A case study is a common framework for conducting qualitative research (Stake, 1995). A case-study design is defined as systematic binding of a whole based on its unique character, regardless of whether it is a phenomenon, process, relationship, individual, group of people or even a whole society. It focuses on an issue with the case selected to provide insight into the issue, and this is what distinguishes it from a narrative study, especially when an individual is selected as the case – the focus is not on the individual and their stories, but on the issue, with the individual case selected to help understand the issue (Creswell, 2007, p. 245). According to Yin (2003), case studies ensure understanding of complex social phenomena by allowing investigators to retain the holistic and meaningful characteristics of real-life events, because a detailed description of the case and the setting of the case within contextual conditions are provided, whereas the presentation need not be chronological. It is the study of an issue explored through one or more cases within a bounded system, and provides an in-depth understanding of the case, covering contextual conditions, and relying on multiple data sources (Creswell, 2007, p. 73).
A case study is the analytical research used to study a specific real situation or an imagined scenario. It belongs to the group of relatively young research designs. However, almost all natural sciences can be said to have ‘studied cases’. The design appeared quite early in historical sciences, where certain events or societies were treated as cases, whereas in other social sciences, it appeared much later. Psychology and Psychiatry were the last to adopt it when studying certain diseases or their specific manifestations.
Anything that can be bounded or fenced in a unique whole with all its real characteristics can be the object of a case study. It can be an individual, family, settlement, work organization, etc. The case as a bounded whole is studied over time, using multiple sources of information (questionnaires, observations, interviews, documents, reports) in order to discover its characteristics, and learn more about the unfamiliar or poorly understood situation (Leedy & Ormrod, 2005). So, case studies are typically regarded as qualitative research because a single case cannot be representative of the population, though they often include quantitative data collection instruments such as questionnaires (Dörnyei, 2007, p. 152). According to Dörnyei, a case study is not a specific design, but a method of collecting and organising data so as to maximise our understanding of the unitary character of the social being or object studied.
The complexity of the case-study design is evident in the theoretical and operational defining of the relevant properties and relationships of the studied case, and it is particularly complex to preserve the wholeness of the case and meaningful characteristics of actual relationships. If the case is a process or relationship, then it is extremely difficult to define its beginning and ending point, its relevant context, its spacial and temporal demarcation. So, it is here that assumptions, as an important element of the research plan, play an important role. They serve to connect the initial questions and research objectives with relevant data and results obtained later.
A single-case study is used when an individual, phenomenon, process, etc. is the object of a study, and as such, the best representative of the population. A single-case study is convenient in the following situations:
- when an extreme or unique character of the studied phenomenon is to be determined;
- when a phenomenon which has never been researched before is to be studied, and the case study will result in some discovery, even if it only describes the phenomenon;
- when carrying out preliminary research as the foundation for further research – this is useful when some unknown or insufficiently investigated or very complex phenomena are to be studied, and the aim is to use the knowledge obtained to develop the research plan, or make the existing plan more precise.
Sometimes research has an immediate experience as its starting point, and then empirical regularities are discovered, whereas the conceptual framework results from the very process of the research in the form of assumptions. In such a process, the investigator’s previous experience and creativity are very important because theory cannot be developed only from observation, nor can generalizations be made using induction only. Theory development is a creative process, which exceeds simple recording.
A single-case strategy can develop into a multiple-case method in the situations where the case relates to something general, and needs to be explored in all its varieties (Pečujlić & Milić, 1995, p. 130). A multiple-case design is used when a research study examines more than one case, following the repeating logic – new cases are studied under the theoretically precisely defined conditions, as is done in multiple experiments. Plans for both types of the case-study method are developed within the same methodological framework. However, using the multiple-case approach requires more serious standardization of the process, more serious selection of key dimensions and relevant data, but fewer details than when a single-case method is used. A multiple-case study is more difficult to perform, more time-consuming, and usually requires more than one researcher. It serves as a strategy for the strengthening of epistemological foundations of the approach (Ševkušić, 2008, p. 242).
According to some authors, there are four distinguishing properties of a case-study method:
- the data must be diverse, and have the demographic, financial, political, cultural and historical character;
- the data must be comprehensive, and reveal the most important characteristics of the case studied;
- the type of the case is defined based on precise criteria;
- it includes the temporal dimension of the data, which is important for the case development (Pečujlić & Milić, 1995, p. 130).
The use of multiple data sources enhances the cognitive value of the result, and increases the reliability of the whole study (Yin, 2003). That is why the draft research itself should predict the sources that can be considered relevant with regard to the research objectives (biographies, diaries, personal history, data collected through observation, informal interviews). Thus, the data are supplemented and converged, and gradually certain patterns are identified, theoretical assumptions are supported by concrete content, new hypotheses relating to the central topic are formulated. It is this convergence of data from multiple sources that adds strength to the findings, and facilitates better understanding of the case (Baxter & Jack, 2008, p. 554).
In case of conflicting data from multiple sources, additional evidence is sought. The more evidence sources there are the more measures of a single phenomenon are obtained. The data sources used in a case study can be divided:
- according to the way they are organised, into formal and informal;
- according to the reasons for their creation, into those created for the purpose of the research, and those created independently of the research, but used for the research purposes.
Formal sources are those developed by some official institutions and organisations, the most important being those developed by the state authorities at all levels. Informal sources are created by people, and they include different types of personal documents, records, letters, notes, diaries. This type of sources comprises anything that relates to the life of individuals within a whole which represents the case, and can be used for research purposes.
The sources created for the purpose of the research are ordered and scientifically oriented; they can be of an institutional origin, but reshaped for the purpose of the research. The sources created independently are the same as formal and informal sources.
When conducting a case study, the most important thing is to have a good research plan, which helps to define the case thoroughly, determine its essence, categorise the data collected by observation, define the type and scope of the materials to be used, and thus the protocol is designed. There is no doubt that the success of a case-study method depends on the research plan or protocol (Pečujlić & Milić, 1995, p. 130).
The closeness that a case study establishes with real-life situations, and the wealth of details, are important for researchers for two reasons: first, it is important to get as much a nuanced image of the social reality and human behaviour as possible, because they only exist as such; then, by studying individual cases, the researchers improves their learning process, and develop their research skills.
A great distance from the object of study, the so-called highly desired objectivity, together with a lack of feedback from the research participants, can easily lead to ‘ritual’ academic studies, with vague effects and benefits, which cannot be tested. As a methodological approach, the case study can be an efficient means against such tendencies.