11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

CASE STUDIES

PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE III

STEFFEN KORSGAARD

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

• Cases and examples: What are they good for?• What is a case?• Different types of case studies• The role of theory• Generalisation• Data for case studies• Problems and critique of case studies• Exercises

AGENDA

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

CASES AND EXAMPLES: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

Understand general issues through examples and cases

• Relevance• Emotions • Enables communication• We remember the concrete and stories better

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

CASES AND EXAMPLES: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

CASES AND EXAMPLES: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

Development of new theories and concepts (e.g. psychoanalysis)

Surprising results (e.g. the Hawthorne studies)

Falsification or the explanatory force of theories (e.g. Essence decision)

Processes

Depth and detail (richness/thickness)

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

CASES AND EXAMPLES: WHAT ARE THEY GOOD FOR?

Cases (qual) versus Surveys (quants)

• How and why?• Importance of context• Detailed descriptions• Complex relations

How, why, and under what conditions does lighting affect crime in parking lots?

• What and how much?• Scope and extent• Precise

quantifications• Statistical

generalisation

How much does crime decrease on average with introduction of lighting?

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

WHAT IS A CASE?

”a bounded system”

Can be (reasonably) defined in time and space

Examples:

Organisations Individuals Processes Projects Places Etc.…

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

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WHAT IS A CASE?

A case of what?

If we want to say something general with our case

CASE CLASS/GROUP/PHENOMENONTHEORY

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

WHAT IS A CASE?

A case of what?

If we want to say something general with our case

Does not matter if the case is unique

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

WHAT IS A CASE STUDY?

Study of one or more cases

In depth data collection

Over time

Multiple data sources

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

DIFFERENT TYPES OF CASE STUDIES

Intensive

Extensive

• Intrinsic• Single case• Depth and richness in data

• Instrumental• Multiple cases• Comparison and replication

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

EXERCISE

Based on where you come from

Identify a case of intrinsic value - unique/worth exploring in and of itself (intensive case studie)

Identify two or more cases that would be useful for studying differences in motivation between part time and full time employees (extensive case studies)

Explain why

5 minutes

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

INTENSIVE CASE STUDIES

Understanding a unique case through detailed, holistic and contextualised description

Particularly relevant or interesting case

Study of case over time (process)

Selection of critical, unique or extreme case

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

INTENSIVE CASE STUDIES

”Unique” is relative

What is specific to the case and what is general?

What is resulting from the case and what is resulting from the context?

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

EXTENSIVE CASE STUDIES

Cases as instruments for exploring a theoretically interesting issue (instrumental approach)

Purpose is to develop, extend, or test theory

Comparative approach

Replication logic

Less detailed analysis of individual cases

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

EXTENSIVE CASE STUDIES

Development of propositions, tested on different cases

Replication of results strengthens the reliability and validity of results

Patterns of similarity and difference (e.g. systematic differences between full- and parttime employees)

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

EXTENSIVE CASE STUDIES – CASE SELECTION

Purposeful sampling (not representative)

Different strategies (Patton)› Extreme cases› Typical cases› Maximum variation› Critical cases› Sensitive cases

Must incrementally enhance the ability to generalise

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

CASE SELECTION EXAMPLES

Business development in a rural municipality› Locals and in-migrants› De novo and spin offs

Strategic use of clothing for female managers› Different age groups› Different educational levels› Different managerial levels

Variation on the most important dimensions

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

EXERCISE

Theme: Motivation and learning for university students

8 cases (students)

4 dimensions where we want variation

Explain why

5 minutes

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

THE ROLE OF THEORY IN CASE STUDIES

Inductive Deductive

• Develops concepts and theory from scratch (data)

• No prior assumptions • Limited structure

• Enables unforeseen results

• Difficult to manage• Single case/intensive

• Uses existing theory• Develops

assumptions/propositions from theory

• Highly structured

• Inhibits unforeseen results Easier to manage

• Extensive/multiple cases

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

GENERALISATION

Is not necessarily the purpose (intensive case studies)

Analytical generalisability › Generalise to theory › Tendencies and mechanisms (not populations)

Division of labour between inductive (qualitative) and deductive (quantitative) methods

Learning and inspiration› Converting to practice

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

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DATA FOR CASE STUDIES

Important to use multiple data sources

Deeper and more detailed data basis

Different data sources have different advantages and disadvantages (e.g. interviews, observations, documents)

Triangulation› Results from one source supported by another source

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

PROBLEMS AND CRITIQUE

(Statistical) generalisability

Ideosyncratic theory

Overly narrow theory (specific to the cases)

Dependent on subjective interpretations

Data biases

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

AU

QUESTIONS

11. FEBRUAR 2015AARHUS UNIVERSITET

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SUMMARY

What were the three most important things you learned today

2 minutes