Case Study Research

Case Study Approach

A goal of case study research is thorough investigation of the case and its context. Cases are conceptual categories researchers delineate as worthwhile to explore in detail because of their specific qualities or their potential to illuminate a given phenomenon. A case can refer to a specific person (an administrator, a hiker, a babysitter), a period of time (a school semester or election day), an event or activity (a wedding, a basketball game, a natural disaster, a birthday party), a group or community [Page 104](skateboarders, homeschoolers, volunteers, members of a culture, breast cancer survivors, antiracist activists), processes (educational reform, curricular implementation, organizational change), or places and regions (a street corner, a village, a city), among others. Because the boundaries of cases are constructed and conceptual, cases must be defined clearly and can sometimes overlap, such as a school and a neighborhood or a birthday party and a group of kindergarteners. Also, multiple small cases can comprise a larger case. For example, schools (potential cases to study) can comprise a school district (a larger case) or individual students (potential cases) can comprise a classroom (a larger case). Researchers refer to cases with multiple units of analysis as embedded or layered studies.

Researchers designate particular units to study based on theoretical framework and research purpose. A case may pique their interest or display interesting features useful to examine in depth (intrinsic case), offer insights into a broader issue (instrumental case), represent an average phenomenon (typical case), provide information on a phenomenon about which little is known (revelatory case), or represent an unusual or striking example of a phenomenon (extreme case), among others reasons. Scholars sometimes use different terms for the same rationale; for example, extreme cases are also called deviant or unique. As an example of an extreme case, researchers interested in testing initiatives might select for study the only school in a given district with high test scores. In this case, the school is the focus, and the researcher might explore the school's history, context, demographics, testing patterns, curriculum, and any other features relevant to constructing a comprehensive portrait of that unique case. Case studies can be short term or longitudinal (investigated over time), exploratory or evaluative, or single or multiple. Researchers might use findings to extend theory, modify generalizations, or connect specific events to larger patterns. However, generalizing findings to other populations is not the intent. Rather, researchers aim to explore the phenomenon of interest in depth and detail in each defined case.

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