Introduction and Background Information
A case study, known as an in-depth detailed examination of an event or occurrence (case), is used in the social science field to move beyond traditional research and survey processes to gain a stronger understanding of the factors, if you will, that determined how and when an event began.
Systematic in its approach, a case study is organized as a way to look at an event, collect data, and analyze information about that event. Built on research and facts associated with an event, a case study is used to investigate an inquiry within the framework of that event and test hypotheses that attempt to explain or define that event. All testing and research is generated in a real-world context and taken out of the laboratory, so to speak, to add an empirical lens to view why an event happened as it did and is recorded within a social context as it is (i.e. Why and how did the event occur? And how and why did the social community respond as it did?)
The Case Study Broken Down
A case study must generate quantitative evidence, produce multiple sources of evidence, and strengthen a previously held or postulated theoretical position.
A case study is broken down into four sections: the design and development of the case study, the implementation of the case study, an analysis of the case study evidence, and the development of a conclusion(s). The report should also offer a reading of the social and extending implications found to exist as part of the case study.
Although the methodology of the case study may vary, it must remain consistent with the facts and succeed in its research of qualifiying factors surrounding the identified event. Methodologies can include in-depth questioning and surveying of selected pooling samples, the implementation of social experiments, or the analysis of historical data, however, the questions must be specific to the event and within the context of the case. In other words, the questions must be specific to the defined frame outlined in the report, as related to location, time, and interest. A case study on road rage in white males between the age of 20 and 33 would need to include questions only related to this group and specifically to road rage, versus rage in general or under a conflicting context situation.
The Report
Before a case study can begin, the researchers must define and give an overview of the case study, determine field procedures, write case study questions, and outline the report. Case study questions are an important and leading component of the process and will drive the field work. The outline should be held against the findings to check that the case study is singularly and effectively defined. A case study should be a singular analysis of one event, not a cross-study of several events related to one topic. In other words, it must be narrowly defined.
Researchers must analyze all findings and report them accurately. If the finding disproves the hypothesis of the case, the research team must explain the paradigm shift and offer a hypothesis to explain its occurence, as evidenced by what the report revealed and other historical data. The case would not become obsolete, it would simply be used to demonstrate that a paradigm shift has occured.
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