1. Chapter 12: Case study method

2. CONTENTS Definitions Validity and reliability Merits Design Analysis Case studies in practice

3. Definitions John Gerring: a case is: 'a spatially delimited phenomenon (a unit) observed at a single point in time or over some period of time' a case study is: 'the intensive study of a single case‘ with two or more cases: the study becomes cross-case the more cases the less intensity per case from single case study to large cross-case study forms a continuum A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge

4. What the case study method is not It is not only qualitative – within a case-study any research methods may be used It is not only exploratory It is not only small-scale A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge

5. Scale (Fig. 12.1) Nation PEOPLE/PLACES Community/ sub-group Organisation Family/friends Individual EVENTS National/international sport/political event Sport/cultural event Centenary/ product launch Birthday party/ wedding Birthday/marriage A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge

6. Case-study research: theory and practice (Fig. 12.2) Descriptive research: – Identify characteristics of a phenomenon Explanatory research: – Testing single existing theory – Testing alternative/competing theories – Develop theory where none exists Evaluative research: – Testing effectiveness of a single policy – Testing alternative/competing policies – Establish need for policy A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge

7. Validity and reliability Internal validity: use of multiple methods can achieve high level of validity External validity: strictly speaking, general- isation is a problem but: John Gerring: – To conduct a case study implies that one has also conducted cross-case analysis, or at least thought about the broader set of cases. Otherwise, it is impossible for an author to answer the defining question of all case study research: what is this a case of ? A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge

8. Merits Places subjects in social/historical context. Treats subject as a whole. Multiple methods – triangulation A manageable data collection task when resources are limited. Flexibility in data collection strategy. No necessity to generalise to a defined wider population. A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge

9. Design Define unit of analysis: what is the ‘case’? Selecting cases: – Purposive – Illustrative – Typical/atypical – Pragmatic/opportunistic Data gathering – All data sources/data gathering methods may be used – Consistency in unit of analysis/definition of case – Temporal consistency A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge

10. Analysis Analysis procedures as in Part III apply Burns (1994) and Yin (2009) also refer to: – pattern matching – relating case features to existing theory – explanation building – often an iterative process – time series analysis – explanations based on observing change over time. George & Bennett (2005): – Logic models – 1. initial conditions, 2. needs, 3. problems, 4. resources, 5. action, 6. outcomes, 7. impacts. – Cross-case synthesis – Congruence method – equivalent to correlation – Process tracing – explanation building A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge

11. Case studies in practice 12.1: Activity profile: swimming – secondary data 12.2: Nike, advertising and women – one company 12.4: Leisure, Lifestyle and the New Middle Class – one suburb and a sports club 12.4: The Beckham brand – one sport celebrity 12.5: Sport sponsorship – one company’s strategy A. J. Veal and S. Darcy (2014) Research Methods for Sport Studies and Sport Management: A practical guide. London: Routledge