1. Methods of Research and Enquiry Qualitative Case Study by Dr. Daniel Churchill

2. R&D in IT in Education  Slides are available from: http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1391/Session7.ppt http://iln.cite.hku.hk/com/1391/Session7.ppt

3. R&D in IT in Education About Case Study  The case study is examination of a specific phenomenon  Case study concentrate on many, if not all, the variables present in a single unit  Researchers are interested in insight, discovery, and interpretation rather than hypothesis testing  Case studies bring about discovery one new meaning, extend reader’s experience or confirm what is known  Case studies in education are qualitative and hypothesis-generating, rather than quantitative and hypothesis-testing studies

4. R&D in IT in Education The Case  One cannot define what the case is without first having a research problem  The case is an instance not a representative of a class -- a case is selected because it is an example of some phenomenon of interest  One selects a case study approach because of an interest in understanding the phenomenon in a holistic manner  Case selection: reputation-case selection and typical-case selection

5. R&D in IT in Education Case Study Process  Determine and define the research questions  Select the cases and determine data gathering and analysis techniques  Prepare to collect the data  Collect data in the field  Evaluate and analyze the data  Prepare the report  Read more about process from: http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~ssoy/usesusers/l391 d1b.htm http://www.gslis.utexas.edu/~ssoy/usesusers/l391 d1b.htm Iterative Process

6. R&D in IT in Education Case Study Design  Case study does not claim any particular method for data collection or analysis.  Qualitative research assumes that there are multiple realities  It is a highly subjective phenomenon in need of interpreting rather than measuring  A case study can test theory or build theory, incorporate random or purposive sample, and include quantitative and qualitative data

7. R&D in IT in Education Data collection  Researcher is the primary instrument for data collection and analysis  Data is collected through interviews, observations, documents, questionnaires  Through the case study there are no set procedures or protocols that one follows step by step

8. R&D in IT in Education Data Analysis  Qualitative studies are inductive by the researcher  Qualitative case studies develop theory  Data collection and analysis is a a simultaneous activity.  Case studies go beyond descriptions and are interpretative in nature  Case study admit subjective perception and biases of both participants and researcher into the research frame

9. R&D in IT in Education Analyzing  The researcher is instrument sensitive to context (Lincoln & Guba, 1981)  Categories are created inductively by the researcher (Goetz and LeCompte, 1984).  Lincoln and Guba, (1981) -- Unitizing, units come from the interviews, documents, observations. Identifying units serves as basis for defining categories. A unit can be a sentence, phrase, a paragraph. It must be smallest piece of information about something that can stand by itself.  Further level of analysis involves developing theory – not dealing just with observable but also with unobservable, and connecting the two  Although not used commonly in qualitative case studies, there are other strategies:  data can be organized into scheme by the participants to break up the complexity of reality into parts  classification can be borrowed from sources outside the study

10. R&D in IT in Education Rigor  Internal Validity is ensured through triangulation, member checking, long-term observation, peer examination  Internal validity deals with question of how ones findings match reality (reality of the participant in study). Reality is holistic, multidimensional, ever-changing, it is not single, fixed, objective phenomenon waiting to be discovered, observed, and measured.  Qualitative studies usually have high internal but not external validity  One selects case approach because one wishes to understand the particular in depth, not because one wants to know what is generally true on the many.  Theoretical validity is ensured by going back to literature (draw up conclusion : maybe from multiple sources of data, but also supported/suggested by literature, strengthened your validity)

11. R&D in IT in Education Reporting  There is no standard format for reporting case studies (Lofland, 1974, Merriam, 1990)  The content of report depend on the researcher’s purpose in doing the research  Once the results have been summarized, the researcher presents a discussion of their meanings. It is the researcher who interprets and evaluates the findings in light of the methodology to explain what the results mean and how they can be used.  The case records include all major information that will be used in doing the analysis. This information is edited, redundancies are sorted out, parts are fitted together and the case record is organized for ready access chronologically or topologically  Discussion of the outcomes is a lesson to be learnt from the study. This is not generalization but “working hypothesis”

12. R&D in IT in Education Example of a Case Study  Daniel’s Study  Paper form this Study

13. R&D in IT in Education For Next Week  Prepare 5 minutes long presentation of your proposed topic for research plan assignment  You should have maximum of 3 slides:  Slide 1 – Title and Research Question, Who are the study participants, How are they selected  Slide 2 – Why is this important topic to study  Slide 3: How will data be collected and analyzed  Upload your slides to you group blog site before the presentation