Case studies

An intensive in-depth investigation of some behaviour, activity, event or problem of interest in a single individual, group, organisation or situation

→ usually aren’t ethical to replicate, so they can only obtain information from the case

Key features:

• in-depth investigation

• involve a single individual, group, event etc.

• multiple types of data are usually collected

• allow for detailed/intensive analysis

• non-experimental method/cannot establish cause–effect

• limited in the extent to which findings may be generalised

Advantages

• provide useful way to obtaining detailed information

• rich data

• permits investigation of otherwise impractical/unethical situations

Limitations

• can not establish cause-effect relationship

• small sample size

• generalisation can not be done with certainty

• susceptible to biased information from participants or researcher.