Case Study Research and Applications

Sixth Edition

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Case Study Research and Applications:

Design and MethodsSixth Edition

Robert K. YinCOSMOS Corporation

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Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Yin, Robert K., author.

Title: Case study research and applications : design and methods / Robert K. Yin.

Other titles: Case study research

Description: Sixth edition. | Los Angeles : SAGE, [2018] | Earlier editions called: Case study research : design and methods. | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017040835 | ISBN 9781506336169 (pbk. : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Case method. | Social sciences— Research—Methodology.

Classification: LCC H62 .Y56 2018 | DDC 300.72/2—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017040835

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

17 18 19 20 21 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

BRIEF CONTENTS

Foreword

by Donald T. Campbell xiii

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xxvii

About the Author xxx

Chapter 1 • Getting Started: How to Know Whether and When to Use the Case Study as a Research Method 3

Chapter 2 • Designing Case Studies: Identifying Your Case(s) and Establishing the Logic of Your Case Study 25

Application #1: An Exploratory Case Study: How New Organizational Practices Become Routinized 66

Application #2: Defining the “Case” in a Case Study: Linking Job Training and Economic Development Initiatives at the Local Level 71

Application #3: How “Discovery” Can Occur in the Field: Social Stratification in a Midsized Community 75

Chapter 3 • Preparing to Collect Case Study Evidence: What You Need to Do Before Starting to Collect Case Study Data 81

Chapter 4 • Collecting Case Study Evidence: The Principles You Should Follow in Working With Six Sources of Evidence 111

Application #4: Doing Interviews in the Field: Citizens on Patrol 139

Application #5: Making Field Observations: First Day in an Urban Neighborhood 145

Application #6: Assembling a Question-and-Answer Database: A Case Study of a Community Organization 150

Chapter 5 • Analyzing Case Study Evidence: How to Start Your Analysis, Your Analytic Choices, and How They Work 165

Application #7: Using a Case Study to Compare Directly Competing Rival Hypotheses: Whether Military Base Closures Produce Catastrophic Economic Impacts or Not 202

Application #8: A Nutshell Example of an Explanatory Case Study: How a Federal Award Affected a University Computer Department 206

Application #9: An Explanatory Case Study: Transforming a Business Firm Through Strategic Planning 209

Chapter 6 • Reporting Case Studies: How and What to Compose 219

Application #10: A Multiple-Case Study Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Data: Proposal Processing at 17 Universities 249

Appendix A. A Note on the Uses of Case Study Research in Psychology 258

Appendix B. A Note on the Uses of Case Study Research in Evaluations 269

Application #11: An Evaluation Case Study: Evaluation of a Community Coalition’s Campaign 279

Brief Glossary of Terms Directly Related to Case Study Research 286

References 289

Author Index 303

Subject Index 309

DETAILED CONTENTS

Foreword

by Donald T. Campbell xiii

Preface xv

Acknowledgments xxvii

About the Author xxx

Chapter 1 • Getting Started: How to Know Whether and When to Use the Case Study as a Research Method 3

Being Ready for the Challenge, and Setting High Expectations 3

Comparing Case Studies With Other Social Science Research Methods 5Relationships Among the Methods: Not Hierarchical 6When to Use the Different Methods 9

Variations in Case Studies, but a Common Definition 13Definition of the Case Study as a Research Method 14Variations in Case Studies as a Research Method 16

Addressing Traditional Concerns About Case Study Research 18

Summary 22

Notes to Chapter 1 23

Chapter 2 • Designing Case Studies: Identifying Your Case(s) and Establishing the Logic of Your Case Study 25

General Approach to Designing Case Studies 25Definition of Research Designs 26Components of Research Designs 27

The Role of Theory in Research Designs 34Theory Development 34Illustrative Topics for Theories 36Using Theory to Generalize From Case Studies 37Summary 42

Criteria for Judging the Quality of Research Designs 42Construct Validity 43Internal Validity 44External Validity 45

Reliability 46Summary 47

Case Study Research Designs 47What Are the Potential Single-Case Designs (Types 1 and 2)? 49What Are the Potential Multiple-Case Study Designs (Types 3 and 4)? 54

Modest Advice in Selecting Case Study Designs 61Single- or Multiple-Case Designs? 61Closed or Adaptive Designs? 63Mixed-Methods Designs: Mixing Case Studies With Other Methods? 63

Notes to Chapter 2 65

Application #1: An Exploratory Case Study: How New Organizational Practices Become Routinized 66

Application #2: Defining the “Case” in a Case Study: Linking Job Training and Economic Development Initiatives at the Local Level 71

Application #3: How “Discovery” Can Occur in the Field: Social Stratification in a Midsized Community 75

Chapter 3 • Preparing to Collect Case Study Evidence: What You Need to Do Before Starting to Collect Case Study Data 81

The Case Study Researcher: Desired Skills and Values 82Asking Good Questions 83Being a Good “Listener” 84Staying Adaptive 84Having a Firm Grasp of the Issues Being Studied 86Conducting Research Ethically 86

Preparation and Training for a Specific Case Study 88Protecting Human Subjects 88Training to Do the Case Study 89

The Case Study Protocol 93Overview of the Case Study (Section A of the Protocol) 96Data Collection Procedures (Section B of the Protocol) 96Protocol Questions (Section C of the Protocol) 99Tentative Outline for the Case Study Report (Section D of the Protocol) 103

Screening the Candidate Cases for Your Case Study 105

The Pilot Case Study 106Selection of Pilot Cases 107Scope of the Pilot Inquiry 107Reports From the Pilot Cases 108

Summary 109

Notes to Chapter 3 109

Chapter 4 • Collecting Case Study Evidence: The Principles You Should Follow in Working With Six Sources of Evidence 111

Supporting Textbooks 111Supporting Principles 112

Six Sources of Evidence 113Documentation 113Archival Records 117Interviews 118Direct Observations 121Participant-Observation 123Physical Artifacts 125Summary 125

Four Principles of Data Collection 126Principle 1: Use Multiple Sources of Evidence 126Principle 2: Create a Case Study Database 130Principle 3: Maintain a Chain of Evidence 134Principle 4: Exercise Care When Using Data From Social Media Sources 136

Summary 137

Notes to Chapter 4 137

Application #4: Doing Interviews in the Field: Citizens on Patrol 139

Application #5: Making Field Observations: First Day in an Urban Neighborhood 145

Application #6: Assembling a Question-and-Answer Database: A Case Study of a Community Organization 150

Chapter 5 • Analyzing Case Study Evidence: How to Start Your Analysis, Your Analytic Choices, and How They Work 165

An Analytic Strategy: More Than Relying on Analytic Tools 165Need for an Analytic Strategy 165Four General Strategies 168

Five Analytic Techniques 1751. Pattern Matching 1752. Explanation Building 1793. Time-Series Analysis 1814. Logic Models 1865. Cross-Case Synthesis 194

Pressing for a High-Quality Analysis 199

Summary 200

Notes to Chapter 5 201

Application #7: Using a Case Study to Compare Directly Competing Rival Hypotheses: Whether Military Base Closures Produce Catastrophic Economic Impacts or Not 202

Application #8: A Nutshell Example of an Explanatory Case Study: How a Federal Award Affected a University Computer Department 206

Application #9: An Explanatory Case Study: Transforming a Business Firm Through Strategic Planning 209

Chapter 6 • Reporting Case Studies: How and What to Compose 219

Having a Flair 219What “Composing” Covers 219

Audiences for Case Study Research 222Potential Audiences 222Orienting Case Study Research to an Audience’s Needs 223Communicating With Case Studies 224

Varieties of Case Study Compositions 225Compositional Formats 226Illustrative Structures for the Substance of Your Case Study 229Methods and Research Literature Portions of a Case Study 232Case Studies as Part of Larger, Mixed-Methods Studies 235

Procedures in Composing a Case Study 236When and How to Start Composing 237Case Identities: Real or Anonymous? 238Reviewing the Draft Case Study: A Validating Procedure 240

What Makes an Exemplary Case Study? 242The Case Study Must Be Significant 243The Case Study Must Be “Complete” 244The Case Study Must Consider Alternative Perspectives 245The Case Study Must Display Sufficient Evidence 246The Case Study Must Be Composed in an Engaging Manner 247

Notes to Chapter 6 248

Application #10: A Multiple-Case Study Integrating Qualitative and Quantitative Data: Proposal Processing at 17 Universities 249

Appendix A. A Note on the Uses of Case Study Research in Psychology 258

Appendix B. A Note on the Uses of Case Study Research in Evaluations 269

Application #11: An Evaluation Case Study: Evaluation of a Community Coalition’s Campaign 279

Brief Glossary of Terms Directly Related to Case Study Research 286

References 289

Author Index 303

Subject Index 309

xiii

FOREWORD

It is a privilege to provide the foreword for this fine book. It epitomizes a research method for attempting valid inferences from events outside the laboratory while at the same

time retaining the goals of knowledge shared with laboratory science.More and more I have come to the conclusion that the core of the scientific

method is not experimentation per se but rather the strategy connoted by the phrase “plausible rival hypotheses.” This strategy may start its puzzle solving with evidence, or it may start with hypothesis. Rather than presenting this hypothesis or evidence in the context-independent manner of positivistic confirmation (or even of postpositiv-istic corroboration), it is presented instead in extended networks of implications that (although never complete) are nonetheless crucial to its scientific evaluation.

This strategy includes making explicit other implications of the hypotheses for other available data and reporting how these fit. It also includes seeking out rival explanations of the focal evidence and examining their plausibility. The plausibility of these rivals is usually reduced by ramification extinction, that is, by looking at their other implications on other data sets and seeing how well these fit. How far these two potentially endless tasks are carried depends on the scientific community of the time and what implications and plausible rival hypotheses have been made explicit. It is on such bases that successful scientific communities achieve effective consensus and cumulative achievements, without ever reaching foundational proof. Yet, these characteristics of the successful sciences were grossly neglected by the logical positiv-ists and are underpracticed by the social sciences, quantitative or qualitative.

Such checking by other implications and the ramification-extinction of rival hypotheses also characterizes validity-seeking research in the humanities, including the hermeneutics of Schleiermacher, Dilthey, Hirst, Habermas, and current scholar-ship on the interpretation of ancient texts. Similarly, the strategy is as available for a historian’s conjectures about a specific event as for a scientist’s assertion of a causal law. It is tragic that major movements in the social sciences are using the term herme-neutics to connote giving up on the goal of validity and abandoning disputation as to who has got it right. Thus, in addition to the quantitative and quasi-experimental case study approach that Yin teaches, our social science methodological armamentar-ium also needs a humanistic validity-seeking case study methodology that, although making no use of quantification or tests of significance, would still work on the same questions and share the same goals of knowledge.

xiv Case Study Research and Applications

As versions of this plausible rival hypotheses strategy, there are two paradigms of the experimental method that social scientists may emulate. By training, we are apt to think first of the randomized-assignment-to-treatments model coming to us from agricultural experimentation stations, psychological laboratories, randomized trials of medical and pharmaceutical research, and the statistician’s mathematical models. Randomization purports to control an infinite number of rival hypotheses without specifying what any of them are. Randomized assignment never completely controls these rivals but renders them implausible to a degree estimated by the statistical model.

The other and older paradigm comes from physical science laboratories and is epitomized by experimental isolation and laboratory control. Here are the insulated and lead-shielded walls; the controls for pressure, temperature, and moisture; the achievement of vacuums; and so on. This older tradition controls for a relatively few but explicitly specified rival hypotheses. These are never controlled perfectly, but well enough to render them implausible. Which rival hypotheses are controlled for is a function of the disputations current in the scientific community at the time. Later, in retrospect, it may be seen that other controls were needed.

The case study approach as presented here, and quasi-experimentation more gener-ally, is more similar to the experimental isolation paradigm than to the randomized- assignment-to-treatments model in that each rival hypothesis must be specified and specifically controlled for. The degree of certainty or consensus that the scientific community is able to achieve will usually be less in out-of-doors social science, due to the lesser degree of plausibility-reduction of rival hypotheses that is likely to be achieved. The inability to replicate at will (and with variations designed to rule out specific rivals) is part of the problem. We should use those singular-event case studies (which can never be replicated) to their fullest, but we should also be alert for oppor-tunities to do intentionally replicated case studies.

Given Robert Yin’s background (PhD in experimental psychology, with a dozen publications in that field), his insistence that the case study method be done in confor-mity with science’s goals and methods is perhaps not surprising. But such training and career choice are usually accompanied by an intolerance of the ambiguities of nonlabo-ratory settings. I like to believe that this shift was facilitated by his laboratory research on that most hard-to-specify stimulus, the human face, and that this experience pro-vided awareness of the crucial role of pattern and context in achieving knowledge.

This valuable background has not kept him from thoroughly immersing himself in the classic social science case studies and becoming in the process a leader of nonlaboratory social science methodology. I know of no comparable text. It meets a long-standing need. I am confident that it will become a standard text in social science research methods courses.

—Donald T. CampbellBethlehem, Pennsylvania