The Problem(atization) of Case Studies
0Sunday, November 11, 2012 by Jesse
I am grappling with the theoretical and
methodological problems in the conducting and evaluation of case studies as a
research method. What exactly is a case study, when is it
appropriate, and what can it tell us?
After reading these articles by Yin (1981) and Beaulieu et al (2007), I feel like cat trying to catch the light
of a laser pointer, when I try to define and discuss the concept of the “case
study”! I am hoping class tomorrow will shed some light on the articles by Yin
and Beaulieu et al. I am not sure that I completely followed their arguments. It seems both articles are addressing the problematic
nature and purpose of the case study, pointing at what they see as the hybrid
nature of the case study and perhaps social sciences in general. According to Yin (and Beaulieu et al?), case
studies inhabit the liminal space between the specific and the generalizeable. I like Yin’s comparison to the detective
investigating a crime, attempting to link two (or more) specific, distinct
incidents together by identifying a pattern, and then identifying the common
variable (the one criminal). Beaulieu et
al define the problem of case studies as the conflict between the generalizing
of cases through the structure of artificially constructed categories for
comparing different cases and the specificity that case studies are used to prove. They see a “middle range” where this tension is
acknowledged for every case study research project. My initial reaction is one of frustration at
the inevitable and neverending theoretical backflips that then become necessary
every time a case study is conducted and presented. It’s post-structuralism applied to case
studies. I am excited AND frustrated!
