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Writing@CSU Writing Guide

Designing and Conducting Case Studies
This guide examines case studies, a form of qualitative descriptive research that is
used to look at individuals, a small group of participants, or a group as a whole.
Researchers collect data about participants using participant and direct
observations, interviews, protocols, tests, examinations of records, and collections
of writing samples. Starting with a definition of the case study, the guide moves to a
brief history of this research method. Using several well documented case studies,
the guide then looks at applications and methods including data collection and
analysis. A discussion of ways to handle validity, reliability, and generalizability
follows, with special attention to case studies as they are applied to composition
studies. Finally, this guide examines the strengths and weaknesses of case studies.

Definition and Overview

Case study refers to the collection and presentation of detailed information about a
particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of subjects
themselves. A form of qualitative descriptive research, the case study looks
intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions only about
that participant or group and only in that specific context. Researchers do not focus
on the discovery of a universal, generalizable truth, nor do they typically look for
cause-effect relationships; instead, emphasis is placed on exploration and
description.

Overview

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Case studies typically examine the interplay of all variables in order to provide as
complete an understanding of an event or situation as possible. This type of
comprehensive understanding is arrived at through a process known as thick
description, which involves an in-depth description of the entity being evaluated, the
circumstances under which it is used, the characteristics of the people involved in it,
and the nature of the community in which it is located. Thick description also
involves interpreting the meaning of demographic and descriptive data such as
cultural norms and mores, community values, ingrained attitudes, and motives.

Unlike quantitative methods of research, like the survey, which focus on the
questions of who, what, where, how much, and how many, and archival analysis,
which often situates the participant in some form of historical context, case studies
are the preferred strategy when how or why questions are asked. Likewise, they
are the preferred method when the researcher has little control over the events, and
when there is a contemporary focus within a real life context. In addition, unlike
more specifically directed experiments, case studies require a problem that seeks a
holistic understanding of the event or situation in question using inductive logic--
reasoning from specific to more general terms.

In scholarly circles, case studies are frequently discussed within the context of
qualitative research and naturalistic inquiry. Case studies are often referred to
interchangeably with ethnography, field study, and participant observation. The
underlying philosophical assumptions in the case are similar to these types of
qualitative research because each takes place in a natural setting (such as a
classroom, neighborhood, or private home), and strives for a more holistic
interpretation of the event or situation under study.

Unlike more statistically-based studies which search for quantifiable data, the goal
of a case study is to offer new variables and questions for further research. F.H.
Giddings, a sociologist in the early part of the century, compares statistical methods
to the case study on the basis that the former are concerned with the distribution of
a particular trait, or a small number of traits, in a population, whereas the case
study is concerned with the whole variety of traits to be found in a particular
instance" (Hammersley 95).

History

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Case studies are not a new form of research; naturalistic inquiry was the primary
research tool until the development of the scientific method. The fields of sociology
and anthropology are credited with the primary shaping of the concept as we know
it today. However, case study research has drawn from a number of other areas as
well: the clinical methods of doctors; the casework technique being developed by
social workers; the methods of historians and anthropologists, plus the qualitative
descriptions provided by quantitative researchers like LePlay; and, in the case of
Robert Park, the techniques of newspaper reporters and novelists.

Park was an ex-newspaper reporter and editor who became very influential in
developing sociological case studies at the University of Chicago in the 1920s. As a
newspaper professional he coined the term "scientific" or "depth" reporting: the
description of local events in a way that pointed to major social trends. Park viewed
the sociologist as "merely a more accurate, responsible, and scientific reporter."
Park stressed the variety and value of human experience. He believed that
sociology sought to arrive at natural, but fluid, laws and generalizations in regard to
human nature and society. These laws weren't static laws of the kind sought by
many positivists and natural law theorists, but rather, they were laws of becoming--
with a constant possibility of change. Park encouraged students to get out of the
library, to quit looking at papers and books, and to view the constant experiment of
human experience. He writes, "Go and sit in the lounges of the luxury hotels and on
the doorsteps of the flophouses; sit on the Gold Coast settees and on the slum
shakedowns; sit in the Orchestra Hall and in the Star and Garter Burlesque. In
short, gentlemen [sic], go get the seats of your pants dirty in real research."

But over the years, case studies have drawn their share of criticism. In fact, the
method had its detractors from the start. In the 1920s, the debate between pro-
qualitative and pro-quantitative became quite heated. Case studies, when
compared to statistics, were considered by many to be unscientific. From the
1930's on, the rise of positivism had a growing influence on quantitative methods in
sociology. People wanted static, generalizable laws in science. The sociological
positivists were looking for stable laws of social phenomena. They criticized case
study research because it failed to provide evidence of inter subjective agreement.
Also, they condemned it because of the few number of cases studied and that the

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under-standardized character of their descriptions made generalization impossible.
By the 1950s, quantitative methods, in the form of survey research, had become
the dominant sociological approach and case study had become a minority practice.

Educational Applications

The 1950's marked the dawning of a new era in case study research, namely that
of the utilization of the case study as a teaching method. "Instituted at Harvard
Business School in the 1950s as a primary method of teaching, cases have since
been used in classrooms and lecture halls alike, either as part of a course of study
or as the main focus of the course to which other teaching material is added"
(Armisted 1984). The basic purpose of instituting the case method as a teaching
strategy was "to transfer much of the responsibility for learning from the teacher on
to the student, whose role, as a result, shifts away from passive absorption toward
active construction" (Boehrer 1990). Through careful examination and discussion of
various cases, "students learn to identify actual problems, to recognize key players
and their agendas, and to become aware of those aspects of the situation that
contribute to the problem" (Merseth 1991). In addition, students are encouraged to
"generate their own analysis of the problems under consideration, to develop their
own solutions, and to practically apply their own knowledge of theory to these
problems" (Boyce 1993). Along the way, students also develop "the power to
analyze and to master a tangled circumstance by identifying and delineating
important factors; the ability to utilize ideas, to test them against facts, and to throw
them into fresh combinations" (Merseth 1991).

In addition to the practical application and testing of scholarly knowledge, case

discussions can also help students prepare for real-world problems, situations and
crises by providing an approximation of various professional environments (i.e.
classroom, board room, courtroom, or hospital). Thus, through the examination of
specific cases, students are given the opportunity to work out their own professional
issues through the trials, tribulations, experiences, and research findings of others.
An obvious advantage to this mode of instruction is that it allows students the
exposure to settings and contexts that they might not otherwise experience. For
example, a student interested in studying the effects of poverty on minority
secondary student's grade point averages and S.A.T. scores could access and

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analyze information from schools as geographically diverse as Los Angeles, New
York City, Miami, and New Mexico without ever having to leave the classroom.

The case study method also incorporates the idea that students can learn from one
another "by engaging with each other and with each other's ideas, by asserting
something and then having it questioned, challenged and thrown back at them so
that they can reflect on what they hear, and then refine what they say" (Boehrer
1990). In summary, students can direct their own learning by formulating questions
and taking responsibility for the study.

Types and Design Concerns

Researchers use multiple methods and approaches to conduct case studies.

Types of Case Studies

Under the more generalized category of case study exist several subdivisions, each
of which is custom selected for use depending upon the goals and/or objectives of
the investigator. These types of case study include the following:

Illustrative Case Studies

These are primarily descriptive studies. They typically utilize one or two instances
of an event to show what a situation is like. Illustrative case studies serve primarily
to make the unfamiliar familiar and to give readers a common language about the
topic in question.

Exploratory (or pilot) Case Studies

These are condensed case studies performed before implementing a large scale
investigation. Their basic function is to help identify questions and select types of
measurement prior to the main investigation. The primary pitfall of this type of study
is that initial findings may seem convincing enough to be released prematurely as
conclusions.

Cumulative Case Studies

These serve to aggregate information from several sites collected at different times.
The idea behind these studies is the collection of past studies will allow for greater

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generalization without additional cost or time being expended on new, possibly
repetitive studies.

Critical Instance Case Studies

These examine one or more sites for either the purpose of examining a situation of
unique interest with little to no interest in generalizability, or to call into question or
challenge a highly generalized or universal assertion. This method is useful for
answering cause and effect questions.

Identifying a Theoretical Perspective

Much of the case study's design is inherently determined for researchers,

depending on the field from which they are working. In composition studies,
researchers are typically working from a qualitative, descriptive standpoint. In
contrast, physicists will approach their research from a more quantitative
perspective. Still, in designing the study, researchers need to make explicit the
questions to be explored and the theoretical perspective from which they will
approach the case. The three most commonly adopted theories are listed below:

Individual Theories
These focus primarily on the individual development, cognitive behavior,
personality, learning and disability, and interpersonal interactions of a particular
subject.

Organizational Theories
These focus on bureaucracies, institutions, organizational structure and functions,
or excellence in organizational performance.

Social Theories
These focus on urban development, group behavior, cultural institutions, or
marketplace functions.

Examples

Two examples of case studies are used consistently throughout this chapter. The
first, a study produced by Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988), looks at a

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first year graduate student's initiation into an academic writing program. The study
uses participant-observer and linguistic data collecting techniques to assess the
student's knowledge of appropriate discourse conventions. Using the pseudonym
Nate to refer to the subject, the study sought to illuminate the particular experience
rather than to generalize about the experience of fledgling academic writers
collectively.

For example, in Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman's (1988) study we are told
that the researchers are interested in disciplinary communities. In the first
paragraph, they ask what constitutes membership in a disciplinary community and
how achieving membership might affect a writer's understanding and production of
texts. In the third paragraph they state that researchers must negotiate their claims
"within the context of his sub specialty's accepted knowledge and methodology." In
the next paragraph they ask, "How is literacy acquired? What is the process
through which novices gain community membership? And what factors either aid or
hinder students learning the requisite linguistic behaviors?" This introductory
section ends with a paragraph in which the study's authors claim that during the
course of the study, the subject, Nate, successfully makes the transition from
"skilled novice" to become an initiated member of the academic discourse
community and that his texts exhibit linguistic changes which indicate this transition.
In the next section the authors make explicit the sociolinguistic theoretical and
methodological assumptions on which the study is based (1988). Thus the reader
has a good understanding of the authors' theoretical background and purpose in
conducting the study even before it is explicitly stated on the fourth page of the
study. "Our purpose was to examine the effects of the educational context on one
graduate student's production of texts as he wrote in different courses and for
different faculty members over the academic year 1984-85." The goal of the study
then, was to explore the idea that writers must be initiated into a writing community,
and that this initiation will change the way one writes.

The second example is Janet Emig's (1971) study of the composing process of a
group of twelfth graders. In this study, Emig seeks to answer the question of what
happens to the self as a result educational stimuli in terms of academic writing. The
case study used methods such as protocol analysis, tape-recorded interviews, and
discourse analysis.

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In the case of Janet Emig's (1971) study of the composing process of eight twelfth
graders, four specific hypotheses were made:

1. Twelfth grade writers engage in two modes of composing: reflexive and

extensive.
2. These differences can be ascertained and characterized through having the
writers compose aloud their composition process.
3. A set of implied stylistic principles governs the writing process.
4. For twelfth grade writers, extensive writing occurs chiefly as a school-
sponsored activity, or reflexive, as a self-sponsored activity.

In this study, the chief distinction is between the two dominant modes of composing
among older, secondary school students. The distinctions are:

1. The reflexive mode, which focuses on the writer's thoughts and feelings.
2. The extensive mode, which focuses on conveying a message.

Emig also outlines the specific questions which guided the research in the opening
pages of her Review of Literature, preceding the report.

Designing a Case Study

After considering the different sub categories of case study and identifying a
theoretical perspective, researchers can begin to design their study. Research
design is the string of logic that ultimately links the data to be collected and the
conclusions to be drawn to the initial questions of the study. Typically, research
designs deal with at least four problems:

What questions to study

What data are relevant
What data to collect
How to analyze that data

In other words, a research design is basically a blueprint for getting from the
beginning to the end of a study. The beginning is an initial set of questions to be
answered, and the end is some set of conclusions about those questions.

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Because case studies are conducted on topics as diverse as Anglo-Saxon
Literature (Thrane 1986) and AIDS prevention (Van Vugt 1994), it is virtually
impossible to outline any strict or universal method or design for conducting the
case study. However, Robert K. Yin (1993) does offer five basic components of a
research design:

1. A study's questions.
2. A study's propositions (if any).
3. A study's units of analysis.
4. The logic that links the data to the propositions.
5. The criteria for interpreting the findings.

In addition to these five basic components, Yin also stresses the importance of
clearly articulating one's theoretical perspective, determining the goals of the study,
selecting one's subject(s), selecting the appropriate method(s) of collecting data,
and providing some considerations to the composition of the final report.

Conducting Case Studies

To obtain as complete a picture of the participant as possible, case study

researchers can employ a variety of approaches and methods. These approaches,
methods, and related issues are discussed in depth in this section.

Method: Single or Multi-modal?

To obtain as complete a picture of the participant as possible, case study

researchers can employ a variety of methods. Some common methods include
interviews, protocol analyses, field studies, and participant-observations. Emig
(1971) chose to use several methods of data collection. Her sources included
conversations with the students, protocol analysis, discrete observations of actual
composition, writing samples from each student, and school records (Lauer and
Asher 1988).

Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) collected data by observing

classrooms, conducting faculty and student interviews, collecting self reports from
the subject, and by looking at the subject's written work.

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A study that was criticized for using a single method model was done by Flower
and Hayes (1984). In this study that explores the ways in which writers use different
forms of knowing to create space, the authors used only protocol analysis to gather
data. The study came under heavy fire because of their decision to use only one
method.

Participant Selection

Case studies can use one participant, or a small group of participants. However, it
is important that the participant pool remain relatively small. The participants can
represent a diverse cross section of society, but this isn't necessary.

For example, the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study looked at just
one participant, Nate. By contrast, in Janet Emig's (1971) study of the composition
process of twelfth graders, eight participants were selected representing a diverse
cross section of the community, with volunteers from an all-white upper-middle-
class suburban school, an all-black inner-city school, a racially mixed lower-middle-
class school, an economically and racially mixed school, and a university school.

Often, a brief "case history" is done on the participants of the study in order to
provide researchers with a clearer understanding of their participants, as well as
some insight as to how their own personal histories might affect the outcome of the
study. For instance, in Emig's study, the investigator had access to the school
records of five of the participants, and to standardized test scores for the remaining
three. Also made available to the researcher was the information that three of the
eight students were selected as NCTE Achievement Award winners. These
personal histories can be useful in later stages of the study when data are being
analyzed and conclusions drawn.

Data Collection

There are six types of data collected in case studies:

1. Documents.
2. Archival records.
3. Interviews.

4.
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 4. Direct observation.
5. Participant observation.
6. Artifacts.

In the field of composition research, these six sources might be:

1. A writer's drafts.
2. School records of student writers.
3. Transcripts of interviews with a writer.
4. Transcripts of conversations between writers (and protocols).
5. Videotapes and notes from direct field observations.
6. Hard copies of a writer's work on computer.

Depending on whether researchers have chosen to use a single or multi-modal

approach for the case study, they may choose to collect data from one or any
combination of these sources.

Protocols, that is, transcriptions of participants talking aloud about what they are
doing as they do it, have been particularly common in composition case studies.
For example, in Emig's (1971) study, the students were asked, in four different
sessions, to give oral autobiographies of their writing experiences and to compose
aloud three themes in the presence of a tape recorder and the investigator.

In some studies, only one method of data collection is conducted. For example, the
Flower and Hayes (1981) report on the cognitive process theory of writing depends
on protocol analysis alone. However, using multiple sources of evidence to
increase the reliability and validity of the data can be advantageous.

Case studies are likely to be much more convincing and accurate if they are based
on several different sources of information, following a corroborating mode. This
conclusion is echoed among many composition researchers. For example, in her
study of predrafting processes of high and low-apprehensive writers, Cynthia Selfe
(1985) argues that because "methods of indirect observation provide only an
incomplete reflection of the complex set of processes involved in composing, a
combination of several such methods should be used to gather data in any one

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study." Thus, in this study, Selfe collected her data from protocols, observations of
students role playing their writing processes, audio taped interviews with the
students, and videotaped observations of the students in the process of composing.

It can be said then, that cross checking data from multiple sources can help provide
a multidimensional profile of composing activities in a particular setting. Sharan
Merriam (1985) suggests "checking, verifying, testing, probing, and confirming
collected data as you go, arguing that this process will follow in a funnel-like design
resulting in less data gathering in later phases of the study along with a congruent
increase in analysis checking, verifying, and confirming."

It is important to note that in case studies, as in any qualitative descriptive research,

while researchers begin their studies with one or several questions driving the
inquiry (which influence the key factors the researcher will be looking for during
data collection), a researcher may find new key factors emerging during data
collection. These might be unexpected patterns or linguistic features which become
evident only during the course of the research. While not bearing directly on the
researcher's guiding questions, these variables may become the basis for new
questions asked at the end of the report, thus linking to the possibility of further
research.

Data Analysis

As the information is collected, researchers strive to make sense of their data.

Generally, researchers interpret their data in one of two ways: holistically or through
coding. Holistic analysis does not attempt to break the evidence into parts, but
rather to draw conclusions based on the text as a whole. Flower and Hayes (1981),
for example, make inferences from entire sections of their students' protocols,
rather than searching through the transcripts to look for isolatable characteristics.

However, composition researchers commonly interpret their data by coding, that is

by systematically searching data to identify and/or categorize specific observable
actions or characteristics. These observable actions then become the key variables
in the study. Sharan Merriam (1988) suggests seven analytic frameworks for the
organization and presentation of data:

1.
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 1. The role of participants.
2. The network analysis of formal and informal exchanges among groups.
3. Historical.
4. Thematical.
5. Resources.
6. Ritual and symbolism.
7. Critical incidents that challenge or reinforce fundamental beliefs, practices,
and values.

There are two purposes of these frameworks: to look for patterns among the data
and to look for patterns that give meaning to the case study.

As stated above, while most researchers begin their case studies expecting to look
for particular observable characteristics, it is not unusual for key variables to
emerge during data collection. Typical variables coded in case studies of writers
include pauses writers make in the production of a text, the use of specific linguistic
units (such as nouns or verbs), and writing processes (planning, drafting, revising,
and editing). In the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study, for example,
researchers coded the participant's texts for use of connectives, discourse
demonstratives, average sentence length, off-register words, use of the first person
pronoun, and the ratio of definite articles to indefinite articles.

Since coding is inherently subjective, more than one coder is usually employed. In
the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study, for example, three
rhetoricians were employed to code the participant's texts for off-register phrases.
The researchers established the agreement among the coders before concluding
that the participant used fewer off-register words as the graduate program
progressed.

Composing the Case Study Report

In the many forms it can take, "a case study is generically a story; it presents the
concrete narrative detail of actual, or at least realistic events, it has a plot,
exposition, characters, and sometimes even dialogue" (Boehrer 1990). Generally,
case study reports are extensively descriptive, with "the most problematic issue
often referred to as being the determination of the right combination of description

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and analysis" (1990). Typically, authors address each step of the research process,
and attempt to give the reader as much context as possible for the decisions made
in the research design and for the conclusions drawn.

This contextualization usually includes a detailed explanation of the researchers'

theoretical positions, of how those theories drove the inquiry or led to the guiding
research questions, of the participants' backgrounds, of the processes of data
collection, of the training and limitations of the coders, along with a strong attempt
to make connections between the data and the conclusions evident.

Although the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study does not, case
study reports often include the reactions of the participants to the study or to the
researchers' conclusions. Because case studies tend to be exploratory, most end
with implications for further study. Here researchers may identify significant
variables that emerged during the research and suggest studies related to these, or
the authors may suggest further general questions that their case study generated.

For example, Emig's (1971) study concludes with a section dedicated solely to the
topic of implications for further research, in which she suggests several means by
which this particular study could have been improved, as well as questions and
ideas raised by this study which other researchers might like to address, such as: is
there a correlation between a certain personality and a certain composing process
profile (e.g. is there a positive correlation between ego strength and persistence in
revising)?

Also included in Emig's study is a section dedicated to implications for teaching,

which outlines the pedagogical ramifications of the study's findings for teachers
currently involved in high school writing programs.

Sharan Merriam (1985) also offers several suggestions for alternative presentations
of data:

1. Prepare specialized condensations for appropriate groups.

2. Replace narrative sections with a series of answers to open-ended questions.
3. Present "skimmer's" summaries at beginning of each section.
4. Incorporate headlines that encapsulate information from text.

5.
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 5. Prepare analytic summaries with supporting data appendixes.
6. Present data in colorful and/or unique graphic representations.

Issues of Validity and Reliability

Once key variables have been identified, they can be analyzed. Reliability becomes
a key concern at this stage, and many case study researchers go to great lengths
to ensure that their interpretations of the data will be both reliable and valid.
Because issues of validity and reliability are an important part of any study in the
social sciences, it is important to identify some ways of dealing with results.

Multi-modal case study researchers often balance the results of their coding with
data from interviews or writer's reflections upon their own work. Consequently, the
researchers' conclusions become highly contextualized. For example, in a case
study which looked at the time spent in different stages of the writing process,
Berkenkotter concluded that her participant, Donald Murray, spent more time
planning his essays than in other writing stages. The report of this case study is
followed by Murray's reply, wherein he agrees with some of Berkenkotter's
conclusions and disagrees with others.

As is the case with other research methodologies, issues of external validity,

construct validity, and reliability need to be carefully considered.

Commentary on Case Studies

Researchers often debate the relative merits of particular methods, among them
case study. In this section, we comment on two key issues. To read the
commentaries, choose any of the items below:

Strengths and Weaknesses of Case Studies

Most case study advocates point out that case studies produce much more detailed
information than what is available through a statistical analysis. Advocates will also
hold that while statistical methods might be able to deal with situations where
behavior is homogeneous and routine, case studies are needed to deal with
creativity, innovation, and context. Detractors argue that case studies are difficult to

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generalize because of inherent subjectivity and because they are based on
qualitative subjective data, generalizable only to a particular context.

Strengths

Flexibility

The case study approach is a comparatively flexible method of scientific research.

Because its project designs seem to emphasize exploration rather than prescription
or prediction, researchers are comparatively freer to discover and address issues
as they arise in their experiments. In addition, the looser format of case studies
allows researchers to begin with broad questions and narrow their focus as their
experiment progresses rather than attempt to predict every possible outcome
before the experiment is conducted.

Emphasis on Context

By seeking to understand as much as possible about a single subject or small

group of subjects, case studies specialize in "deep data," or "thick description"--
information based on particular contexts that can give research results a more
human face. This emphasis can help bridge the gap between abstract research and
concrete practice by allowing researchers to compare their firsthand observations
with the quantitative results obtained through other methods of research.

Weaknesses

Inherent Subjectivity

"The case study has long been stereotyped as the weak sibling among social
science methods," and is often criticized as being too subjective and even pseudo-
scientific. Likewise, "investigators who do case studies are often regarded as
having deviated from their academic disciplines, and their investigations as having
insufficient precision (that is, quantification), objectivity and rigor" (Yin 1989).
Opponents cite opportunities for subjectivity in the implementation, presentation,
and evaluation of case study research. The approach relies on personal
interpretation of data and inferences. Results may not be generalizable, are difficult

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to test for validity, and rarely offer a problem-solving prescription. Simply put,
relying on one or a few subjects as a basis for cognitive extrapolations runs the risk
of inferring too much from what might be circumstance.

High Investment

Case studies can involve learning more about the subjects being tested than most
researchers would care to know--their educational background, emotional
background, perceptions of themselves and their surroundings, their likes, dislikes,
and so on. Because of its emphasis on "deep data," the case study is out of reach
for many large-scale research projects which look at a subject pool in the tens of
thousands. A budget request of $10,000 to examine 200 subjects sounds more
efficient than a similar request to examine four subjects.

Ethical Considerations

Researchers conducting case studies should consider certain ethical issues. For
example, many educational case studies are often financed by people who have,
either directly or indirectly, power over both those being studied and those
conducting the investigation (1985). This conflict of interests can hinder the
credibility of the study.

The personal integrity, sensitivity, and possible prejudices and/or biases of the
investigators need to be taken into consideration as well. Personal biases can
creep into how the research is conducted, alternative research methods used, and
the preparation of surveys and questionnaires.

A common complaint in case study research is that investigators change direction

during the course of the study unaware that their original research design was
inadequate for the revised investigation. Thus, the researchers leave unknown
gaps and biases in the study. To avoid this, researchers should report preliminary
findings so that the likelihood of bias will be reduced.

Concerns about Reliability, Validity, and Generalizability

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Merriam (1985) offers several suggestions for how case study researchers might
actively combat the popular attacks on the validity, reliability, and generalizability of
case studies:

1. Prolong the Processes of Data Gathering on Site: This will help to insure
the accuracy of the findings by providing the researcher with more concrete
information upon which to formulate interpretations.
2. Employ the Process of "Triangulation": Use a variety of data sources as
opposed to relying solely upon one avenue of observation. One example of
such a data check would be what McClintock, Brannon, and Maynard (1985)
refer to as a "case cluster method," that is, when a single unit within a larger
case is randomly sampled, and that data treated quantitatively." For instance,
in Emig's (1971) study, the case cluster method was employed, singling out
the productivity of a single student named Lynn. This cluster profile included
an advanced case history of the subject, specific examination and analysis of
individual compositions and protocols, and extensive interview sessions. The
seven remaining students were then compared with the case of Lynn, to
ascertain if there are any shared, or unique dimensions to the composing
process engaged in by these eight students.
3. Conduct Member Checks: Initiate and maintain an active corroboration on
the interpretation of data between the researcher and those who provided the
data. In other words, talk to your subjects.
4. Collect Referential Materials: Complement the file of materials from the
actual site with additional document support. For example, Emig (1971)
supports her initial propositions with historical accounts by writers such as T.S.
Eliot, James Joyce, and D.H. Lawrence. Emig also cites examples of
theoretical research done with regards to the creative process, as well as
examples of empirical research dealing with the writing of adolescents.
Specific attention is then given to the four stages description of the composing
process delineated by Helmoltz, Wallas, and Cowley, as it serves as the focal
point in this study.
5. Engage in Peer Consultation: Prior to composing the final draft of the report,
researchers should consult with colleagues in order to establish validity
through pooled judgment.

Although little can be done to combat challenges concerning the generalizability of

case studies, "most writers suggest that qualitative research should be judged as

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credible and confirmable as opposed to valid and reliable" (Merriam 1985).
Likewise, it has been argued that "rather than transplanting statistical, quantitative
notions of generalizability and thus finding qualitative research inadequate, it makes
more sense to develop an understanding of generalization that is congruent with
the basic characteristics of qualitative inquiry" (1985). After all, criticizing the case
study method for being ungeneralizable is comparable to criticizing a washing
machine for not being able to tell the correct time. In other words, it is unjust to
criticize a method for not being able to do something which it was never originally
designed to do in the first place.

Annotated Bibliography

Armisted, C. (1984). How Useful are Case Studies. Training and Development
Journal, 38 (2), 75-77.

This article looks at eight types of case studies, offers pros and cons of
using case studies in the classroom, and gives suggestions for
successfully writing and using case studies.

Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1997). Beyond Methods: Components of Second

Language Teacher Education. New York: McGraw-Hill.

A compilation of various research essays which address issues of language

teacher education. Essays included are: "Non-native reading research and theory"
by Lee, "The case for Psycholinguistics" by VanPatten, and "Assessment and
Second Language Teaching" by Gradman and Reed.

Bartlett, L. (1989). A Question of Good Judgment; Interpretation Theory and

Qualitative Enquiry Address. 70th Annual Meeting of the American
Educational Research Association. San Francisco.

Bartlett selected "quasi-historical" methodology, which focuses on the

"truth" found in case records, as one that will provide "good judgments" in
educational inquiry. He argues that although the method is not
comprehensive, it can try to connect theory with practice.

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Baydere, S. et. al. (1993). Multimedia conferencing as a tool for collaborative
writing: a case study in Computer Supported Collaborative Writing. New
York: Springer-Verlag.

The case study by Baydere et. al. is just one of the many essays in this book found
in the series "Computer Supported Cooperative Work." Denley, Witefield and May
explore similar issues in their essay, "A case study in task analysis for the design of
a collaborative document production system."

Berkenkotter, C., Huckin, T., N., & Ackerman J. (1988). Conventions,

Conversations, and the Writer: Case Study of a Student in a Rhetoric Ph.D.
Program. Research in the Teaching of English, 22, 9-44.

The authors focused on how the writing of their subject, Nate or

Ackerman, changed as he became more acquainted or familiar with his
field's discourse community.

Berninger, V., W., and Gans, B., M. (1986). Language Profiles in Nonspeaking
Individuals of Normal Intelligence with Severe Cerebral Palsy. Augmentative
and Alternative Communication, 2, 45-50.

Argues that generalizations about language abilities in patients with

severe cerebral palsy (CP) should be avoided. Standardized tests of
different levels of processing oral language, of processing written
language, and of producing written language were administered to 3 male
participants (aged 9, 16, and 40 yrs).

Bockman, J., R., and Couture, B. (1984). The Case Method in Technical
Communication: Theory and Models. Texas: Association of Teachers of
Technical Writing.

Examines the study and teaching of technical writing, communication of

technical information, and the case method in terms of those applications.

Boehrer, J. (1990). Teaching With Cases: Learning to Question. New

Directions for Teaching and Learning, 42 41-57.

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 This article discusses the origins of the case method, looks at the
question of what is a case, gives ideas about learning in case teaching,
the purposes it can serve in the classroom, the ground rules for the case
discussion, including the role of the question, and new directions for case
teaching.

Bowman, W. R. (1993). Evaluating JTPA Programs for Economically

Disadvantaged Adults: A Case Study of Utah and General Findings.
Washington: National Commission for Employment Policy.

"To encourage state-level evaluations of JTPA, the Commission and the

State of Utah co-sponsored this report on the effectiveness of JTPA Title
II programs for adults in Utah. The technique used is non-experimental
and the comparison group was selected from registrants with Utah's
Employment Security. In a step-by-step approach, the report documents
how non-experimental techniques can be applied and several specific
technical issues can be addressed."

Boyce, A. (1993) The Case Study Approach for Pedagogists. Annual Meeting
of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and
Dance. (Address). Washington DC.

This paper addresses how case studies 1) bridge the gap between
teaching theory and application, 2) enable students to analyze problems
and develop solutions for situations that will be encountered in the real
world of teaching, and 3) helps students to evaluate the feasibility of
alternatives and to understand the ramifications of a particular course of
action.

Carson, J. (1993)The Case Study: Ideal Home of WAC Quantitative and

Qualitative Data. Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition
and Communication. (Address). San Diego.

"Increasingly, one of the most pressing questions for WAC advocates is

how to keep [WAC] programs going in the face of numerous difficulties.
Case histories offer the best chance for fashioning rhetorical arguments

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 to keep WAC programs going because they offer the opportunity to
provide a coherent narrative that contextualizes all documents and data,
including what is generally considered scientific data. A case study of the
WAC program, . . . at Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh demonstrates
the advantages of this research method. Such studies are ideal homes
for both naturalistic and positivistic data as well as both quantitative and
qualitative information."

---. (1991). A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing. College Composition and

Communication. 32. 365-87.

No abstract available.

Cromer, R. (1994) A Case Study of Dissociations Between Language and

Cognition. Constraints on Language Acquisition: Studies of Atypical Children
. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 141-153.

No abstract available.

Crossley, M. (1983) Case Study in Comparative and International Education:

An Approach to Bridging the Theory-Practice Gap. Proceedings of the 11th
Annual Conference of the Australian Comparative and International
Education Society. Hamilton, NZ.

Case study research, as presented here, helps bridge the theory-practice

gap in comparative and international research studies of education
because it focuses on the practical, day-to-day context rather than on the
national arena. The paper asserts that the case study method can be
valuable at all levels of research, formation, and verification of theories in
education.

Daillak, R., H., and Alkin, M., C. (1982). Qualitative Studies in Context:
Reflections on the CSE Studies of Evaluation Use. California: EDRS

The report shows how the Center of the Study of Evaluation (CSE)
applied qualitative techniques to a study of evaluation information use in

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 local, Los Angeles schools. It critiques the effectiveness and the
limitations of using case study, evaluation, field study, and user interview
survey methodologies.

Davey, L. (1991). The Application of Case Study Evaluations. ERIC/TM Digest.

This article examines six types of case studies, the type of evaluation
questions that can be answered, the functions served, some design
features, and some pitfalls of the method.

Deutch, C. E. (1996). A course in research ethics for graduate students.

College Teaching, 44, 2, 56-60.

This article describes a one-credit discussion course in research ethics

for graduate students in biology. Case studies are focused on within the
four parts of the course: 1) major issues, 2 )practical issues in scholarly
work, 3) ownership of research results, and 4) training and personal
decisions.

DeVoss, G. (1981). Ethics in Fieldwork Research. RIE 27p. (ERIC)

This article examines four of the ethical problems that can happen when
conducting case study research: acquiring permission to do research,
knowing when to stop digging, the pitfalls of doing collaborative research,
and preserving the integrity of the participants.

Driscoll, A. (1985). Case Study of a Research Intervention: the University of

Utah’s Collaborative Approach. San Francisco: Far West Library for
Educational Research Development.

Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of

Teacher Education, Denver, CO, March 1985. Offers information of in-service
training, specifically case studies application.

Ellram, L. M. (1996). The Use of the Case Study Method in Logistics Research.
Journal of Business Logistics, 17, 2, 93.

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 This article discusses the increased use of case study in business
research, and the lack of understanding of when and how to use case
study methodology in business.

Emig, J. (1971) The Composing Processes of Twelfth Graders. Urbana: NTCE.

This case study uses observation, tape recordings, writing samples, and
school records to show that writing in reflexive and extensive situations
caused different lengths of discourse and different clusterings of the
components of the writing process.

Feagin, J. R. (1991). A Case For the Case Study. Chapel Hill: The University of
North Carolina Press.

This book discusses the nature, characteristics, and basic methodological

issues of the case study as a research method.

Feldman, H., Holland, A., & Keefe, K. (1989) Language Abilities after Left
Hemisphere Brain Injury: A Case Study of Twins. Topics in Early Childhood
Special Education, 9, 32-47.

"Describes the language abilities of 2 twin pairs in which 1 twin (the

experimental) suffered brain injury to the left cerebral hemisphere around
the time of birth and1 twin (the control) did not. One pair of twins was
initially assessed at age 23 mo. and the other at about 30 mo.; they were
subsequently evaluated in their homes 3 times at about 6-mo intervals."

Fidel, R. (1984). The Case Study Method: A Case Study. Library and
Information Science Research, 6.

The article describes the use of case study methodology to systematically

develop a model of online searching behavior in which study design is
flexible, subject manner determines data gathering and analyses, and
procedures adapt to the study's progressive change.

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Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1984). Images, Plans and Prose: The
Representation of Meaning in Writing. Written Communication, 1, 120-160.

Explores the ways in which writers actually use different forms of knowing
to create prose.

Frey, L. R. (1992).Interpreting Communication Research: A Case Study

Approach Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

The book discusses research methodologies in the Communication field.

It focuses on how case studies bridge the gap between communication
research, theory, and practice.

Gilbert, V. K. (1981). The Case Study as a Research Methodology: Difficulties

and Advantages of Integrating the Positivistic, Phenomenological and
Grounded Theory Approaches. The Annual Meeting of the Canadian
Association for the Study of Educational Administration. (Address) Halifax,
NS, Can.

This study on an innovative secondary school in England shows how a

"low-profile" participant-observer case study was crucial to the initial
observation, the testing of hypotheses, the interpretive approach, and the
grounded theory.

Gilgun, J. F. (1994). A Case for Case Studies in Social Work Research. Social
Work, 39, 4, 371-381.

This article defines case study research, presents guidelines for

evaluation of case studies, and shows the relevance of case studies to
social work research. It also looks at issues such as evaluation and
interpretations of case studies.

Glennan, S. L., Sharp-Bittner, M. A. & Tullos, D. C. (1991). Augmentative and

Alternative Communication Training with a Nonspeaking Adult: Lessons from
MH. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 7, 240-7.

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 "A response-guided case study documented changes in a nonspeaking
36-yr-old man's ability to communicate using 3 trained augmentative
communication modes. . . . Data were collected in videotaped interaction
sessions between the nonspeaking adult and a series of adult speaking."

Graves, D. (1981). An Examination of the Writing Processes of Seven Year

Old Children. Research in the Teaching of English, 15, 113-134.

No abstract available.

Hamel, J. (1993). Case Study Methods. Newbury Park: Sage..

"In a most economical fashion, Hamel provides a practical guide for

producing theoretically sharp and empirically sound sociological case
studies. A central idea put forth by Hamel is that case studies must
"locate the global in the local" thus making the careful selection of the
research site the most critical decision in the analytic process."

Karthigesu, R. (1986, July). Television as a Tool for Nation-Building in the

Third World: A Post-Colonial Pattern, Using Malaysia as a Case-Study.
International Television Studies Conference. (Address). London, 10-12.

"The extent to which Television Malaysia, as a national mass media

organization, has been able to play a role in nation building in the post-
colonial period is . . . studied in two parts: how the choice of a model of
nation building determines the character of the organization; and how the
character of the organization influences the output of the organization."

Kenny, R. (1984). Making the Case for the Case Study. Journal of Curriculum
Studies, 16, (1), 37-51.

The article looks at how and why the case study is justified as a viable
and valuable approach to educational research and program evaluation.

Knirk, F. (1991). Case Materials: Research and Practice. Performance

Improvement Quarterly, 4 (1 ), 73-81.

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 The article addresses the effectiveness of case studies, subject areas
where case studies are commonly used, recent examples of their use,
and case study design considerations.

Klos, D. (1976). Students as Case Writers. Teaching of Psychology, 3.2, 63-66.

This article reviews a course in which students gather data for an original
case study of another person. The task requires the students to design
the study, collect the data, write the narrative, and interpret the findings.

Leftwich, A. (1981). The Politics of Case Study: Problems of Innovation in

University Education. Higher Education Review, 13.2, 38-64.

The article discusses the use of case studies as a teaching method.

Emphasis is on the instructional materials, interdisciplinarity, and the
complex relationships within the university that help or hinder the method.

Mabrito, M. (1991, Oct.). Electronic Mail as a Vehicle for Peer Response:

Conversations of High and Low Apprehensive Writers. Written
Communication, 509-32.

No abstract available.

McCarthy, S., J. (1955). The Influence of Classroom Discourse on Student

Texts: The Case of Ella. East Lansing: Institute for Research on Teaching.

A look at how students of color become marginalized within traditional classroom

discourse. The essay follows the struggles of one black student: Ella.

Matsuhashi, A., ed. (1987). Writing in Real Time: Modeling Production

Processes Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Investigates how writers plan to produce discourse for different purposes

to report, to generalize, and to persuade, as well as how writers plan for
sentence level units of language. To learn about planning, an
observational measure of pause time was used" (ERIC).

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Merriam, S. B. (1985). The Case Study in Educational Research: A Review of
Selected Literature. Journal of Educational Thought, 19.3, 204-17.

The article examines the characteristics of, philosophical assumptions

underlying the case study, the mechanics of conducting a case study,
and the concerns about the reliability, validity, and generalizability of the
method.

---. (1988). Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach San

Francisco: Jossey Bass.

No abstract available.

Merry, S. E., & Milner, N. eds. (1993). The Possibility of Popular Justice: A
Case Study of Community Mediation in the United States. Ann Arbor: U of
Michigan.

". . . this volume presents a case study of one experiment in popular

justice, the San Francisco Community Boards. This program has made
an explicit claim to create an alternative justice, or new justice, in the
midst of a society ordered by state law. The contributors to this volume
explore the history and experience of the program and compare it to
other versions of popular justice in the United States, Europe, and the
Third World."

Merseth, K. K. (1991). The Case for Cases in Teacher Education. RIE. 42p.
(ERIC).

This monograph argues that the case method of instruction offers unique
potential for revitalizing the field of teacher education.

Michaels, S. (1987). Text and Context: A New Approach to the Study of

Classroom Writing. Discourse Processes, 10, 321-346.

"This paper argues for and illustrates an approach to the study of writing
that integrates ethnographic analysis of classroom interaction with

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 linguistic analysis of written texts and teacher/student conversational
exchanges. The approach is illustrated through a case study of writing in
a single sixth grade classroom during a single writing assignment."

Milburn, G. (1995). Deciphering a Code or Unraveling a Riddle: A Case Study

in the Application of a Humanistic Metaphor to the Reporting of Social
Studies Teaching. Theory and Research in Education, 13.

This citation serves as an example of how case studies document

learning procedures in a senior-level economics course.

Milley, J. E. (1979). An Investigation of Case Study as an Approach to

Program Evaluation. 19th Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional
Research. (Address). San Diego.

The case study method merged a narrative report focusing on the

evaluator as participant-observer with document review, interview,
content analysis, attitude questionnaire survey, and sociogram analysis.
Milley argues that case study program evaluation has great potential for
widespread use.

Minnis, J. R. (1985, Sept.). Ethnography, Case Study, Grounded Theory, and

Distance Education Research. Distance Education, 6.2.

This article describes and defines the strengths and weaknesses of

ethnography, case study, and grounded theory.

Nunan, D. (1992). Collaborative language learning and teaching. New York:

Cambridge University Press.

Included in this series of essays is Peter Sturman’s "Team Teaching: a case study
from Japan" and David Nunan’s own "Toward a collaborative approach to
curriculum development: a case study."

Nystrand, M., ed. (1982). What Writers Know: The Language, Process, and
Structure of Written Discourse. New York: Academic Press.

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 No abstract available.

Owenby, P. H. (1992). Making Case Studies Come Alive. Training, 29, (1), 43-
46. (ERIC)

This article provides tips for writing more effective case studies.

---. (1981). Pausing and Planning: The Tempo of Writer Discourse Production.
Research in the Teaching of English, 15 (2),113-34.

No abstract available.

Perl, S. (1979). The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers.

Research in the Teaching of English, 13, 317-336.

"Summarizes a study of five unskilled college writers, focusing especially

on one of the five, and discusses the findings in light of current
pedagogical practice and research design."

Pilcher J. and A. Coffey. eds. (1996). Gender and Qualitative Research.

Brookfield: Aldershot, Hants, England.

This book provides a series of essays which look at gender identity research,
qualitative research and applications of case study to questions of gendered
pedagogy.

Pirie, B. S. (1993). The Case of Morty: A Four Year Study. Gifted Education
International, 9 (2), 105-109.

This case study describes a boy from kindergarten through third grade
with above average intelligence but difficulty in learning to read, write,
and spell.

Popkewitz, T. (1993). Changing Patterns of Power: Social Regulation and

Teacher Education Reform. Albany: SUNY Press.

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Popkewitz edits this series of essays that address case studies on educational
change and the training of teachers. The essays vary in terms of discipline and
scope. Also, several authors include case studies of educational practices in
countries other than the United States.

---. (1984). The Predrafting Processes of Four High- and Four Low
Apprehensive Writers. Research in the Teaching of English, 18, (1), 45-64.

No abstract available.

Rasmussen, P. (1985, March) A Case Study on the Evaluation of Research at

the Technical University of Denmark. International Journal of Institutional
Management in Higher Education, 9 (1).

This is an example of a case study methodology used to evaluate the

chemistry and chemical engineering departments at the University of
Denmark.

Roth, K. J. (1986). Curriculum Materials, Teacher Talk, and Student Learning:

Case Studies in Fifth-Grade Science Teaching. East Lansing: Institute for
Research on Teaching.

Roth offers case studies on elementary teachers, elementary school teaching,

science studies and teaching, and verbal learning.

Selfe, C. L. (1985). An Apprehensive Writer Composes. When a Writer Can't

Write: Studies in Writer's Block and Other Composing-Process Problems.
(pp. 83-95). Ed. Mike Rose. NMY: Guilford.

No abstract available.

Smith-Lewis, M., R. and Ford, A. (1987). A User's Perspective on

Augmentative Communication. Augmentative and Alternative
Communication, 3, 12-7.

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 "During a series of in-depth interviews, a 25-yr-old woman with cerebral
palsy who utilized augmentative communication reflected on the
effectiveness of the devices designed for her during her school career."

St. Pierre, R., G. (1980, April). Follow Through: A Case Study in

Metaevaluation Research. 64th Annual Meeting of the American Educational
Research Association. (Address).

The three approaches to metaevaluation are evaluation of primary

evaluations, integrative meta-analysis with combined primary evaluation
results, and re-analysis of the raw data from a primary evaluation.

Stahler, T., M. (1996, Feb.) Early Field Experiences: A Model That Worked.
ERIC.

"This case study of a field and theory class examines a model designed
to provide meaningful field experiences for preservice teachers while
remaining consistent with the instructor's beliefs about the role of teacher
education in preparing teachers for the classroom."

Stake, R. E. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage
Publications.

This book examines case study research in education and case study
methodology.

Stiegelbauer, S. (1984) Community, Context, and Co-curriculum: Situational

Factors Influencing School Improvements in a Study of High Schools.
Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research
Association, New Orleans, LA.

Discussion of several case studies: one looking at high school environments,

another examining educational innovations.

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Stolovitch, H. (1990). Case Study Method. Performance And Instruction, 29,
(9), 35-37.

This article describes the case study method as a form of simulation and
presents guidelines for their use in professional training situations.

Thaller, E. (1994). Bibliography for the Case Method: Using Case Studies in
Teacher Education. RIE. 37 p.

This bibliography presents approximately 450 citations on the use of case

studies in teacher education from 1921-1993.

Thrane, T. (1986). On Delimiting the Senses of Near-Synonyms in Historical

Semantics: A Case Study of Adjectives of 'Moral Sufficiency' in the Old
English Andreas. Linguistics Across Historical and Geographical
Boundaries: In Honor of Jacek Fisiak on the Occasion of his Fiftieth Birthday.
Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

No abstract available.

United Nations. (1975). Food and Agriculture Organization. Report on the FAO
/UNFPA Seminar on Methodology, Research and Country: Case Studies on
Population, Employment and Productivity. Rome: United Nations.

This example case study shows how the methodology can be used in a
demographic and psychographic evaluation. At the same time, it
discusses the formation and instigation of the case study methodology
itself.

Van Vugt, J. P., ed. (1994). Aids Prevention and Services: Community Based
Research. Westport: Bergin and Garvey.

"This volume has been five years in the making. In the process, some of
the policy applications called for have met with limited success, such as
free needle exchange programs in a limited number of American cities,
providing condoms to prison inmates, and advertisements that depict

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 same-sex couples. Rather than dating our chapters that deal with such
subjects, such policy applications are verifications of the type of research
demonstrated here. Furthermore, they indicate the critical need to
continue community based research in the various communities
threatened by acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) . . . "

Welch, W., ed. (1981, May). Case Study Methodology in Educational

Evaluation. Proceedings of the Minnesota Evaluation Conference. Minnesota.
(Address).

The four papers in these proceedings provide a comprehensive picture of

the rationale, methodology, strengths, and limitations of case studies.

Williams, G. (1987). The Case Method: An Approach to Teaching and Learning

in Educational Administration. RIE, 31p.

This paper examines the viability of the case method as a teaching and
learning strategy in instructional systems geared toward the training of
personnel of the administration of various aspects of educational systems.

Yin, R. K. (1993). Advancing Rigorous Methodologies: A Review of 'Towards

Rigor in Reviews of Multivocal Literatures.' Review of Educational Research,
61, (3).

"R. T. Ogawa and B. Malen's article does not meet its own recommended
standards for rigorous testing and presentation of its own conclusions.
Use of the exploratory case study to analyze multivocal literatures is not
supported, and the claim of grounded theory to analyze multivocal
literatures may be stronger."

---. (1989). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. London: Sage
Publications Inc.

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 This book discusses in great detail, the entire design process of the case
study, including entire chapters on collecting evidence, analyzing
evidence, composing the case study report, and designing single and
multiple case studies.

Related Links

Consider the following list of related Web sites for more information on the topic of
case study research. Note: although many of the links cover the general category of
qualitative research, all have sections that address issues of case studies.

1. Sage Publications on Qualitative Methodology: Search here for a

comprehensive list of new books being published about "Qualitative
Methodology" http://www.sagepub.co.uk/
2. The International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education: An on-line
journal "to enhance the theory and practice of qualitative research in
education." On-line submissions are welcome. http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
/tf/09518398.html
3. Qualitative Research Resources on the Internet: From syllabi to home
pages to bibliographies. All links relate somehow to qualitative research.
http://www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/qualres.html

Citation: Please adapt for your documentation style.

Becker, Bronwyn, Patrick Dawson, Karen Devine, Carla Hannum, Steve Hill, Jon
Leydens, Debbie Matuskevich, Carol Traver, & Mike Palmquist. (2005). Case
Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University. https://writing.colostate.edu
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