tailieunhanh - The Value of the Case Study as a Research Strategy

However, as research in this area matures, findings are becoming more complex. Studies by Motteram and Forrester (2005), Fung (2004) and Kear (2004) all show that whilst some students gain support and reassurance from interacting with other students, others place little value on such activities or struggle to find the time to engage in them due to work and family commitments | The Value of the Case Study as a Research Strategy Charles Schell January 1992 Manchester Business School Introduction One of the most time-honoured forms of communication and knowledge transfer is the narrative The earliest abstract philosophical concepts were conveyed as allegorical accounts either for the purpose of education or debate and a scientific tradition was built around the testing of the premises which either supported or attacked the truth and validity of the implicit arguments made by these stories. Few would question the relevance of the case study the modern equivalent of the allegory as a basis for formulating hypotheses for further quantitative research but many would contend as Matthew Miles 1979 did in an Administrative Science Quarterly article titled Qualitative data as an attractive nuisance that research based upon case study was unlikely to transcend story-telling. Is case study a valid research tool or is it constrained by insurmountable methodological handicaps In the next few pages we will consider the nature of the case study in its various manifestations the factors to be taken into consideration when designing case study research and situations where the case study is an appropriate research tool. Management studies and organizational theory rely heavily upon the case study as a form of data collection and even as a type of unstructured analysis As a form of research the case study is unparalleled for its ability to consider a single or complex research question within an environment rich with contextual variables. Observation experiments surveys and secondary information archival have the advantage of producing sets of independent and dependent variables suitable for quantitative analysis The case study is best suited to considering the how and why questions or when the investigator has little control over events. Its has significant limitations and misapplication can produce incorrect or inconsistent findings. Suitable design .