Who are the thought leaders? What is it? Where can a case study be useful? When will you give me some examples already? How can I use it?

A particular individual, program, or event is studied in depth for a defined period of time o Single case study vs. multiple case study Study phenomena at a micro level Most common in education, sociology & community-based problems Leedy & Ormrod (2010); Zainal (2007)

Exploratory Is something happening? Descriptive What is happening? Explanatory Why is this happening? Interpretive What's happening can be put into categories Evaluative What is happening is good/bad

Three ways theory is used in case study design: 1.Theory testing case studies 2.Theory building case studies - Grounded Theory Method 3.Clinical case studies—case centered

What makes a good principal great: a case study of 10 WI principals? What makes a great university: a case study of the country's top university. What are the common characteristics of young social activists: a case study of 15 activists? How do you sustain the generation Y teacher? A case study of 12 successful generation Y teachers.

Interviewing Surveys Analyzing documents What else?

* Sherlock: How do you keep track of the information you do collect? * What should you consider with note taking/record keeping?

Organizing case details Categorizing data Interpreting single instances Identifying patterns Synthesizing and generalizing o Ultimately looking for triangulation of data Leedy & Ormrod (2010) p. 138

What can we do to reduce problems of bias and increase the validity of a case study?

Extend the time of observation Include more participants in the study Identify our own bias Compare our results to similar case studies Carefully examine unusual or contradictory results Use a mixed methods approach Offer participants a chance to explain the results

Robert Yin - “as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used.” Glauser and Strauss – Grounded Theory

Leedy & Ormrod (2010) p.136

Quantitative/Qualitative o (mixed method approach) Provides deeper context o (includes environmental conditions physical, historic, economic, etc.) Variable relation (help others who later read the case study to draw conclusions and extend meaning) Continue an established case study in two or more areas over additional time period (multiple and collective)

Disadvantages Observations may only be for a short period of time Generalizing conclusions o When one case is studied that the findings may not be "generalizable" Disadvantages Continue: May lack rigor Small sample size Require categorization of data into "meaningful groups" to find patterns vs. a single piece of information could reveal

Leedy & Ormrod (2010) p.135

Turn and talk to someone at your table and brainstorm potential case study application to your research question, including people/places/things.