studied is necessary before any field contacts; the complete research design embodies a “theory” of what is being studied
Deciding between explanatory, exploratory and descriptive designs:
-Depends on the richness of the rival propositions in theories related to the topic of the study; richest theories allow explanatory designs
-> Search for theoretical propositions that can be elaborated to cover study questions, propositions, units of analysis, data-proposition links & criteria of interpretation
-> Reviewing literature, discussing with investigators, asking challenging questions, thinking what is to be learned from the study
-> Being aware of the range of theories & selecting the required level (individual, organization, societal)
-> Construction of the design / conceptual framework takes time & can be difficult, but is a crucial step for the success of the study
Selection of the cases:
-Cases should be selected in the same way as the topic of an experiment is selected
-> Developed preliminary theory is used as a template with which to compare the characteristics & empirical findings from the case(s)
-> Selected cases should reflect characteristics & problems identified in the underlying theoretical propositions / conceptual framework
The level of generalization of the study results = appropriately developed preliminary theory / study design
-Mode of generalization = theory-related analytic generalization, not statistical
-Analytic generalization possible from one or more cases
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