International Journal of Qualitative Methods 6 (2) June 2007
         Redefining Case Study
         RobVanWynsbergheandSamiaKhan
         Rob VanWynsberghe, PhD, Assistant Professor, School of Human
         Kinetics/Dept. of Educational Studies, University of British Columbia,
         Vancouver, Canada
         Samia Khan, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Curriculum Studies,
         Faculty of Education, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
         Abstract: In this paper the authors propose a more precise and encompass-
         ing definition of case study than is usually found. They support their defini-
         tionbyclarifyingthatcasestudyisneitheramethodnoramethodologynora
         research design as suggested by others. They use a case study prototype of
         their own design to propose common properties of case study and demon-
         strate how these properties support their definition. Next, they present sev-
         eral living myths about case study and refute them in relation to their
         definition. Finally, they discuss the interplay between the terms case study
         and unit of analysis to further delineate their definition of case study. The
         target audiences for this paper include case study researchers, research de-
         sign andmethodsinstructors,andgraduatestudentsinterestedincasestudy
         research.
         Keywords: qualitative methdology, heuristic, research design
         Citation
         VanWynsberghe, R. & Khan, S. (2007). Redefining case study. Inter-
         national Journal of Qualitative Methods, 6(2), Article 6. Retrieved [date]
         from http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/6_2/vanwynsberghe.pdf
             2 VanWynsberghe, Khan REDEFINING CASE STUDY
                     hat is a case study? Why is it so regularly in-  an alternative definition that might address several of
                     voked in educational and other social science    these conundrums.
             Wresearchandyetsoirregularly, randomly, and
             poorly defined? Case study is variously defined as a           Theconundrumofthecasestudy
             method, methodology, or research design (Bassey,
             1999;Merriam,1988;Orum,Feagin,&Sjoberg,1991; Thepastthreedecadesofscholarshiponcasestudyre-
                                                                      search have produced more than 25 different defini
             Yin, 1994). It is used as a catch-all category for a vari-                                                     -
             ety of research methods, methodologies, and designs      tions of case study, each with its own particular
             and as a result, loses its meaning. In this paper we ad- emphasis and direction for research. Three definitions
             dress the problematic definition of the case study. We   that exemplify the range include the following.
             also propose a more precise and encompassing defini-
             tionthatreconcilesvariousdefinitionsofcasestudyre-          Acasecanbedefinedtechnicallyasaphenome-
             search:  case   study is a transparadigmatic and            nonforwhichwereportandinterpretonlyasin-
             transdisciplinary heuristic that involves the careful de-   gle   measure    on any pertinent variable.
             lineationofthephenomenaforwhichevidenceisbeing              (Eckstein, 2002, p. 124)
             collected (event, concept, program, process, etc.).
                By transparadigmatic, we mean that case study is         Acasestudyisanempiricalinquirythatinvesti-
             relevant regardless of one’s research paradigm (i.e.,       gates a contemporary phenomenon within its
             postpositivism, critical theory, constructivism). By        real-life context,especiallywhentheboundaries
             transdisciplinary,wearesuggestingthatcasestudyhas           between phenomenon and context are not
             no particular disciplinary orientation; that is, it can be  clearly evident. (Yin, 2003, p. 13)
             used in social science, science, applied science, busi-
             ness, fine arts, and humanities research, for example.      Acase study is a problem to be studied, which
             Weregard heuristic at its most general level as an ap-      will reveal an in-depth understanding of a
             proach that focuses one’s attention during learning,        “case” or bounded system, which involves un-
             construction, discovery, or problem solving. Eckstein       derstandinganevent,activity,process,oroneor
             (2002),forexample,usedthetermheuristictodescribe            moreindividuals. (Creswell, 2002, p. 61)
             a special type of case study that employs analytic in-
             duction to discover or “find out” the essence of the        Eckstein’s (2002) definition offers a technical ex-
             case. The heuristic in Eckstein’s case study is analytic planation in which the case is a focused object of inter-
             induction, as analytic induction is the recommended      est, a relevant variable. For example, a possible case
             approach for focusing one’s attention on the case. We    study or phenomenon under investigation could be
             suggest that there are several heuristics involved in    electoral systems, where the pertinent variable is the
             case study research, and we propose that these general parliamentary election and the single measure
             heuristics serve continually to focus one’s attention on of the pertinent variable is the outcome of six such
             locating or constructing the unit of analysis (the phe-  elections in Britain. Yin’s (2003) definition appears
             nomenonforwhichevidenceiscollected).                     less technical, but it is still a naturalistic one. It invites
                In the following sections we substantiate our pro-    theresearchertoengageinanynecessaryethnographic
             posed definition by examining whether case study is a    workthatwilldelineatetheeventorconceptofinterest
             method,methodology,orresearchdesign.Wethenuse fromthebackdrop.Exemplarycasestudies,according
             aprototypeofcasestudytopresentcommonproperties to Yin (2004), include Head Start: The Inside Story of
             ofthecasestudyandsuggesthowthesepropertiessup- America’s Most Successful Educational Experiment
             port our proposed definition. Next, we superimpose       (Zigler & Muenchow, 1992), where preschool pro-
             Flyvbjerg’s (2001) presentation of social science        grams for lower income children were examined by
             myths on our proposed definition of case study. Ad-      participant observation within and beyond the Head
             dressing these myths reveals case study—understood       Start program. Creswell’s (2002) definition, on the
             according to our definition—as quintessential social     other hand, appears to call for the researcher to start
             science. Finally, we confront the tension between the                                                          -
                                                                      withaquandary,thatwillinvokelayersofunderstand
             caseincasestudyandtheunitofanalysisand,indoing ingaboutthesysteminwhichtheproblemresides.The
             so; further authenticate our proposed definition of case system becomes the case, and the researcher chooses
             study.Ourintentioninthispaperisnottosettletheulti-                                                             -
                                                                      anevent,activity, or process within this system to illu
                                                                   -
             mate issue of what is a case study but to identify sev   minateit. AnexampleofCreswell’sdefinitionatwork
             eral conundrums associated with its use and to suggest   is the case of a campus response to a student gunman
                                                                      (Asmussen & Creswell, 1995). This case study de-
              International Journal of Qualitative Methods 6 (2) June 2007
              http://www.ualberta.ca/~ijqm/
                                                                               VanWynsberghe, Khan REDEFININGCASESTUDY 3
                  scribed the immediate and subsequent response by           ance to the researcher on how to proceed with the re
                                                                                                                                      -
                  campusofficials to a graduate student who opened fire      search in terms of number of variables to study, types
                  in his science class. The case study of the campus re-     of controls, and sampling techniques. If a case study
                  sponse to a student gunman illuminated a larger prob-      werearesearchdesign,itwouldalsobeabletoprovide
                  lem of escalating campus violence involving guns in        researcherswithsuchaprescriptiveplan.Becausecase
                  the United States.                                         study does not offer a prescriptive guide for how to
                                                                             proceed with the business of collecting, analyzing and
                  Method,research design, or methodology? interpretingdata,wedonotconsidercasestudyasare
                                                                                                                                      -
                                                                             search design.
                  In addition to the wide range of definitions of case           Thus,weareleftwiththepossibilitythatcasestudy
                  studyassuggestedintheabovesection,currentdefini-           is a methodology. The term methodology, like case
                  tions also refer to case study as a method, strategy, re-  study, has little definitional clarity and is commonly
                  search design, or methodology. To call case study a        usedinterchangeablywiththetermmethod.Forexam
                                                                                                                                      -
                  method (a term commonly confused with methodol- ple, Sjoberg, Williams, Vaughn, and Sjoberg (1991)
                  ogy)wouldimplythatcasestudyisatechnique,proce- defined methodology as “the analysis of the intersec-
                  dure, or means for gathering evidence or collecting        tion (and interaction) between theory and research
                  data. Examples of well-known research techniques in-       methodsanddata”(p.29).Ontheotherhand,Harding
                  clude interviews, participant observations, and docu-      (1987) defined methodology as a theory and analysis
                  mentanalysis. Merriam (1988) defined case study as a       of how research should proceed. It includes accounts
                  method or means in the following definition:               of how “the general structure of theory finds its appli-
                                                                             cations in particular scientific disciplines” (p. 3).
                     The case study offers a means of investigating          Methodology, according to Harding’s definition, must
                     complexsocialunitsconsistingofmultiplevari-             be situated in the context of the dominant paradigm:
                     ables of potential importance in understanding          the natural sciences. For example, feminism qualifies
                     the phenomenon. (p. 41)                                 as a methodology because in part, it privileges tech-
                                                                             niques (e.g., intensive interviews) that elicit evidence
                     Wecontendthatcasestudyisnotamethodbecause fromtheindividualabouthowherexperiencespeaksto
                  casestudyresearcherscannotactuallycollectdatapre-          thebroadpatternsofinteractionthatgiverisetosystem
                  scriptively using case study. Instead, researchers em-     inequalities. Providing a rationale for the intensive in-
                  ploy various research methods such as the ones listed      terview involves discussing how the social sciences
                  above, which act to build or uncover the case. More-       generate new knowledge and how a feminist approach
                  over, despite the existence of many different types of     is a challenge to the natural science paradigm.
                  case study (e.g., exploratory, explanatory, extreme,
                  multisite, critical, theory confirming, intrinsic, instru-     Stake(2005)severedcasestudyfrommethodol-
                  mental, ethnographic, longitudinal, and deviant), none         ogybystating,“Casestudyisnotamethodolog-
                  of them require specific data collection procedures.           ical choicebutachoiceofwhatistobestudied.”
                     Second, case studies have also been referred to as          (p. 438)
                  research designs. For example, Gerring (2004) stated,
                                                                                 This quote is also salient because it exemplifies the
                     Case study isa...research design best defined           confusion associated with the terms methodology and
                     asanintensivestudyofasingleunit(arelatively             case study. Stake’s definition is noteworthy because,
                     bounded phenomenon) where the scholar’s aim             as we discuss at some length in this paper, the re-
                     is to elucidate featuresofalargerclassofsimilar         searcher does not choose the case; rather, the research
                     phenomenon. (p. 341)                                    process, and specifically the interaction between case
                                                                             and unit of analysis, guides a “choice of what is to be
                     Aresearch design is an action plan that guides re-      studied.”
                  search from the questions to the conclusions and in-           Stake’s (2005) discussion of case study suggests
                                                                                                                                      -
                  cludes steps for collecting, analyzing, and interpreting   that the case studyisnotamethodology.Casestudyar
                  evidence according to pre-established propositions,        guably does not appear to provide a theory or analysis
                  units of analyses, a logic for linking the data to the     of howresearchshouldproceed.Itispossibletocreate
                  propositions, and application of set criteria for inter-   or instantiate a theory from a case study. However, in
                  pretingthefindings(Yin,2003).Thedouble-blindpla-           this scenario, case study is not a methodology because
                  cebo experiment is a familiar example of an it does not provide a parsimonious theory of how re-
                  experimental research design. It provides clear guid-      search should proceed with conceptually coherent
                                                                           International Journal of Qualitative Methods 6 (2) June 2007
                                                                                                       http://www.ualberta.ca/~ijqm/
             4 VanWynsberghe, Khan REDEFINING CASE STUDY
             methodsandaccompanyingdatacollectionprocedures dents and their teacher unfolded naturally without
             that map onto the theory.                                   interventions from the researcher.
                 Thus, it appears that case study is not a method, a
             research design, or a methodology. The next section is         Feature4:Boundedness.Casestudiesprovideade-
             anefforttoprovideaprototypeviewofthetypicalcase             tailed description of a specific temporal and spatial
             study. This exercise provides support for our proposed      boundary (Merriam, 1988). Attending to place and
             definition.                                                 time brings context to the structures and relationships
                                                                         that are of interest. The classroom, for example, is spa-
                      Aprototypeviewofcasestudy                          tially bound in a formal institutional setting with an es-
                                                                         tablished space, set schedule, shared expectations, and
             Aprototype of case study delineates the properties or       often a prescribed curriculum. These boundaries en-
             features that are necessary (but insufficient in and of     able classroomresearcherstodevelopfocusedhypoth-
             themselves) for the research to be categorized as case      esesbycircumscribingwhatisinsideandoutsideofthe
             study. A prototype view offers a way of thinking about      case.
             case study that allows for variability. It presents a de
                                                                      -
             fensible, rather than a definitive, take on case study         Feature 5: Working hypotheses and lessons
             (Sternberg & Horvath, 1995). We suggest seven com-          learned.Researcherscangenerateworkinghypotheses
             monfeaturesinaprototypicalcasestudyKhan(2007).              and learn new lessons based on what is uncovered or
                                                                         constructed during data collection and analysis in the
                 Feature 1: Small N. The case study calls for an in-     case study (Eckstein, 2002; Lincoln & Guba, 2000).
             tensiveandin-depthfocusonthespecificunitofanaly-            The entity or phenomenon under study emerges
             sis and generally requires a much smaller sample size       throughoutthecourseofthestudy,anditisthissurfac-
             than survey research (Gomm, Hammersley, & Foster,           ing that can bring the study to a natural conclusion
             2000; Yin, 2004). Efforts to perform broad analyses         (Becker, 2000). Khan (2002), for example, remained
             with large numbers of participants can reduce the ef-       opentoserendipitousfindingsinherstudyofteachers,
             fectiveness of case study as it might come at the ex-       students, and a computer simulation. She did not test
             pense of detailed description. For example, a single        hypotheses in this particular case study but generated
             classroom’s use of a computer simulation could be an        several regarding the nature of the teacher-stu-
             N=1.                                                        dent-computer interactions.
                 Feature 2: Contextual detail. Case studies aim to          Feature 6: Multiple data sources. Case study rou-
             give the reader a sense of “being there” by providing a     tinely uses multiple sources of data. This practice de-
             highly detailed, contextualized analysis of an “an in-      velops converging lines of inquiry, which facilitates
             stance in action” (MacDonald & Walker, 1977, triangulation and offers findings that are likely to be
             p. 182). The researcher carefully delineates the “in-       much more convincing and accurate (Yin, 2003). In
             stance,” defining it in general terms and teasing out its   her study of the design of the classroom, Khan (2007)
             particularities. To follow the above example, the in-       collected numerous kinds of data, including tests mea-
             stance in action might be how the teacher employs the       suring student understanding, interviews with the
             computer simulation in a teaching episode on teacher and students, and observational data of
             intermolecular forces.                                      teacher-student-computer interactions.
                 Feature3:Naturalsettings.Casestudyresearchers              Feature 7: Extendability. Case studies can enrich
             choosetosystematicallystudysituationswherethereis           andpotentiallytransformareader’sunderstandingofa
             little control over behavior, organization, or events       phenomenon by extending the reader’s experience
             (Yin, 2003). Case study is uniquely suitable for re-        (Donmoyer,1990).Thecasestudyresearcheranalyzes
             search in complex settings (Anderson, Crabtree, complex social interactions to uncover or construct
                                                                                                                                 -
             Steele, & McDaniel, 2005) because it advances the           “inseparable” factors that are elements of the phenom
             conceptthatcomplexsettingscannotbereducedtosin- ena(Yin,2003).Inacasestudy,theresearcherseeksto
             glecauseandeffectrelationships.Khan(2002)studied            coalesce and articulate these relationships in context
             how students and teachers worked with a computer            often with the hope that the context and relationships
             simulation to understand scientific concepts and de-        may resonate with the reader. For example, although
                                                                                                                                 -
             velop skills at inquiry. The researcher did not control     Khan (2002) studied one classroom, she aimed to ex
             classroom events, and the interaction between the stu-      tend the research beyond the chemistry classroom
                                                                         studied to other science classrooms.
              International Journal of Qualitative Methods 6 (2) June 2007
              http://www.ualberta.ca/~ijqm/