Understanding Complex Resource Management Issues in

their Real World Context:

Case Study Approaches to Research

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Workshop Objectives

• Become familiar with the utility and limitations of case study research

• Become familiar with the design, implementation, and analysis of a case study

• Practice designing a case study using a real world example

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Workshop Outline

• Asking effective research questions• Matching methods to questions• What is a case study?• Case study design exercise• Data analysis• Generalization, case quality, and

other issues

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Workshop Programme

Wednesday, June 13, Morning8:30 Introductions, Learning objectives, course

scheduleAsking effective research questionsMatching methods to questionsWhat is a case study?Case study components

10:00 BreakCase study designBackground on nursery case study exercisePreparation for field exercise

12:00 Lunch Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Workshop Programme

Wednesday, June 13, Afternoon1:00 Transport to Inopacan, Leyte

Tour nursery Discussion with nursery project

participants3:00 Return to campus

Meet with participants from second nursery project

Discussion5:00 Adjourn

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Workshop Programme

Thursday, June 14, Morning8:30 Preparation for group presentations

Groups assemble case study plans10:30 Break

Group presentations Discussion

12:30 LunchTuesday Afternoon1:30 Interviews and field notes

Data analysis, Coding3:00 Break

Generalizing from case studiesJudging case study design qualityQuestions, comments, discussion

5:30 Adjourn

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Asking Effective Research Questions

• Why is it important? • Who cares (or should care) about

the question?• What body of theory will it

contribute to?• Has it been asked before?• Can it be answered with the time,

expertise, and resources available?Case Study Workshop, 2007

John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Matching Research Approach to Questions

• Write a one-sentence research question relevant to your work or interests.

• What data would be required?• What disciplines? Types of

knowledge?• What research approach would be

appropriate? What specific methods?Case Study Workshop, 2007

John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Fig. 1. A simplified social science research approach decision tree.

Yes

No

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Rel. Small

Rel. Large

Rel. Small

Rel. Large

● Test Hypotheses● Estimate Parameters● Breadth

Primary Approach: Survey

Scale of Target Population

Door-to-Door

Telephone, Mail

Check Results With Qualitative Data

Check Results With Survey Data

● Generate Hypotheses● Explain Relationships● DepthPrimary Approach:

Qualitative

Scale of Target Population

Structured Group

Ethnographic

Methods

Research Question?

Done

Principle Purpose?

Existing Data Adequate?

Inductive and Deductive Reasoning

• Deductive reasoning: The process of reasoning from general principles to particular examples.

• Inductive reasoning: The process of reasoning from particular examples to general principles.

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Table 2. Partial, Illustrative List of Social Science Research Methodologies

Method Application Limitations

Secondary DataHistoricalCensusPrevious research

Provide context and background for any social research endeavor

Availability and relevance of existing data

EthnographicParticipant observationCase studyOral historyKey informant

Explain experience and values of specific target population, identify relationships, understand issues in context

Time requirement, limited capacity to generalize, lack of formal analytical procedures

Structured GroupFocus groupNominal groupDelphi

Establish problem’s boundaries and topics for further research

Limited capacity to generalize

SurveyTelephoneMailDoor to door

Estimate general parameters of large population, rigorous statistical analysis

A priori knowledge required, limited capacity to explain, declining response ratesCase Study Workshop, 2007

John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Table 1. Comparison of Qualitative and Standardized Questionnaire Survey Methodologies (from Bliss and Martin 1989)

Methodology

Qualitative Standardized Survey

Purpose Describe and explain processes and relationships, generate hypotheses

Describe, estimate population parameters, test hypotheses

Design Inductive, flexible Deductive, rigid

Sample Selective Random

Questions Informant-driven, Why? What? How?

Predetermined, How many/much?

Unit of analysis

Individual, case Trait

Data Multiple instruments Single instrument

Analysis Uncodified Formal

Results Depth, particulars Breadth, generalizations

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Research Syndromes

• Best Available Data• The Hammer and the Nail• The Streetlight Syndrome• Excessive Expertise

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Case Study Definition

“Case study is a strategy for doing research which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon with its real life context using multiple sources of evidence.”

Yin, 1981

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Case Study Components

• Strategy• Empirical investigation• A particular contemporary

phenomenon• Within its real life context• Using multiple sources of evidence

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Triangulation

Key informant interviews

Content analysis ofnewspapers

Household survey

Historical accounts

Ecological inventory data

Census data

GIS analysis

Literature

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Designing the Case Study

1. What is the phenomenon being studied? Define the case – What are the boundaries?

2. What are the research questions?3. Who are the key players?4. What are the key social, economic,

ecological, political factors? (Describe the context).

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

5. What data will be required?6. How will data be collected?7. How will data be analyzed?8. What will be the utility of study

results? For whom?9. How will study results be

disseminated?

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Questions to Ponder

• What’s going on here?• What is this an example of? What

does this illustrate?• Who are we hearing from?• Who aren’t we hearing from?• Who stands to gain?• Who stands to lose?

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Generalizing from Case Studies

• Statistical generalization: describing a population based upon a sample.

• Theoretical (analytical) generalization: describing a phenomenon based upon a case.

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Data Analysis

• Data management• To record or not to record• Transcribing interviews• Coding• Pattern recognition• Writing as analysis

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Coding Text

“Selective Coding”

Families

“Axial Coding”

“Open Coding”

Themesor

Networks

Interview Text

Incr

easi

ng

Ab

stra

ctio

n

Increasing abstraction

Theme

Coded text

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

• Director of community organization on community forestry:

• “I want the rural communities to be seen as the stewards of the public lands that surround them. I don’t want us to be seen as loggers, rapers, pillagers, grazers, you know, cow shitters. Whatever is that we’re perceived to be now. Because I believe we have the knowledge and the ability, if we’re allowed, to stay on the landscape, to steward those lands in a way that the public will be proud of for generations to come and I know that’s the motivation. Because when we talk about community forestry, we talk about management for the next generation.”

Family forest owner on oak conservation:“I would hate to see the oaks disappear. Maybe on my south hillside here where I have a lot of oaks I should just let them grow. The oaks tend to grow up and not shade like the maples do. Douglas-fir grows right up through them . . .

I like the diversity. I certainly would not clean out all the oaks. I mean, three or four big logs, I might sell those for a good price, but the main thing is to leave other oaks coming along so that in 50 years there’s another big stand. “

Judging Case Study Design Quality(after Yin 2003).

Tests Case Study Tactic

Construct validity •Multiple data sources•Chain of evidence•Informant review

Internal validity •Pattern matching•Rival explanations•Logic models

External validity •Theory – base (single cases)•Replication logic (multiple cases)

Reliability •Case study protocol•Database

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Case Study Workshop, 2007John C. Bliss, Oregon State University

Case Study Research ReferencesRagin, Charles C., and Howard S. Becker, eds. 1992. What is

a case? Exploring the foundations of social inquiry. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Robson, Colin. 2002. Real World Research, second ed. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. 599 p.

Stake, Robert E. 1995. The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 173 p.

Yin, Robert K. 2003. Case Study Research, Design and Methods third ed.. Applied Social Research Methods Series Vol. 5. London: Sage Publications. 179 p.

Yin, Robert K. 2003. Applications of case study research, Second Edition. Applied Social Research Methods Series, Vol. 34. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 173 p.

Yin, Robert K. 2004. The case study anthology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. 271 p.