NU 515 What are the advantages and disadvantages/limitations of a case study design in qualitative research?
Case Study Design in Qualitative Research
Qualitative researchers use case study design because of the various advantages that the approach provides. Case studies entail the investigation into individual circumstances and involves collecting comprehensive data about the entity using several methods like interviews and observations. The design’s main merits include the ability to gather in-depth details or data which may not be easily obtained using other approaches (Harrison et al., 2017). Case studies can be conducted in rare situations where large samples of similar subjects are no
t available. For instance, descriptive case studies make complex science and technology projects accessible and interesting to non-scientist audiences. The scope of the case study is also flexible and wide, ranging from brief descriptive summaries to long, detailed accounts (Roberts et al., 2019). The ability and freedom to gathers different types of information or data makes the design useful in exploration of ideas and construction of theories about project’s dynamics. The design is cost-effective compared to other methods since the only costs involved are those in accessing data. Case studies also allow researchers to collect data remotely without the need to be present at certain locations.
Conversely, case study design presents challenges or limitations to the researchers. A limiting factor of the design is
that it is difficult to generalize the collected data to the wider population (Guetterman & Fetters, 2018). As such, data collected in longitudinal case studies is not always relevant or have a particular use. Some instances of case studies are not scientific. Case studies are time consuming as it takes a while to analyze the collected data for effective use and interpretation in certain situations (Ridder, 2017). Case studies are subjective since all data or information may come from on individual or few participants making it difficult to apply to other situations.
References
Guetterman, T. C., & Fetters, M. D. (2018). Two methodological approaches to the integration of
mixed methods and case study designs: A systematic review. American Behavioral Scientist, 62(7), 900-918. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002764218772641
Harrison, H., Birks, M., Franklin, R., & Mills, J. (2017). Case study research:
Foundations and methodological orientations. In Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research, 18(1).
https://doi.org/10.17169/fqs-18.1.2655
Ridder, H. G. (2017). The theory contribution of case study research designs. Business Research,
10(2), 281-305. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40685-017-0045-z
Roberts, K., Dowell, A., & Nie, J. B. (2019). Attempting rigor and replicability in thematic
analysis of qualitative research data; a case study of codebook development. BMC medical research methodology, 19(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-019-0707-y