Their research and teaching focus on the rigorous comparative study of human experiences and ground our engagement with issues of social justice. First, we do not assume a particular purpose of the investigation, such as developing causal inferences or detailing historical occurrences. Research methodology applied to a comparative case study of. Definition of case study case study method enables a researcher to closely examine the data within a specific context.
General vision and viewpoint theme cultural context you need to know your comparative text well, but not in the same level of detail as your. A comparative essay is an organized written material that is meant to provide a comparison that should be easily understood by. A case study reserach can be single or multiple case studies, includes quantitative evidence, relies on multiple sources of evidence and benefits from the prior development of theoritical propositions. The result has been an intellectual crossfertilization of great benefit to the comparative method. Redefining case study rob vanwynsberghe, samia khan, 2007. The comparative case study can help the evaluator check whether the program theory holds for each different context and.
Evaluators used a comparative case study option for the national cancer institutes ncis community cancer centers program ncccp. Case study methodology in research generates contextdependent knowledge of accounts of practice which should be explored and studied analytically. Case study research has grown in reputation as an effective methodology to investigate and understand complex issues in real world settings. A practical guide to the comparative case study method. Comparative research seeks to compare and contrast nations, cultures, societies, and institutions. This study attempts to answer when to write a single case study and when to write a multiple case study. Case study is a research methodology, typically seen in social and life sciences.
There are several types of case studies, each differing from each other based on the hypothesis andor thesis to be proved. Comparative case studies cover two or more cases in a way that produces more generalizable knowledge about causal questions how and why particular programmes or policies work or fail to work. We argue that a more explicit and transparent discussion of these challenges could contribute. A comparative essay is an academic essay that requires students to create a comprehensive and precise comparative report about two things. A comparative case study on the social networking of the. In most cases, a case study method selects a small geographical area or a very limited number of individuals as the subjects of study. Case study, single case study, multiple case studies paper type. Introduction to comparative health systems kevin chan, md, mph, frcpc, faap assistant professor, faculty of medicine, and fellow, munk centre for international studies, university of toronto prepared as part of an education project of the global health education consortium and collaborating partners. Comparative analysis needs to be distinguished from the juxtaposition of descriptions of a series of cases. There are several different definitions and kinds of case studies. Six types of case studies the atheoretical, interpretative, hypothesisgenerating, theoryconfirming, theoryinfirming, and deviant case analyses are distinguished, and their theoretical value is analyzed. The comparative modes for the exam in june 2014 are.
A comparative case study of approaches to authentic learning in instructional design at two universities. Our proposed definition of case study case study is a transparadigmatic and transdisciplinary heuristic that involves the careful delineation of the phenomena for which evidence is being collected event, concept, program, process etc. Feb 23, 2015 case study methodology has long been a contested terrain in social sciences research which is characterized by varying, sometimes opposing, approaches espoused by many research methodologists. Given the expansive literature and limited space, i focus on comparative and case study. Comparative case studies are undertaken over time and emphasize comparison within and across contexts. Case is often used in an obfuscating sense and may be defined as place, as institution, as study participants, as unit of analysis, as concept, or even as variable.
Research methodology applied to a comparative case study. Comparative case studies may be selected when it is not feasible to undertake an experimental design andor when there is a need to understand and explain how features within the context influence the success of programme or policy initiatives. Comparative research, simply put, is the act of comparing two or more things with a view to discovering something about one or all of the things being compared. In smalln case studies, the selection of cases is often deliberate and theorydriven.
A definition of the case study is presented in section 1. The comparative case study approach promotes a model of multisited fieldwork that studies through and across sites and scales. Case study methodology has long been a contested terrain in social sciences research which is characterized by varying, sometimes opposing, approaches espoused by many research methodologists. The expected decline in availability of fossil fuels over the next several decades, either because of resource. This article presents a reconstructed definition of the case study approach to research. In this article, we argue for a new approachthe comparative case study approachthat attends simultaneously to macro. Page 1 introduction to comparative study the comparative study question asks you to compare and contrast two texts under one of the three modes of comparison. A case study is an indepth study of a person or an organized group of people especially as a model of medical, psychiatric, psychological or social phenomena. Because of different reasons the case studies can be. Potentials and limitations of comparative method in social. The comparative case study examines in rich detail the context and features of two or more instances of specific phenomena.
Aug 03, 2007 in comparative study, you are examining two or more cases, specimens or events, often in the form of a table such as can be seen on the right where a column is reserved for each case, here called case 1 and case 2. Comparative research is persistent problems and promising. We also explained why we eschew a static, bounded notion of culture in favor of a view of culture as an ongoing, contested production. Thats why college students who take classes in those sciences are often assigned to write case studies. Varieties of comparative analysis we start by examining what is meant by comparative analysis. Yet there is little training in political science, and even less in psychology, on. The results of each case are then compared across people groups. A comparative case study of approaches to authentic learning in.
What is comparative study by syed aftab hassan bukhari ssrn. These same conditions apply to evaluation of mathematics curricula. Furthermore, misconceptions about case studies contribute to the methodological barrier that exists within and between the two parent disciplines. Pdf the case study as a type of qualitative research. The case studies also usually have a double function, which is that case studies are studies of its own unit, as well as case studies of a larger group of units. A comparative study was defined as a study in which two or more curricular treatments were investigated over a substantial period of time at least one semester, and more typically an entire school year and a comparison of various curricular outcomes was examined using statistical tests. Comparing the leadership styles of two heads of department at carnelian school. In a detailed discussion of this problem, ragin this issue categorizes this as the difference between a given and constructed population. Potentials and limitations of comparative method in social science reza azarian stockholm university sweden email.
The article uses this definition as a basis to explore a series of contrasts between cross case study and case study research. Additionally, some researchers have favored designing comparative studies around a variety of case studies in which individuals are observed and behaviors are recorded. Yin 2004 has described case study methodology as a distinctive means of empirical enquiry particularly. The major aim of comparative research is to identify similarities and differences between social entities. A comparative study johanna gustafsson academy of business, engineering and science halmstad university halmstad, sweden keywords. How to write a methodology section for case study your. Kalabagh hussain shah working as business development officer in kashf.
In an influential article on comparative politics, lijphart 1971. Comparative studies is committed to interdisciplinary and crosscultural inquiry and exchange. A practical guide to the comparative case study method in political psychology juliet kaarbo university of kansas ryan k. Its aim is to give a detailed description of a case study its definition, some classifications, and several advantages. Finally, mjoset takes on the enduring problem of generalization of case studies and introduces a new. For this reason, comparative case studies do not start with a bounded case. For example if a study includes three cases which have values 15, 18, 21 on some variable, then one might be inclined to. Aug 05, 2016 comparative case studies lesley bartlett and fran vavrus case study methodology is widely used across multiple disciplines and fields. This paper shows how perspectives can be used for comparative analysis, summarizes a soundness proof for the technique, demonstrates incompleteness, describes a working implementation, and presents experimental results.
The current paper is the product of this decisionmaking process. The comparative case study is the systematic comparison of two or more data points cases obtained through use of the case study method. Above all, the comparative case study underlines the role and importance of reflexivity and context. Paper presented at the american educational research association 2010 annual meeting, denver, co, april 30 may 4, 2010. However, it is important to acknowledge that the criteria for defining what is. Jul 09, 2018 a case study is a descriptive and exploratory analysis of a person, group or event. For case studies to contribute to cumulative development of knowledge and theory they must all explore the same phenomenon, pursue the same research goal. This article attempts to provide better understanding of. The retail sector is one of the fastest growing sector in india. The popular point of view that a case study is characterised by a holistic approach is explained and discussed in section 1. Here we will give you several ones to understand better.
Comparative analysis answers questions about how and why a system will react to perturbations of its parameters. Comparative case studies are a nonexperimental impact evaluation design, which involves the analysis and synthesis of the similarities, differences and patterns across two or more cases that share a common focus, in order to answer causal questions. Another way of checking if results match the program theory is to use a comparative case study. Characteristics of a comparative research design synonym. Case study designs have been used across a number of disciplines, particularly the social sciences, education, business, law, and health, to address a wide range of research questions. The aim of this program was to expand cancer research and deliver the latest, most advanced cancer care to a greater number of americans in the communities in which they live via community hospitals. In the next step various ways in which comparative research is applied in social theory are exemplified, with especial attention paid to comparative studies of largescale, macrolevel historical process of social change. The article uses this definition as a basis to explore a series of contrasts between crosscase study and case study research. By definition, urbanization refers to the process by which rural areas become urbanized as a result of economic development and industrialization. This comparative study examined implementation of laws expanding abortion services in colombia, ethiopia, ghana, portugal, south africa, and uruguay.
The volume of trade is shown by the shaded triangles. A comparative case study of approaches to authentic. A practical guide to the comparative case study method in. This technique often utilizes multiple disciplines in one study. In three years he learnt much more knowledge and tricks to handle all types of situations. These notions are consequential for how we conceptualize case studies and comparison. Education lehman college 2010 submitted to the department of urban studies and planning in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master in city planning at the massachusetts institute. Demographically, the term urbanization denotes the redistribution of populations from rural to urban settlements over time. In this article, we argue for a new approachthe comparative case study approachthat attends simultaneously to macro, meso, and micro dimensions. Introduction to comparative study the comparative study question asks you to compare and contrast two texts under one of the three modes of comparison. Despite being one of the most frequently used qualitative research methodologies in educational research, the methodologists do not have a full consensus on the design and implementation of case study. This article ends with a discussion of the limitations of comparison as a method of.
There are several different types of case studies, as well as several types of subjects of case studies. A brief description a case study is an indepth examination, often undertaken over time, of a single case such as a policy, programme, intervention site, implementation process or participant. Social network theory in the social sciences began with the field of sociometry, which is a quantitative method for measuring social relationships. When it comes to method, the majority agreement is that there is no methodology peculiar to comparative research. A comparative case study approach in order to facilitate the extraction of data that would most satisfactorily addresses my research question, i chose to use a comparative case study approach. This article presents the case study as a type of qualitative research. Theory, empirical measures and case studies 61 that the autarky equilibriums are determined by ppf and cic. The case study, as a method of inquiry, is particularly suited to the field of political psychology. Innovations in the comparative method innovations in the comparative method can be discussed in terms of the issues introduced above, encom.
Figure 2 provides an overview of these innovations. Political will was found to be the key factor in implementation. The common view that good case study research lacks a method is unwarranted. Three approaches to case study methods in education. This form of case study still strives for the thick description common in single case studies. We cannot make precise definitions of cases or case studies because practices already exist for case study in many disciplines. Mevit 4800 perspectives and methods in media research eli. Beasley baker university the case study, as a method of inquiry, is particularly suited to the field of political psychology. This definition emphasizes comparative politics, which has been closely linked to this method since its creation. The comparative studies in this report varied in the quality of documentation of these two conditions.
The conclusion that is aimed by a case study can be either illustrative or confirmable. Yet there is little training in political science, and even less in psychology, on how to do. Because of different reasons the case studies can be either single or multiple. Comparative case studies can be useful to check variation in program implementation. Next, we propose a new approach the comparative case study approach that attends simultaneously to global, national, and local dimensions of case based research. Throughout your academic career, youll be asked to write papers in which you compare and contrast two things. Comparative studies students are encouraged to develop their critical and analytical skills and to become. Classic compareandcontrast papers, in which you weight a and b equally, may be about two similar things. It is argued that the case study method is closely related to the comparative method. Case study methodology is very popular as a research method in different fields of science. It will further answer the benefits and disadvantages with the different types.