Case Study

Overview

Case study researchers have conducted studies in traditional disciplines such as anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology, and sociology. Case studies have also emerged in areas such as medicine, law, nursing, business, administration, public policy, social work, and education. Case studies may be used as part of a larger study or as a stand-alone design. Case study research may be considered a method for inquiry or an evaluation of a bounded entity, program, or system. Case studies may consist of more than one entity (unit, thing) or of several cases within one entity, but care must be taken to limit the number of cases in order to allow for in-depth analysis and description of each case.

Researchers who have written about case study research have addressed it in different ways, depending on their perspectives and points of view. Some researchers regard case study as a research process used to investigate a phenomenon in its real-world setting. Some have considered case study to be a design—a particular logic for setting up the study. Others think of case study as a qualitative approach to research that includes particular qualitative methods. Others have depicted it in terms of the final product, a written holistic examination, interpretation, and analysis of one or more entities or social units. Case study also has been defined in terms of the unit of study itself, or the entity being studied. Still other researchers consider that case study research encompasses all these notions taken together in relation to the research questions.