Why Case Study? Chapter 6 An Introduction to Case Study LTC 8750 Research in Art Education Jenny (Ning Zhan)

Overview of Case Study 1. What is Case Study? Case study involves the in-depth observation and description of an individual (person, group, district, school, etc.) or limited set of individuals (Koroscik & Kowalchuk, 1997). A qualitative study that gains in-depth understanding characterized by intensive description and analysis of a single unit or bounded system.

Overview of Case Study 2. Why Case Study Research The case study method is the most flexible of research among designs, and is particularly useful in researching issues related to sustainability and institutional systems. It incorporates a number of data-gathering strategies: •Observation •Interviews •Document Analysis

Overview of Case Study 2. Why Case Study Research Case study research can serve a variety of functions: Exploratory: enabling researchers to get a feeling for potentially important variables and to describe phenomena in the appropriate contextual setting; Testing Hypotheses or Theories: relating to cause and effect in a quasi-experimental fashion; Policy Analysis: teasing out prescriptions for action.

Overview of Case Study 2. Why Case Study Research An Important Idea: the main focus of case study is to understand the unique circumstances and complexities of an individual case, results of this methodology, like other qualitative methodologies, is not considered generalizable in the same way that a study with randomized sampling and control groups may be. However, Stake (1995) suggested there are understandings, observations, and assertions that emerge from case study research that can be “valid modifications of generalization”. By exploring their own subjectivities and utilizing thick description, case study researchers can provide a vicarious and add in their own ideas, resulting a “naturalistic generalizations”. In my understanding of naturalistic generalizations, I would prefer to say the case study does not focus on creating new general principles, instead it further corrects the general known principles.

Overview of Case Study 3. Types of Case Study There are three types of case study (Thurber, 2004). Single-case Multiple-case Cross-site analyses

Case Study Steps Select a case; Methods of data collection and analysis: Observations, Interviews, and Document Analysis; Analyze data; Quality control in qualitative research; Writing and description; Assertions.

Select a case Determine if a case study will answer your research question. Consider the length of time for the investigation, developing a timetable. Extreme or deviant cases Maximum variation cases Critical cases Paradigmatic cases

Methods of data collection and analysis Identify the case/cases and what type of case study will be used. Below is the subjects for case study. Approaching personal acquaintances or familiar settings which seem to present likely opportunities for learning; Seeking potential participants through other contacts, such as school district supervisors or principals. Utilizing one’s own students or program as potential subjects. Seeking out, through professional networks and contacts, a purposefully selected case for the study of specific phenomena. Selecting a smaller focus group from a larger survey sample, based upon their responses and willingness to participate.

Methods of data collection and analysis Main sources of data collection are: Observations: observations are recorded through field notes and reflections; Interviews: interviews capture aspects of the case that are not observable and present multiple perspectives or realities (Stake, 2005); Document Analysis: document analysis includes poring over written publications, photos, videos, and/or artwork.

Methods of data collection and analysis Observations Observations are not considered data until you have written about them. Field notes should leave time immediately after your observations to reflect upon and write down your initial impressions, to process what you saw, and to begin to interpret the experience.

Methods of data collection and analysis Interviews Must know how to ask the right and good questions; Must be prepared with a well thought-out plan (Chase, 2005; Stake, 1995); Must earn the informant trust through assurances of confidentiality and transcript review; May focus more on the next question or response; Requires careful listening and space to allow the story to develop so you can respond to what the interviewee is saying.

Methods of data collection and analysis Document Analysis Accumulate a wealth of other written materials for document analysis, including copies of lesson plans, school records, curricula, examples of participants’ writings, newspaper articles and other community publications, local histories, and copies of student projects.

Analyzing Data After collecting data, the researcher analyzes the data. Transcribing interviews: Some researchers prefer to type up each interview immediately after it takes place; others prefer to wait, gain some distance, so that they might attend more objectively to the data. Open Coding: Once your informants’ words have been typed out, it is possible to break up the text looking for similar themes, issues, or phrases that relate to each other.

Quality Control in Qualitative Research The importance of reliability/fidelity Triangulation: Triangulation involves the researcher in seeking multiple perspectives on the same phenomenon. Member-Checking: Member-Checking is another recommended procedure to help ensure fidelity. Provide copies of transcripts to your participants for review and response. Thick Description is considered important as a verification procedure because it allows readers access to enough information to be able to draw their own conclusions. Finally, making an effort to expose your own interests and connections to your research subjects and continually reflecting upon the subjectivities that shape your approach to your work also contribute to its fidelity.

Writing Storytelling that using one of three paths, a chronological or biographical development of the case, a researcher’s view of coming to know the case, or a description one by one of several major components of the case. (Stake, 1995) Putting together a chart with the pieces that need to be assembled and allocating the number of pages needed to describe each piece. It is important to consider your anticipated audience and how to best present the information in a compelling and honest way, one that allows the reader to “discover their own path and truth inside the case” (Flyvbjerg, 2006)

Assertions Assertions: when the researcher makes interpretations of the meaning of the case data/themes. After analyzing the data we may have some assertions about some of the issues and problems that were examined through the case. Writing our final thoughts about the case is done with the intent to share this vicarious experience with out readers. A researcher’s assertions can frame the experience “to indicate how the findings might be extrapolated, how they could be interpreted in various circumstances, and how they accommodate theoretical discourse” (Stake, 1995).

Reference Inquiry in Action: Paradigms, Methodologies, and Perspectives in Art Education Research KATHY MARZILLI MIRAGLIA and CATHY SMILAN, EDITORS NAEA. CHAPTER 6 P57-66