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Hi everyone,

I have been interested in Case Study research in Education and social sciences generally for many years, but there is less focus on case study method than one might like. Apart from the well-known works by Yin and Stake and related similar works by these authors:

* Yin, R. (1984). Case study research: Design and methods (1st Ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage; Yin, R. (1994). Case study research: Design and methods (2nd Ed.). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

* Stake, R. (1995). The art of case research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Are there other resources on case study that colleagues would particularly recommend?

Jill

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I am a new arrival to this forum and noticed that you referenced an article on case study methodology highlighting 5 common misconceptions about the approach. Could you please tell me the name of the article and how I can access it? When I click on the blue highlighted link you provided I believe I am taken to the present February free article on SPSS and not the one you intended.

Thank you so much,

Dr. Kahane

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The link doesn;t work anymore - Methodspace had offered us a temporary free link to it as 'article or reading of the month".

The article is:
Flyvbjerg Bent 2006 Five misunderstandings about case study research. Qualitative Inquiry, vol 12, no 2, pp 219-245.

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Thanks, Ann - appreciate your picking up on this. Best wishes.

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Hi Yahiel,

Ann has kindly replied to you with the article details as in her message and below:

Flyvbjerg Bent 2006 Five misunderstandings about case study research. Qualitative Inquiry, vol 12, no 2, pp 219-245.

It's really worth reading.
Best wishes,
Jill

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Thank you both so much!

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For novices and not so there is also Social Research methods by Bryman and a section which addresses case study. There are, of course, a number of good articles dealing with specific issues, including that by Flyvberg. I have a piece coming out in Ethnography and Education in 2010 which touches on these issues

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Thanks gavin - I got the book out of a uni library after reading your reply.

I look forward very much to you telling us when you get that piece of yours published.

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Thanks Gavin for this helpful note re. Bryman's Social Research Methods, Flyberg's article and others re. specific aspects of case study - will be looking out for your article in 2010. As Ann said, please do post the reference here when publication is confirmed.

Best regards,
Jill

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Hi Jill
Part of your problem is the category 'Case Study Research', because most of the methodological issues and practices which are associated with case study researching are actually discussed without that term being used under various sub-headings of Qualitative Research: nearly all qualitative research is in effect case study research.

If you want a repository of classic statements on case study research (named as such), plus some more recent commentary you might try:
Gomm,R..Hammersley,M. & Foster,P.(eds) (2000) Case Study Method: key issues key texts, London.Sage

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Hi Roger,

My apologies for being so slow to reply to you about your comment, as it has been a very, very busy semester so I am only just now catching up on non-essential items. Thank you for identifying the issue you point out re. categorisation. I do agree there are not enough explicit references to case study in the qualitative analysis and thanks for adding to this small but growing collection your own reference.

I'm not entirely sure that I agree, however, that 'nearly all qualitative research is in effect case study research'. Possibly there is truth in that (though many qualitative researchers may disagree, there is evidence for your view). Also, I'm sure you'd agree we could not classify case study research as being solely 'qualitative', though, as of course many case studies include and analyse quantitative data, and the blend of possibilities of qualitative and quantitative seems to be one of the more helpful aspects of this method. I really appreciate your adding to this debate, though, and thanks so much for your very helpful reference. Best regards, Jill

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Hi all,

I believe Case Study research has reached a new high because of the importance given to the concept of Teacher-as-Researcher. We get better insights about teaching-learning problems in classroom through such studies. These days, collaborative research, i. e. the research done through collaboration between a teacher and an expert in the area is preferred over other forms in classroom research. Thanx!


Santosh

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Dear Santosh,

I do agree with you that case study is reaching a new high in terms of practical interest re. 'teachers as researchers'. I also think that there has been a growth of interest in case study as a result of: (1) the increasing development of professional doctorates (e.g. the EdD) and the relevance for these of 'real life study' in 'bounded situations', e.g. classroom or institutional analysis; (2) the growth in new adaptations of or types of collaborative research as a result of social and professional networking opportunities on the web; and (3) interest in the UK Research Excellence Framework and elsewhere in the world regarding the need to measure the 'impact' of research in the world in practical ways. So I welcome your comment and interest in this area of work. Thank you. Best regards, Jill

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