Case Study Methodology

1. Case Study Methodology By Patti Higgins

2. Case studies are: • becoming increasingly valuable because they have had great impact on the social sciences and there has been a growing interest in qualitative methods. • full spectrum of assessment instruments can be used in a case study, allowing for collection and interpretation of both qualitative and quantitative data (Moon & Trepper, 1996).

3. Instruments include: • illustrative dialogues, transcripts, interviews, narratives, various assessments, videotapes, photos, journals, therapists’ notes and observation. • rich, detailed descriptions.

4. Steps include: • defining the research problem • choosing the case to study • defining terms • reviewing available literature • interviewing the subject (s) • collecting the data • reporting observations

5. Yin (1984), advises 3 things: • Boundaries of the case must be described so that the distinction between the phenomenon being studied and its context are specified. For example, specify the time, place, participants, specific reporting methods and other limitations. • Show researcher exhausted all means of data collection and compilation of relevant evidence. • Study should end only when complete, not because there were artificial conditions upon the study, such as the semester end, other time limits or resource constraints.

6. Jones (1993) adds: “The primary means of clinical inquiry, teaching, and learning in psychotherapy has been and still remains the case study method, grounded in the tradition of naturalistic observation” (p. 371). Case studies must present alternative perspectives and explanations. Different descriptive or critical accounts or theories help present a balanced study.

7. More than just reporting • Case studies tell detailed, descriptive stories that capture the readers interest, arouse emotion and keep them reading. • These are real stories about real people with problems and treatment approaches told in such a way that both scientists and the general public can relate.

8. Examples • Atella (1999) used the case study methodology to report consultations on change management and hardiness training in one organization. His descriptions of the scenario were based on interviews with employees. From these interviews, "it became obvious that there was organizational depression after the downsizing" (p. 128).

9. Assimilation of self voices • Honos-Webb et al (1999) illustrate the depressed clients’ mixed emotions of neediness, weakness, rebellion and assertiveness by quoting familiar phrases and citing several passages from transcriptions. • the integration of various self voices in psychotherapy with a depressed client • used a marker-based method to track the assimilation of voices (the superhuman, good-girl-seeking-approval and the underdog) • Assimilation of Problematic Experiences Scale (APES) three independent raters found major themes and excerpted 43 passages (from sessions) regarding progress.

10. Honos-Webb et al. (1999) Self voices from case study included direct quotes from client: • "I don't need anyone's help" • "I can and should be able to do it all” • "If you work hard enough others will like you" • “It's too exhausting to work so hard for others' approval” • “You can never be good enough” • “You can work hard and still not get others' approval” (p. 450)

11. Case of structural family therapy with anorexic • Raymond, Friedlander, Heatherington, Ellis and Sargent (1993) videotaped, transcribed, coded and analyzed the communication processes in structural family therapy with anorexic. • Family Relational Communication Control Coding System (FRCCCS) and • Hill Counselor Verbal Response Mode Category System were used to analyze the communication patterns demonstrated in 15 sessions.

12. Ethics of data collection • APA advises researcher receive informed consent, an agreement people give to participate in some process or procedure after having had that process explained • And researcher should protect the individual's rights to privacy and confidentiality.

13. Steps involved in research: • consider which questions will guide the study (Stake, 1998). • select a site and participants. • develop access and agreements with participants. • prepare a timeline for the study. • select the appropriate research strategies, such as a case study, narrative, naturalistic study, descriptive study, participant observations, field research or study, literary criticism. • identify underlying theory of the study. • identify any biases and ideologies.

14. Data collection • Videotaping • get informed consent, respect confidentiality • Interviewing • listening, focused awareness, identifying meta-statements, moral language and inner dialogues, and the systematic, logical analysis of dynamic processes (Jack, 1999).

15. Researchers should • Build rapport, participate in ongoing dialogue, ask open ended questions, observe (Fontana & Frey, 1998). • Be the research tool "Far from being an impersonal data collector, the interviewer, not an interview schedule or protocol, is the research tool" (Taylor, 1988, p. 88; Patton, 1987, p. 13). • A skilled interviewer observes nonverbal cues such as body language, facial expressions, tone of voice and general affect.

16. Questions • Asking such open-ended questions as, “could you give me an example?” might elicit a whole narrative (Hollway & Jefferson, 2000). • In general case studies are the preferred strategy when "how" or "why" questions are being posed (Yin, 1984; Patton, 1990). • Ask for details. Regardless of the type of case study, researchers must incorporate rich detailed data combined with a strong design, analysis and reporting guidelines (Yin, 1984).

17. ETHNO or TAP software • code and interpret information from transcribed interviews or therapy sessions. • Exploring language as an art form • Exploring it as information • Explore language as interpretation. If the same narrative is read by several people, not everyone will understand it exactly as everyone else does. The path between what is said and what is perceived is not direct" (Tesch, 1990, p.57).

18. Yin (1989) discussed dominant modes of data analysis, such as: • a) the search for patterns by comparing results with patterns predicted from theory or the literature; • b) explanation building in which the researcher looks for causal links and/or explores plausible or rival explanations and attempts to build an explanation about the case; and • c) time-series analysis in which the researcher traces changes in a pattern over time, a procedure similar to time-series analysis conducted in experiments and quasi-experiments. (Strauss & Corbin, 1990, p. 157)

19. Erlandson, Harris, Skipper, and Allen (1993) established quality criteria for qualitative research that includes trustworthiness, and authenticity. • Miles (1988) and Huberman (1984) referred to qualitative studies as needing to show internal and external validity and reliability (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). • Find internal validity through triangulation or finding convergence among sources of information, different investigators or different methods of data collections. • Provide audit trail of key decisions and events. • Internal validity refers to the accuracy of the information and whether it matches reality (Strauss & Corbin, 1990).

20. Generalizability issues • By presenting information about the limited generalizability of finding from the study, the researcher can demonstrate external validity. Although the intent of qualitative research involves forming a unique interpretations of events, discussing the limited generalizability of various categories or themes is important (Strauss & Corbin, 1990). • Provides details of study so that future studies may use the same process, thereby potentially increasing external validity and reliability.

21. Conclusion – case studies: • Include unique, detailed descriptions of a phenomenon, person, organization or event. • Can use both qualitative and quantitative data. • Categorize and interpret data. • Tell important scientific stories.