what is case study in social work

Case Study: A Qualitative Approach

Concept and Definitions

A case study refers to an in-depth examination of a specific “unit,” which can be an individual, group, family, village, organization, institution, program, or document. A case study is a research methodology employed to get an in-depth and multifaceted comprehension of a complex problem within its real-life setting.

It is a comprehensive approach to studying that prioritizes depth above breadth. This is also a research design that is widely utilized in several fields, especially in the social sciences. Case studies are commonly used in literary investigations. For example, if you are examining the writing style of a specific author within a particular time period, your research approach would be considered a case study.

According to Biesanz and Biesanz, a case study is a method of qualitative analysis that entails careful and comprehensive observation of an individual, event, or institution.
According to Goode and Hatt, a case study is a method for organizing social data that maintains the cohesive nature of the social object under investigation.
Pauline. V. Young defines a case study as a method of exploring and analyzing the life of a social unit, be that a person, a family, an institution, a cultural group, or even an entire community.

In simple terms, the case study method is a type of qualitative analysis that involves careful and comprehensive observation of an individual, situation, or institution. The goal is to examine every aspect of the subject in great detail and then draw generalizations and conclusions from the data collected.

Characteristics of Case Study

The following are some of the case study method’s key characteristics:

This method allows the researcher to select one or more social units to analyze, and they may also choose to completely study a particular situation.
The selected unit is thoroughly examined, focusing on its complex characteristics. Usually, the study spans a lengthy duration to determine the evolution of the subject in order to gather sufficient data for making accurate inferences.
This approach involves a comprehensive examination of the social entity, encompassing all its aspects. This approach aims to comprehend the complex factors that are active within a social unit as a single unit.
In this method, the approach is qualitative rather than quantitative . Only qualitative information is collected. Every possible attempt is undertaken to gather knowledge pertaining to all aspects of society. Case studies enhance our understanding and provide us with a distinct understanding of life. Under this approach, we not only examine the number of crimes a person has committed but also look into the underlying circumstances that compelled them to engage in criminal behavior. The study aims to propose strategies for rehabilitating the offender.
The case study method aims to understand the interrelationship of causal factors.
The case study method involves directly studying the behavioral pattern of the unit in question rather than using an indirect and abstract approach.
The case study technique yields valuable hypotheses along with the facts, which can be useful for testing and ultimately lead to the development of generalized knowledge.

Evolution and Scope

The case study approach is a prevalent and systematic field research technique in the social sciences. Frederic Le Play deserves credit for bringing this approach to the field of social study. In his research on family finances, he utilized it as a handmaiden to statistics.

Herbert Spencer pioneered the utilization of case material in his comparative analysis of other cultures. Dr. William Healy employed this approach in his investigation of adolescent misbehavior and saw it as superior rather than relying solely on statistical information.

In the same manner, anthropologists, historians, novelists, and dramatists have employed this approach to address issues relevant to their respective fields. Management specialists employ case study approaches to gain insights into various management issues.

Concisely, the case study method is employed in various academic fields. Furthermore, its utilization is steadily growing with time.

Assumptions of Case Study

The case study method relies on various assumptions. The key assumptions can be enumerated as follows:

The assumption of homogeneity in fundamental human nature, regardless of the reality that human conduct may fluctuate depending on circumstances.
The assumption is to investigate the natural history of the specific unit in question.
The assumption is an in-depth investigation of the relevant unit.

Process for Case Study

The process involved in employing case study techniques is the same as those used in other forms of research.

The first step involves delineating the individual case or recognizing a group of similar instances that are then included in multiple-case research.

Review of the Literature

Furthermore, conducting a comprehensive literature analysis, including articles, books, media sources, reports, and other relevant materials, helps to develop a fundamental understanding of the situation—data collection, analysis, and record of the specified phenomenon.

Development of Research Questions

Formulation of study questions based on a thorough examination of existing material. Information in case studies is often, though not exclusively, qualitative in character.

Analysis and Diagnosis

Multiple-case studies involve conducting analysis both within individual instances and across cases. The process entails diagnosing and identifying causal factors as a foundation for remedial or developmental treatment.

Implication

The themes or findings that emerge from the studies are relevant to similar cases as a whole. In this regard, the application of remedial procedures, such as treatment and therapy, is commonly referred to as casework.

Follow-up program to evaluate the efficacy of the treatment provided.

Advantages of Case Study

A single-case study is undertaken when a researcher aims to investigate a specific phenomena that arises from a particular entity. It is beneficial because;

Facilitates an in-depth study of a specific phenomenon.
It involves the collection of many forms of data.
This methodology allows the researcher to investigate the historical development of the social group and its interactions with the social factors and external influences in its surroundings. Utilizing a multiple-case research study enables an in-depth understanding of the instances as a collective by analyzing similarities as well as differences between the individual cases and other cases.
The researcher can employ many research approaches within the case study approach, depending on the prevailing circumstances. Under the case study method, it is feasible to utilize several techniques such as in-depth interviews , questionnaires, reports of individuals, letters, and similar approaches.
The utilization of the case study approach strengthens the researcher’s experiential knowledge, hence enhancing their analytical skill and expertise.
Multiple-case studies provide more solid and reliable evidence compared to single-case research.
Multiple case studies facilitate a more thorough investigation of research inquiries.
Facilitates the formation of theories.

Limitations for Case Study

Although case studies have benefits, they also have some limitations.

The vast quantity of data poses challenges in terms of organization and analysis.
Careful assimilation strategies of research are extremely required.
The possibility to deviate from the main area of research.
Presenting findings from studies involving multiple cases can be hard on certain occasions.
The case study method is applicable only within a limited area and cannot be employed in the context of a large society. Sampling is not feasible when using a case study approach.
The risk of making incorrect generalizations is ever-present due to the absence of strict guidelines in data gathering and the limited number of units analyzed.
It is time-consuming and demands a significant amount of cost. More time is required when using the case study method, as it involves studying the historical phases of social units in great detail.

Although there are restrictions, case studies are being conducted in various fields, especially in social sciences, as a scientific research technique due to the previously mentioned advantages. The majority of restrictions can be addressed if researchers consistently acknowledge and possess expertise in contemporary methodologies for gathering case data, as well as scientific approaches for organizing, categorizing, and analyzing such data.

Furthermore, modern case studies can be conducted in a manner that allows the data to be quantified and subjected to statistical analysis. This is potentially the underlying factor contributing to the increasing popularity of case studies.

Ph.D in Social Work

Meaning of Research and 14 Major Characteristics of Research

Meaning of Research: 14 Major Characteristics

What is Scientific Research? 2 Forms of Scientific Inquiry

Designing and Conducting Case Studies

This guide examines case studies, a form of qualitative descriptive research that is used to look at individuals, a small group of participants, or a group as a whole. Researchers collect data about participants using participant and direct observations, interviews, protocols, tests, examinations of records, and collections of writing samples. Starting with a definition of the case study, the guide moves to a brief history of this research method. Using several well documented case studies, the guide then looks at applications and methods including data collection and analysis. A discussion of ways to handle validity, reliability, and generalizability follows, with special attention to case studies as they are applied to composition studies. Finally, this guide examines the strengths and weaknesses of case studies.

Definition and Overview

Case study refers to the collection and presentation of detailed information about a particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of subjects themselves. A form of qualitative descriptive research, the case study looks intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions only about that participant or group and only in that specific context. Researchers do not focus on the discovery of a universal, generalizable truth, nor do they typically look for cause-effect relationships; instead, emphasis is placed on exploration and description.

Case studies typically examine the interplay of all variables in order to provide as complete an understanding of an event or situation as possible. This type of comprehensive understanding is arrived at through a process known as thick description, which involves an in-depth description of the entity being evaluated, the circumstances under which it is used, the characteristics of the people involved in it, and the nature of the community in which it is located. Thick description also involves interpreting the meaning of demographic and descriptive data such as cultural norms and mores, community values, ingrained attitudes, and motives.

Unlike quantitative methods of research, like the survey, which focus on the questions of who, what, where, how much, and how many, and archival analysis, which often situates the participant in some form of historical context, case studies are the preferred strategy when how or why questions are asked. Likewise, they are the preferred method when the researcher has little control over the events, and when there is a contemporary focus within a real life context. In addition, unlike more specifically directed experiments, case studies require a problem that seeks a holistic understanding of the event or situation in question using inductive logic--reasoning from specific to more general terms.

In scholarly circles, case studies are frequently discussed within the context of qualitative research and naturalistic inquiry. Case studies are often referred to interchangeably with ethnography, field study, and participant observation. The underlying philosophical assumptions in the case are similar to these types of qualitative research because each takes place in a natural setting (such as a classroom, neighborhood, or private home), and strives for a more holistic interpretation of the event or situation under study.

Unlike more statistically-based studies which search for quantifiable data, the goal of a case study is to offer new variables and questions for further research. F.H. Giddings, a sociologist in the early part of the century, compares statistical methods to the case study on the basis that the former are concerned with the distribution of a particular trait, or a small number of traits, in a population, whereas the case study is concerned with the whole variety of traits to be found in a particular instance" (Hammersley 95).

Case studies are not a new form of research; naturalistic inquiry was the primary research tool until the development of the scientific method. The fields of sociology and anthropology are credited with the primary shaping of the concept as we know it today. However, case study research has drawn from a number of other areas as well: the clinical methods of doctors; the casework technique being developed by social workers; the methods of historians and anthropologists, plus the qualitative descriptions provided by quantitative researchers like LePlay; and, in the case of Robert Park, the techniques of newspaper reporters and novelists.

Park was an ex-newspaper reporter and editor who became very influential in developing sociological case studies at the University of Chicago in the 1920s. As a newspaper professional he coined the term "scientific" or "depth" reporting: the description of local events in a way that pointed to major social trends. Park viewed the sociologist as "merely a more accurate, responsible, and scientific reporter." Park stressed the variety and value of human experience. He believed that sociology sought to arrive at natural, but fluid, laws and generalizations in regard to human nature and society. These laws weren't static laws of the kind sought by many positivists and natural law theorists, but rather, they were laws of becoming--with a constant possibility of change. Park encouraged students to get out of the library, to quit looking at papers and books, and to view the constant experiment of human experience. He writes, "Go and sit in the lounges of the luxury hotels and on the doorsteps of the flophouses; sit on the Gold Coast settees and on the slum shakedowns; sit in the Orchestra Hall and in the Star and Garter Burlesque. In short, gentlemen [sic], go get the seats of your pants dirty in real research."

But over the years, case studies have drawn their share of criticism. In fact, the method had its detractors from the start. In the 1920s, the debate between pro-qualitative and pro-quantitative became quite heated. Case studies, when compared to statistics, were considered by many to be unscientific. From the 1930's on, the rise of positivism had a growing influence on quantitative methods in sociology. People wanted static, generalizable laws in science. The sociological positivists were looking for stable laws of social phenomena. They criticized case study research because it failed to provide evidence of inter subjective agreement. Also, they condemned it because of the few number of cases studied and that the under-standardized character of their descriptions made generalization impossible. By the 1950s, quantitative methods, in the form of survey research, had become the dominant sociological approach and case study had become a minority practice.

Educational Applications

The 1950's marked the dawning of a new era in case study research, namely that of the utilization of the case study as a teaching method. "Instituted at Harvard Business School in the 1950s as a primary method of teaching, cases have since been used in classrooms and lecture halls alike, either as part of a course of study or as the main focus of the course to which other teaching material is added" (Armisted 1984). The basic purpose of instituting the case method as a teaching strategy was "to transfer much of the responsibility for learning from the teacher on to the student, whose role, as a result, shifts away from passive absorption toward active construction" (Boehrer 1990). Through careful examination and discussion of various cases, "students learn to identify actual problems, to recognize key players and their agendas, and to become aware of those aspects of the situation that contribute to the problem" (Merseth 1991). In addition, students are encouraged to "generate their own analysis of the problems under consideration, to develop their own solutions, and to practically apply their own knowledge of theory to these problems" (Boyce 1993). Along the way, students also develop "the power to analyze and to master a tangled circumstance by identifying and delineating important factors; the ability to utilize ideas, to test them against facts, and to throw them into fresh combinations" (Merseth 1991).

In addition to the practical application and testing of scholarly knowledge, case discussions can also help students prepare for real-world problems, situations and crises by providing an approximation of various professional environments (i.e. classroom, board room, courtroom, or hospital). Thus, through the examination of specific cases, students are given the opportunity to work out their own professional issues through the trials, tribulations, experiences, and research findings of others. An obvious advantage to this mode of instruction is that it allows students the exposure to settings and contexts that they might not otherwise experience. For example, a student interested in studying the effects of poverty on minority secondary student's grade point averages and S.A.T. scores could access and analyze information from schools as geographically diverse as Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, and New Mexico without ever having to leave the classroom.

The case study method also incorporates the idea that students can learn from one another "by engaging with each other and with each other's ideas, by asserting something and then having it questioned, challenged and thrown back at them so that they can reflect on what they hear, and then refine what they say" (Boehrer 1990). In summary, students can direct their own learning by formulating questions and taking responsibility for the study.

Types and Design Concerns

Researchers use multiple methods and approaches to conduct case studies.

Types of Case Studies

Under the more generalized category of case study exist several subdivisions, each of which is custom selected for use depending upon the goals and/or objectives of the investigator. These types of case study include the following:

Illustrative Case Studies These are primarily descriptive studies. They typically utilize one or two instances of an event to show what a situation is like. Illustrative case studies serve primarily to make the unfamiliar familiar and to give readers a common language about the topic in question.

Exploratory (or pilot) Case Studies These are condensed case studies performed before implementing a large scale investigation. Their basic function is to help identify questions and select types of measurement prior to the main investigation. The primary pitfall of this type of study is that initial findings may seem convincing enough to be released prematurely as conclusions.

Cumulative Case Studies These serve to aggregate information from several sites collected at different times. The idea behind these studies is the collection of past studies will allow for greater generalization without additional cost or time being expended on new, possibly repetitive studies.

Critical Instance Case Studies These examine one or more sites for either the purpose of examining a situation of unique interest with little to no interest in generalizability, or to call into question or challenge a highly generalized or universal assertion. This method is useful for answering cause and effect questions.

Identifying a Theoretical Perspective

Much of the case study's design is inherently determined for researchers, depending on the field from which they are working. In composition studies, researchers are typically working from a qualitative, descriptive standpoint. In contrast, physicists will approach their research from a more quantitative perspective. Still, in designing the study, researchers need to make explicit the questions to be explored and the theoretical perspective from which they will approach the case. The three most commonly adopted theories are listed below:

Individual Theories These focus primarily on the individual development, cognitive behavior, personality, learning and disability, and interpersonal interactions of a particular subject.

Organizational Theories These focus on bureaucracies, institutions, organizational structure and functions, or excellence in organizational performance.

Social Theories These focus on urban development, group behavior, cultural institutions, or marketplace functions.

Two examples of case studies are used consistently throughout this chapter. The first, a study produced by Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988), looks at a first year graduate student's initiation into an academic writing program. The study uses participant-observer and linguistic data collecting techniques to assess the student's knowledge of appropriate discourse conventions. Using the pseudonym Nate to refer to the subject, the study sought to illuminate the particular experience rather than to generalize about the experience of fledgling academic writers collectively.

For example, in Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman's (1988) study we are told that the researchers are interested in disciplinary communities. In the first paragraph, they ask what constitutes membership in a disciplinary community and how achieving membership might affect a writer's understanding and production of texts. In the third paragraph they state that researchers must negotiate their claims "within the context of his sub specialty's accepted knowledge and methodology." In the next paragraph they ask, "How is literacy acquired? What is the process through which novices gain community membership? And what factors either aid or hinder students learning the requisite linguistic behaviors?" This introductory section ends with a paragraph in which the study's authors claim that during the course of the study, the subject, Nate, successfully makes the transition from "skilled novice" to become an initiated member of the academic discourse community and that his texts exhibit linguistic changes which indicate this transition. In the next section the authors make explicit the sociolinguistic theoretical and methodological assumptions on which the study is based (1988). Thus the reader has a good understanding of the authors' theoretical background and purpose in conducting the study even before it is explicitly stated on the fourth page of the study. "Our purpose was to examine the effects of the educational context on one graduate student's production of texts as he wrote in different courses and for different faculty members over the academic year 1984-85." The goal of the study then, was to explore the idea that writers must be initiated into a writing community, and that this initiation will change the way one writes.

The second example is Janet Emig's (1971) study of the composing process of a group of twelfth graders. In this study, Emig seeks to answer the question of what happens to the self as a result educational stimuli in terms of academic writing. The case study used methods such as protocol analysis, tape-recorded interviews, and discourse analysis.

In the case of Janet Emig's (1971) study of the composing process of eight twelfth graders, four specific hypotheses were made:

Twelfth grade writers engage in two modes of composing: reflexive and extensive.
These differences can be ascertained and characterized through having the writers compose aloud their composition process.
A set of implied stylistic principles governs the writing process.
For twelfth grade writers, extensive writing occurs chiefly as a school-sponsored activity, or reflexive, as a self-sponsored activity.

In this study, the chief distinction is between the two dominant modes of composing among older, secondary school students. The distinctions are:

The reflexive mode, which focuses on the writer's thoughts and feelings.
The extensive mode, which focuses on conveying a message.

Emig also outlines the specific questions which guided the research in the opening pages of her Review of Literature , preceding the report.

Designing a Case Study

After considering the different sub categories of case study and identifying a theoretical perspective, researchers can begin to design their study. Research design is the string of logic that ultimately links the data to be collected and the conclusions to be drawn to the initial questions of the study. Typically, research designs deal with at least four problems:

What questions to study
What data are relevant
What data to collect
How to analyze that data

In other words, a research design is basically a blueprint for getting from the beginning to the end of a study. The beginning is an initial set of questions to be answered, and the end is some set of conclusions about those questions.

Because case studies are conducted on topics as diverse as Anglo-Saxon Literature (Thrane 1986) and AIDS prevention (Van Vugt 1994), it is virtually impossible to outline any strict or universal method or design for conducting the case study. However, Robert K. Yin (1993) does offer five basic components of a research design:

A study's questions.
A study's propositions (if any).
A study's units of analysis.
The logic that links the data to the propositions.
The criteria for interpreting the findings.

In addition to these five basic components, Yin also stresses the importance of clearly articulating one's theoretical perspective, determining the goals of the study, selecting one's subject(s), selecting the appropriate method(s) of collecting data, and providing some considerations to the composition of the final report.

Conducting Case Studies

To obtain as complete a picture of the participant as possible, case study researchers can employ a variety of approaches and methods. These approaches, methods, and related issues are discussed in depth in this section.

Method: Single or Multi-modal?

To obtain as complete a picture of the participant as possible, case study researchers can employ a variety of methods. Some common methods include interviews , protocol analyses, field studies, and participant-observations. Emig (1971) chose to use several methods of data collection. Her sources included conversations with the students, protocol analysis, discrete observations of actual composition, writing samples from each student, and school records (Lauer and Asher 1988).

Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) collected data by observing classrooms, conducting faculty and student interviews, collecting self reports from the subject, and by looking at the subject's written work.

A study that was criticized for using a single method model was done by Flower and Hayes (1984). In this study that explores the ways in which writers use different forms of knowing to create space, the authors used only protocol analysis to gather data. The study came under heavy fire because of their decision to use only one method.

Participant Selection

Case studies can use one participant, or a small group of participants. However, it is important that the participant pool remain relatively small. The participants can represent a diverse cross section of society, but this isn't necessary.

For example, the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study looked at just one participant, Nate. By contrast, in Janet Emig's (1971) study of the composition process of twelfth graders, eight participants were selected representing a diverse cross section of the community, with volunteers from an all-white upper-middle-class suburban school, an all-black inner-city school, a racially mixed lower-middle-class school, an economically and racially mixed school, and a university school.

Often, a brief "case history" is done on the participants of the study in order to provide researchers with a clearer understanding of their participants, as well as some insight as to how their own personal histories might affect the outcome of the study. For instance, in Emig's study, the investigator had access to the school records of five of the participants, and to standardized test scores for the remaining three. Also made available to the researcher was the information that three of the eight students were selected as NCTE Achievement Award winners. These personal histories can be useful in later stages of the study when data are being analyzed and conclusions drawn.

Data Collection

There are six types of data collected in case studies:

Archival records.
Interviews.
Direct observation.
Participant observation.

In the field of composition research, these six sources might be:

A writer's drafts.
School records of student writers.
Transcripts of interviews with a writer.
Transcripts of conversations between writers (and protocols).
Videotapes and notes from direct field observations.
Hard copies of a writer's work on computer.

Depending on whether researchers have chosen to use a single or multi-modal approach for the case study, they may choose to collect data from one or any combination of these sources.

Protocols, that is, transcriptions of participants talking aloud about what they are doing as they do it, have been particularly common in composition case studies. For example, in Emig's (1971) study, the students were asked, in four different sessions, to give oral autobiographies of their writing experiences and to compose aloud three themes in the presence of a tape recorder and the investigator.

In some studies, only one method of data collection is conducted. For example, the Flower and Hayes (1981) report on the cognitive process theory of writing depends on protocol analysis alone. However, using multiple sources of evidence to increase the reliability and validity of the data can be advantageous.

Case studies are likely to be much more convincing and accurate if they are based on several different sources of information, following a corroborating mode. This conclusion is echoed among many composition researchers. For example, in her study of predrafting processes of high and low-apprehensive writers, Cynthia Selfe (1985) argues that because "methods of indirect observation provide only an incomplete reflection of the complex set of processes involved in composing, a combination of several such methods should be used to gather data in any one study." Thus, in this study, Selfe collected her data from protocols, observations of students role playing their writing processes, audio taped interviews with the students, and videotaped observations of the students in the process of composing.

It can be said then, that cross checking data from multiple sources can help provide a multidimensional profile of composing activities in a particular setting. Sharan Merriam (1985) suggests "checking, verifying, testing, probing, and confirming collected data as you go, arguing that this process will follow in a funnel-like design resulting in less data gathering in later phases of the study along with a congruent increase in analysis checking, verifying, and confirming."

It is important to note that in case studies, as in any qualitative descriptive research, while researchers begin their studies with one or several questions driving the inquiry (which influence the key factors the researcher will be looking for during data collection), a researcher may find new key factors emerging during data collection. These might be unexpected patterns or linguistic features which become evident only during the course of the research. While not bearing directly on the researcher's guiding questions, these variables may become the basis for new questions asked at the end of the report, thus linking to the possibility of further research.

Data Analysis

As the information is collected, researchers strive to make sense of their data. Generally, researchers interpret their data in one of two ways: holistically or through coding. Holistic analysis does not attempt to break the evidence into parts, but rather to draw conclusions based on the text as a whole. Flower and Hayes (1981), for example, make inferences from entire sections of their students' protocols, rather than searching through the transcripts to look for isolatable characteristics.

However, composition researchers commonly interpret their data by coding, that is by systematically searching data to identify and/or categorize specific observable actions or characteristics. These observable actions then become the key variables in the study. Sharan Merriam (1988) suggests seven analytic frameworks for the organization and presentation of data:

The role of participants.
The network analysis of formal and informal exchanges among groups.
Historical.
Thematical.
Ritual and symbolism.
Critical incidents that challenge or reinforce fundamental beliefs, practices, and values.

There are two purposes of these frameworks: to look for patterns among the data and to look for patterns that give meaning to the case study.

As stated above, while most researchers begin their case studies expecting to look for particular observable characteristics, it is not unusual for key variables to emerge during data collection. Typical variables coded in case studies of writers include pauses writers make in the production of a text, the use of specific linguistic units (such as nouns or verbs), and writing processes (planning, drafting, revising, and editing). In the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study, for example, researchers coded the participant's texts for use of connectives, discourse demonstratives, average sentence length, off-register words, use of the first person pronoun, and the ratio of definite articles to indefinite articles.

Since coding is inherently subjective, more than one coder is usually employed. In the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study, for example, three rhetoricians were employed to code the participant's texts for off-register phrases. The researchers established the agreement among the coders before concluding that the participant used fewer off-register words as the graduate program progressed.

Composing the Case Study Report

In the many forms it can take, "a case study is generically a story; it presents the concrete narrative detail of actual, or at least realistic events, it has a plot, exposition, characters, and sometimes even dialogue" (Boehrer 1990). Generally, case study reports are extensively descriptive, with "the most problematic issue often referred to as being the determination of the right combination of description and analysis" (1990). Typically, authors address each step of the research process, and attempt to give the reader as much context as possible for the decisions made in the research design and for the conclusions drawn.

This contextualization usually includes a detailed explanation of the researchers' theoretical positions, of how those theories drove the inquiry or led to the guiding research questions, of the participants' backgrounds, of the processes of data collection, of the training and limitations of the coders, along with a strong attempt to make connections between the data and the conclusions evident.

Although the Berkenkotter, Huckin, and Ackerman (1988) study does not, case study reports often include the reactions of the participants to the study or to the researchers' conclusions. Because case studies tend to be exploratory, most end with implications for further study. Here researchers may identify significant variables that emerged during the research and suggest studies related to these, or the authors may suggest further general questions that their case study generated.

For example, Emig's (1971) study concludes with a section dedicated solely to the topic of implications for further research, in which she suggests several means by which this particular study could have been improved, as well as questions and ideas raised by this study which other researchers might like to address, such as: is there a correlation between a certain personality and a certain composing process profile (e.g. is there a positive correlation between ego strength and persistence in revising)?

Also included in Emig's study is a section dedicated to implications for teaching, which outlines the pedagogical ramifications of the study's findings for teachers currently involved in high school writing programs.

Sharan Merriam (1985) also offers several suggestions for alternative presentations of data:

Prepare specialized condensations for appropriate groups.
Replace narrative sections with a series of answers to open-ended questions.
Present "skimmer's" summaries at beginning of each section.
Incorporate headlines that encapsulate information from text.
Prepare analytic summaries with supporting data appendixes.
Present data in colorful and/or unique graphic representations.

Issues of Validity and Reliability

Once key variables have been identified, they can be analyzed. Reliability becomes a key concern at this stage, and many case study researchers go to great lengths to ensure that their interpretations of the data will be both reliable and valid. Because issues of validity and reliability are an important part of any study in the social sciences, it is important to identify some ways of dealing with results.

Multi-modal case study researchers often balance the results of their coding with data from interviews or writer's reflections upon their own work. Consequently, the researchers' conclusions become highly contextualized. For example, in a case study which looked at the time spent in different stages of the writing process, Berkenkotter concluded that her participant, Donald Murray, spent more time planning his essays than in other writing stages. The report of this case study is followed by Murray's reply, wherein he agrees with some of Berkenkotter's conclusions and disagrees with others.

As is the case with other research methodologies, issues of external validity, construct validity, and reliability need to be carefully considered.

Commentary on Case Studies

Researchers often debate the relative merits of particular methods, among them case study. In this section, we comment on two key issues. To read the commentaries, choose any of the items below:

Strengths and Weaknesses of Case Studies

Most case study advocates point out that case studies produce much more detailed information than what is available through a statistical analysis. Advocates will also hold that while statistical methods might be able to deal with situations where behavior is homogeneous and routine, case studies are needed to deal with creativity, innovation, and context. Detractors argue that case studies are difficult to generalize because of inherent subjectivity and because they are based on qualitative subjective data, generalizable only to a particular context.

Flexibility

The case study approach is a comparatively flexible method of scientific research. Because its project designs seem to emphasize exploration rather than prescription or prediction, researchers are comparatively freer to discover and address issues as they arise in their experiments. In addition, the looser format of case studies allows researchers to begin with broad questions and narrow their focus as their experiment progresses rather than attempt to predict every possible outcome before the experiment is conducted.

Emphasis on Context

By seeking to understand as much as possible about a single subject or small group of subjects, case studies specialize in "deep data," or "thick description"--information based on particular contexts that can give research results a more human face. This emphasis can help bridge the gap between abstract research and concrete practice by allowing researchers to compare their firsthand observations with the quantitative results obtained through other methods of research.

Inherent Subjectivity

"The case study has long been stereotyped as the weak sibling among social science methods," and is often criticized as being too subjective and even pseudo-scientific. Likewise, "investigators who do case studies are often regarded as having deviated from their academic disciplines, and their investigations as having insufficient precision (that is, quantification), objectivity and rigor" (Yin 1989). Opponents cite opportunities for subjectivity in the implementation, presentation, and evaluation of case study research. The approach relies on personal interpretation of data and inferences. Results may not be generalizable, are difficult to test for validity, and rarely offer a problem-solving prescription. Simply put, relying on one or a few subjects as a basis for cognitive extrapolations runs the risk of inferring too much from what might be circumstance.

High Investment

Case studies can involve learning more about the subjects being tested than most researchers would care to know--their educational background, emotional background, perceptions of themselves and their surroundings, their likes, dislikes, and so on. Because of its emphasis on "deep data," the case study is out of reach for many large-scale research projects which look at a subject pool in the tens of thousands. A budget request of $10,000 to examine 200 subjects sounds more efficient than a similar request to examine four subjects.

Ethical Considerations

Researchers conducting case studies should consider certain ethical issues. For example, many educational case studies are often financed by people who have, either directly or indirectly, power over both those being studied and those conducting the investigation (1985). This conflict of interests can hinder the credibility of the study.

The personal integrity, sensitivity, and possible prejudices and/or biases of the investigators need to be taken into consideration as well. Personal biases can creep into how the research is conducted, alternative research methods used, and the preparation of surveys and questionnaires.

A common complaint in case study research is that investigators change direction during the course of the study unaware that their original research design was inadequate for the revised investigation. Thus, the researchers leave unknown gaps and biases in the study. To avoid this, researchers should report preliminary findings so that the likelihood of bias will be reduced.

Concerns about Reliability, Validity, and Generalizability

Merriam (1985) offers several suggestions for how case study researchers might actively combat the popular attacks on the validity, reliability, and generalizability of case studies:

Prolong the Processes of Data Gathering on Site: This will help to insure the accuracy of the findings by providing the researcher with more concrete information upon which to formulate interpretations.
Employ the Process of "Triangulation": Use a variety of data sources as opposed to relying solely upon one avenue of observation. One example of such a data check would be what McClintock, Brannon, and Maynard (1985) refer to as a "case cluster method," that is, when a single unit within a larger case is randomly sampled, and that data treated quantitatively." For instance, in Emig's (1971) study, the case cluster method was employed, singling out the productivity of a single student named Lynn. This cluster profile included an advanced case history of the subject, specific examination and analysis of individual compositions and protocols, and extensive interview sessions. The seven remaining students were then compared with the case of Lynn, to ascertain if there are any shared, or unique dimensions to the composing process engaged in by these eight students.
Conduct Member Checks: Initiate and maintain an active corroboration on the interpretation of data between the researcher and those who provided the data. In other words, talk to your subjects.
Collect Referential Materials: Complement the file of materials from the actual site with additional document support. For example, Emig (1971) supports her initial propositions with historical accounts by writers such as T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, and D.H. Lawrence. Emig also cites examples of theoretical research done with regards to the creative process, as well as examples of empirical research dealing with the writing of adolescents. Specific attention is then given to the four stages description of the composing process delineated by Helmoltz, Wallas, and Cowley, as it serves as the focal point in this study.
Engage in Peer Consultation: Prior to composing the final draft of the report, researchers should consult with colleagues in order to establish validity through pooled judgment.

Although little can be done to combat challenges concerning the generalizability of case studies, "most writers suggest that qualitative research should be judged as credible and confirmable as opposed to valid and reliable" (Merriam 1985). Likewise, it has been argued that "rather than transplanting statistical, quantitative notions of generalizability and thus finding qualitative research inadequate, it makes more sense to develop an understanding of generalization that is congruent with the basic characteristics of qualitative inquiry" (1985). After all, criticizing the case study method for being ungeneralizable is comparable to criticizing a washing machine for not being able to tell the correct time. In other words, it is unjust to criticize a method for not being able to do something which it was never originally designed to do in the first place.

Annotated Bibliography

Armisted, C. (1984). How Useful are Case Studies. Training and Development Journal, 38 (2), 75-77.

This article looks at eight types of case studies, offers pros and cons of using case studies in the classroom, and gives suggestions for successfully writing and using case studies.

Bardovi-Harlig, K. (1997). Beyond Methods: Components of Second Language Teacher Education . New York: McGraw-Hill.

A compilation of various research essays which address issues of language teacher education. Essays included are: "Non-native reading research and theory" by Lee, "The case for Psycholinguistics" by VanPatten, and "Assessment and Second Language Teaching" by Gradman and Reed.

Bartlett, L. (1989). A Question of Good Judgment; Interpretation Theory and Qualitative Enquiry Address. 70th Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. San Francisco.

Bartlett selected "quasi-historical" methodology, which focuses on the "truth" found in case records, as one that will provide "good judgments" in educational inquiry. He argues that although the method is not comprehensive, it can try to connect theory with practice.

Baydere, S. et. al. (1993). Multimedia conferencing as a tool for collaborative writing: a case study in Computer Supported Collaborative Writing. New York: Springer-Verlag.

The case study by Baydere et. al. is just one of the many essays in this book found in the series "Computer Supported Cooperative Work." Denley, Witefield and May explore similar issues in their essay, "A case study in task analysis for the design of a collaborative document production system."

Berkenkotter, C., Huckin, T., N., & Ackerman J. (1988). Conventions, Conversations, and the Writer: Case Study of a Student in a Rhetoric Ph.D. Program. Research in the Teaching of English, 22, 9-44.

The authors focused on how the writing of their subject, Nate or Ackerman, changed as he became more acquainted or familiar with his field's discourse community.

Berninger, V., W., and Gans, B., M. (1986). Language Profiles in Nonspeaking Individuals of Normal Intelligence with Severe Cerebral Palsy. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 2, 45-50.

Argues that generalizations about language abilities in patients with severe cerebral palsy (CP) should be avoided. Standardized tests of different levels of processing oral language, of processing written language, and of producing written language were administered to 3 male participants (aged 9, 16, and 40 yrs).

Bockman, J., R., and Couture, B. (1984). The Case Method in Technical Communication: Theory and Models. Texas: Association of Teachers of Technical Writing.

Examines the study and teaching of technical writing, communication of technical information, and the case method in terms of those applications.

Boehrer, J. (1990). Teaching With Cases: Learning to Question. New Directions for Teaching and Learning, 42 41-57.

This article discusses the origins of the case method, looks at the question of what is a case, gives ideas about learning in case teaching, the purposes it can serve in the classroom, the ground rules for the case discussion, including the role of the question, and new directions for case teaching.

Bowman, W. R. (1993). Evaluating JTPA Programs for Economically Disadvantaged Adults: A Case Study of Utah and General Findings . Washington: National Commission for Employment Policy.

"To encourage state-level evaluations of JTPA, the Commission and the State of Utah co-sponsored this report on the effectiveness of JTPA Title II programs for adults in Utah. The technique used is non-experimental and the comparison group was selected from registrants with Utah's Employment Security. In a step-by-step approach, the report documents how non-experimental techniques can be applied and several specific technical issues can be addressed."

Boyce, A. (1993) The Case Study Approach for Pedagogists. Annual Meeting of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. (Address). Washington DC.

This paper addresses how case studies 1) bridge the gap between teaching theory and application, 2) enable students to analyze problems and develop solutions for situations that will be encountered in the real world of teaching, and 3) helps students to evaluate the feasibility of alternatives and to understand the ramifications of a particular course of action.

Carson, J. (1993) The Case Study: Ideal Home of WAC Quantitative and Qualitative Data. Annual Meeting of the Conference on College Composition and Communication. (Address). San Diego.

"Increasingly, one of the most pressing questions for WAC advocates is how to keep [WAC] programs going in the face of numerous difficulties. Case histories offer the best chance for fashioning rhetorical arguments to keep WAC programs going because they offer the opportunity to provide a coherent narrative that contextualizes all documents and data, including what is generally considered scientific data. A case study of the WAC program, . . . at Robert Morris College in Pittsburgh demonstrates the advantages of this research method. Such studies are ideal homes for both naturalistic and positivistic data as well as both quantitative and qualitative information."

---. (1991). A Cognitive Process Theory of Writing. College Composition and Communication. 32. 365-87.

No abstract available.

Cromer, R. (1994) A Case Study of Dissociations Between Language and Cognition. Constraints on Language Acquisition: Studies of Atypical Children . Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 141-153.

Crossley, M. (1983) Case Study in Comparative and International Education: An Approach to Bridging the Theory-Practice Gap. Proceedings of the 11th Annual Conference of the Australian Comparative and International Education Society. Hamilton, NZ.

Case study research, as presented here, helps bridge the theory-practice gap in comparative and international research studies of education because it focuses on the practical, day-to-day context rather than on the national arena. The paper asserts that the case study method can be valuable at all levels of research, formation, and verification of theories in education.

Daillak, R., H., and Alkin, M., C. (1982). Qualitative Studies in Context: Reflections on the CSE Studies of Evaluation Use . California: EDRS

The report shows how the Center of the Study of Evaluation (CSE) applied qualitative techniques to a study of evaluation information use in local, Los Angeles schools. It critiques the effectiveness and the limitations of using case study, evaluation, field study, and user interview survey methodologies.

Davey, L. (1991). The Application of Case Study Evaluations. ERIC/TM Digest.

This article examines six types of case studies, the type of evaluation questions that can be answered, the functions served, some design features, and some pitfalls of the method.

Deutch, C. E. (1996). A course in research ethics for graduate students. College Teaching, 44, 2, 56-60.

This article describes a one-credit discussion course in research ethics for graduate students in biology. Case studies are focused on within the four parts of the course: 1) major issues, 2 )practical issues in scholarly work, 3) ownership of research results, and 4) training and personal decisions.

DeVoss, G. (1981). Ethics in Fieldwork Research. RIE 27p. (ERIC)

This article examines four of the ethical problems that can happen when conducting case study research: acquiring permission to do research, knowing when to stop digging, the pitfalls of doing collaborative research, and preserving the integrity of the participants.

Driscoll, A. (1985). Case Study of a Research Intervention: the University of Utah’s Collaborative Approach . San Francisco: Far West Library for Educational Research Development.

Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, Denver, CO, March 1985. Offers information of in-service training, specifically case studies application.

Ellram, L. M. (1996). The Use of the Case Study Method in Logistics Research. Journal of Business Logistics, 17, 2, 93.

This article discusses the increased use of case study in business research, and the lack of understanding of when and how to use case study methodology in business.

Emig, J. (1971) The Composing Processes of Twelfth Graders . Urbana: NTCE.

This case study uses observation, tape recordings, writing samples, and school records to show that writing in reflexive and extensive situations caused different lengths of discourse and different clusterings of the components of the writing process.

Feagin, J. R. (1991). A Case For the Case Study . Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press.

This book discusses the nature, characteristics, and basic methodological issues of the case study as a research method.

Feldman, H., Holland, A., & Keefe, K. (1989) Language Abilities after Left Hemisphere Brain Injury: A Case Study of Twins. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 9, 32-47.

"Describes the language abilities of 2 twin pairs in which 1 twin (the experimental) suffered brain injury to the left cerebral hemisphere around the time of birth and1 twin (the control) did not. One pair of twins was initially assessed at age 23 mo. and the other at about 30 mo.; they were subsequently evaluated in their homes 3 times at about 6-mo intervals."

Fidel, R. (1984). The Case Study Method: A Case Study. Library and Information Science Research, 6.

The article describes the use of case study methodology to systematically develop a model of online searching behavior in which study design is flexible, subject manner determines data gathering and analyses, and procedures adapt to the study's progressive change.

Flower, L., & Hayes, J. R. (1984). Images, Plans and Prose: The Representation of Meaning in Writing. Written Communication, 1, 120-160.

Explores the ways in which writers actually use different forms of knowing to create prose.

Frey, L. R. (1992). Interpreting Communication Research: A Case Study Approach Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall.

The book discusses research methodologies in the Communication field. It focuses on how case studies bridge the gap between communication research, theory, and practice.

Gilbert, V. K. (1981). The Case Study as a Research Methodology: Difficulties and Advantages of Integrating the Positivistic, Phenomenological and Grounded Theory Approaches . The Annual Meeting of the Canadian Association for the Study of Educational Administration. (Address) Halifax, NS, Can.

This study on an innovative secondary school in England shows how a "low-profile" participant-observer case study was crucial to the initial observation, the testing of hypotheses, the interpretive approach, and the grounded theory.

Gilgun, J. F. (1994). A Case for Case Studies in Social Work Research. Social Work, 39, 4, 371-381.

This article defines case study research, presents guidelines for evaluation of case studies, and shows the relevance of case studies to social work research. It also looks at issues such as evaluation and interpretations of case studies.

Glennan, S. L., Sharp-Bittner, M. A. & Tullos, D. C. (1991). Augmentative and Alternative Communication Training with a Nonspeaking Adult: Lessons from MH. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 7, 240-7.

"A response-guided case study documented changes in a nonspeaking 36-yr-old man's ability to communicate using 3 trained augmentative communication modes. . . . Data were collected in videotaped interaction sessions between the nonspeaking adult and a series of adult speaking."

Graves, D. (1981). An Examination of the Writing Processes of Seven Year Old Children. Research in the Teaching of English, 15, 113-134.

Hamel, J. (1993). Case Study Methods . Newbury Park: Sage. .

"In a most economical fashion, Hamel provides a practical guide for producing theoretically sharp and empirically sound sociological case studies. A central idea put forth by Hamel is that case studies must "locate the global in the local" thus making the careful selection of the research site the most critical decision in the analytic process."

Karthigesu, R. (1986, July). Television as a Tool for Nation-Building in the Third World: A Post-Colonial Pattern, Using Malaysia as a Case-Study. International Television Studies Conference. (Address). London, 10-12.

"The extent to which Television Malaysia, as a national mass media organization, has been able to play a role in nation building in the post-colonial period is . . . studied in two parts: how the choice of a model of nation building determines the character of the organization; and how the character of the organization influences the output of the organization."

Kenny, R. (1984). Making the Case for the Case Study. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 16, (1), 37-51.

The article looks at how and why the case study is justified as a viable and valuable approach to educational research and program evaluation.

Knirk, F. (1991). Case Materials: Research and Practice. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 4 (1 ), 73-81.

The article addresses the effectiveness of case studies, subject areas where case studies are commonly used, recent examples of their use, and case study design considerations.

Klos, D. (1976). Students as Case Writers. Teaching of Psychology, 3.2, 63-66.

This article reviews a course in which students gather data for an original case study of another person. The task requires the students to design the study, collect the data, write the narrative, and interpret the findings.

Leftwich, A. (1981). The Politics of Case Study: Problems of Innovation in University Education. Higher Education Review, 13.2, 38-64.

The article discusses the use of case studies as a teaching method. Emphasis is on the instructional materials, interdisciplinarity, and the complex relationships within the university that help or hinder the method.

Mabrito, M. (1991, Oct.). Electronic Mail as a Vehicle for Peer Response: Conversations of High and Low Apprehensive Writers. Written Communication, 509-32.

McCarthy, S., J. (1955). The Influence of Classroom Discourse on Student Texts: The Case of Ella . East Lansing: Institute for Research on Teaching.

A look at how students of color become marginalized within traditional classroom discourse. The essay follows the struggles of one black student: Ella.

Matsuhashi, A., ed. (1987). Writing in Real Time: Modeling Production Processes Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing Corporation.

Investigates how writers plan to produce discourse for different purposes to report, to generalize, and to persuade, as well as how writers plan for sentence level units of language. To learn about planning, an observational measure of pause time was used" (ERIC).

Merriam, S. B. (1985). The Case Study in Educational Research: A Review of Selected Literature. Journal of Educational Thought, 19.3, 204-17.

The article examines the characteristics of, philosophical assumptions underlying the case study, the mechanics of conducting a case study, and the concerns about the reliability, validity, and generalizability of the method.

---. (1988). Case Study Research in Education: A Qualitative Approach San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Merry, S. E., & Milner, N. eds. (1993). The Possibility of Popular Justice: A Case Study of Community Mediation in the United States . Ann Arbor: U of Michigan.

". . . this volume presents a case study of one experiment in popular justice, the San Francisco Community Boards. This program has made an explicit claim to create an alternative justice, or new justice, in the midst of a society ordered by state law. The contributors to this volume explore the history and experience of the program and compare it to other versions of popular justice in the United States, Europe, and the Third World."

Merseth, K. K. (1991). The Case for Cases in Teacher Education. RIE. 42p. (ERIC).

This monograph argues that the case method of instruction offers unique potential for revitalizing the field of teacher education.

Michaels, S. (1987). Text and Context: A New Approach to the Study of Classroom Writing. Discourse Processes, 10, 321-346.

"This paper argues for and illustrates an approach to the study of writing that integrates ethnographic analysis of classroom interaction with linguistic analysis of written texts and teacher/student conversational exchanges. The approach is illustrated through a case study of writing in a single sixth grade classroom during a single writing assignment."

Milburn, G. (1995). Deciphering a Code or Unraveling a Riddle: A Case Study in the Application of a Humanistic Metaphor to the Reporting of Social Studies Teaching. Theory and Research in Education, 13.

This citation serves as an example of how case studies document learning procedures in a senior-level economics course.

Milley, J. E. (1979). An Investigation of Case Study as an Approach to Program Evaluation. 19th Annual Forum of the Association for Institutional Research. (Address). San Diego.

The case study method merged a narrative report focusing on the evaluator as participant-observer with document review, interview, content analysis, attitude questionnaire survey, and sociogram analysis. Milley argues that case study program evaluation has great potential for widespread use.

Minnis, J. R. (1985, Sept.). Ethnography, Case Study, Grounded Theory, and Distance Education Research. Distance Education, 6.2.

This article describes and defines the strengths and weaknesses of ethnography, case study, and grounded theory.

Nunan, D. (1992). Collaborative language learning and teaching . New York: Cambridge University Press.

Included in this series of essays is Peter Sturman’s "Team Teaching: a case study from Japan" and David Nunan’s own "Toward a collaborative approach to curriculum development: a case study."

Nystrand, M., ed. (1982). What Writers Know: The Language, Process, and Structure of Written Discourse . New York: Academic Press.

Owenby, P. H. (1992). Making Case Studies Come Alive. Training, 29, (1), 43-46. (ERIC)

This article provides tips for writing more effective case studies.

---. (1981). Pausing and Planning: The Tempo of Writer Discourse Production. Research in the Teaching of English, 15 (2),113-34.

Perl, S. (1979). The Composing Processes of Unskilled College Writers. Research in the Teaching of English, 13, 317-336.

"Summarizes a study of five unskilled college writers, focusing especially on one of the five, and discusses the findings in light of current pedagogical practice and research design."

Pilcher J. and A. Coffey. eds. (1996). Gender and Qualitative Research . Brookfield: Aldershot, Hants, England.

This book provides a series of essays which look at gender identity research, qualitative research and applications of case study to questions of gendered pedagogy.

Pirie, B. S. (1993). The Case of Morty: A Four Year Study. Gifted Education International, 9 (2), 105-109.

This case study describes a boy from kindergarten through third grade with above average intelligence but difficulty in learning to read, write, and spell.

Popkewitz, T. (1993). Changing Patterns of Power: Social Regulation and Teacher Education Reform. Albany: SUNY Press.

Popkewitz edits this series of essays that address case studies on educational change and the training of teachers. The essays vary in terms of discipline and scope. Also, several authors include case studies of educational practices in countries other than the United States.

---. (1984). The Predrafting Processes of Four High- and Four Low Apprehensive Writers. Research in the Teaching of English, 18, (1), 45-64.

Rasmussen, P. (1985, March) A Case Study on the Evaluation of Research at the Technical University of Denmark. International Journal of Institutional Management in Higher Education, 9 (1).

This is an example of a case study methodology used to evaluate the chemistry and chemical engineering departments at the University of Denmark.

Roth, K. J. (1986). Curriculum Materials, Teacher Talk, and Student Learning: Case Studies in Fifth-Grade Science Teaching . East Lansing: Institute for Research on Teaching.

Roth offers case studies on elementary teachers, elementary school teaching, science studies and teaching, and verbal learning.

Selfe, C. L. (1985). An Apprehensive Writer Composes. When a Writer Can't Write: Studies in Writer's Block and Other Composing-Process Problems . (pp. 83-95). Ed. Mike Rose. NMY: Guilford.

Smith-Lewis, M., R. and Ford, A. (1987). A User's Perspective on Augmentative Communication. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 3, 12-7.

"During a series of in-depth interviews, a 25-yr-old woman with cerebral palsy who utilized augmentative communication reflected on the effectiveness of the devices designed for her during her school career."

St. Pierre, R., G. (1980, April). Follow Through: A Case Study in Metaevaluation Research . 64th Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association. (Address).

The three approaches to metaevaluation are evaluation of primary evaluations, integrative meta-analysis with combined primary evaluation results, and re-analysis of the raw data from a primary evaluation.

Stahler, T., M. (1996, Feb.) Early Field Experiences: A Model That Worked. ERIC.

"This case study of a field and theory class examines a model designed to provide meaningful field experiences for preservice teachers while remaining consistent with the instructor's beliefs about the role of teacher education in preparing teachers for the classroom."

Stake, R. E. (1995). The Art of Case Study Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.

This book examines case study research in education and case study methodology.

Stiegelbauer, S. (1984) Community, Context, and Co-curriculum: Situational Factors Influencing School Improvements in a Study of High Schools. Presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

Discussion of several case studies: one looking at high school environments, another examining educational innovations.

Stolovitch, H. (1990). Case Study Method. Performance And Instruction, 29, (9), 35-37.

This article describes the case study method as a form of simulation and presents guidelines for their use in professional training situations.

Thaller, E. (1994). Bibliography for the Case Method: Using Case Studies in Teacher Education. RIE. 37 p.

This bibliography presents approximately 450 citations on the use of case studies in teacher education from 1921-1993.

Thrane, T. (1986). On Delimiting the Senses of Near-Synonyms in Historical Semantics: A Case Study of Adjectives of 'Moral Sufficiency' in the Old English Andreas. Linguistics Across Historical and Geographical Boundaries: In Honor of Jacek Fisiak on the Occasion of his Fiftieth Birthday . Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.

United Nations. (1975). Food and Agriculture Organization. Report on the FAO/UNFPA Seminar on Methodology, Research and Country: Case Studies on Population, Employment and Productivity . Rome: United Nations.

This example case study shows how the methodology can be used in a demographic and psychographic evaluation. At the same time, it discusses the formation and instigation of the case study methodology itself.

Van Vugt, J. P., ed. (1994). Aids Prevention and Services: Community Based Research . Westport: Bergin and Garvey.

"This volume has been five years in the making. In the process, some of the policy applications called for have met with limited success, such as free needle exchange programs in a limited number of American cities, providing condoms to prison inmates, and advertisements that depict same-sex couples. Rather than dating our chapters that deal with such subjects, such policy applications are verifications of the type of research demonstrated here. Furthermore, they indicate the critical need to continue community based research in the various communities threatened by acquired immuno-deficiency syndrome (AIDS) . . . "

Welch, W., ed. (1981, May). Case Study Methodology in Educational Evaluation. Proceedings of the Minnesota Evaluation Conference. Minnesota. (Address).

The four papers in these proceedings provide a comprehensive picture of the rationale, methodology, strengths, and limitations of case studies.

Williams, G. (1987). The Case Method: An Approach to Teaching and Learning in Educational Administration. RIE, 31p.

This paper examines the viability of the case method as a teaching and learning strategy in instructional systems geared toward the training of personnel of the administration of various aspects of educational systems.

Yin, R. K. (1993). Advancing Rigorous Methodologies: A Review of 'Towards Rigor in Reviews of Multivocal Literatures.' Review of Educational Research, 61, (3).

"R. T. Ogawa and B. Malen's article does not meet its own recommended standards for rigorous testing and presentation of its own conclusions. Use of the exploratory case study to analyze multivocal literatures is not supported, and the claim of grounded theory to analyze multivocal literatures may be stronger."

---. (1989). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. London: Sage Publications Inc.

This book discusses in great detail, the entire design process of the case study, including entire chapters on collecting evidence, analyzing evidence, composing the case study report, and designing single and multiple case studies.

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Subject index

"`Not so much a handbook, but an excellent source of reference' - British Journal of Social Work This volume is the definitive resource for anyone doing research in social work. It details both quantitative and qualitative methods and data collection, as well as suggesting the methods appropriate to particular types of studies. It also covers issues such as ethics, gender and ethnicity, and offers advice on how to write up and present your research."

Narrative Case Studies

By: JERROLD R. BRANDELL & THEODORE VARKAS
In: The Handbook of Social Work Research Methods
Chapter DOI: https:// doi. org/10.4135/9781412986182.n16
Subject: Social Work
Keywords: fathers ; mothers ; parenting ; parents ; trauma
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The narrative case study is a research instrument that is used for the in-depth study of various social and clinical problems, to understand stages or phases in processes, and to investigate a phenomenon within its environmental context (Gilgun, 1994). The case study method, which has been termed “the only possible way of obtaining the granite blocks of data on which to build a science of human nature” (Murray, 1955, p. 15), has been used in fields such as clinical psychoanalysis, human behavior theory, and Piagetian cognitive development theory. Case studies also have been used to advantage in diverse professions such as medicine, law, and business, where they hold a time-honored role in both research and teaching (Gilgun, 1994). One popular writer, the neurologist Oliver Sacks, has received critical acclaim for his richly detailed and compelling case studies of patients with various types of brain diseases and syndromes, ranging from postencephalitis to autism. In its simplest form, the case study is a story told for the purpose of understanding and learning. It captures essential meanings and qualities that might not be conveyed as forcefully or as effectively through other research media. Fundamentally, the narrative case study provides entrée to information that might otherwise be inaccessible. It makes possible [Page 294] the capture of phenomena that might not be understood as readily through other means of study.

The narrative case study has been a tradition in social work that spans several generations of social work theorists. Authors such as Mary Richmond, Annette Garrett, Helen Harris Perlman, Florence Hollis, and Selma Fraiberg have, inter alia, used case exemplars to illustrate a range of issues and problems in diagnosis and intervention. Case studies continue to hold a prominent role in the dissemination of clinical knowledge in social work education. Although somewhat less common today, the use of casebooks to augment textual and other didactic materials in the clinical instruction of social work graduate students historically was a common practice. Spence (1993) observes that the traditional case report remains the “most compelling means of communicating clinical findings, and the excitement attached to both reading and writing case histories has lost none of its appeal” (p. 37). The value of the case study, it might be argued, lies in its experience-near descriptions of clinical processes. Such descriptions are phenomenologically distinctive and permit the student to identify with the experience of the worker and the reality of the clinical encounter, albeit vicariously. Case studies provide examples of what already has been encountered and how difficult situations were handled. Narrative case studies have been used extensively in several different social work literatures including child and family welfare, family therapy, individual therapy, group work, cross-cultural studies, and practice evaluations.

The Case Study Defined

The narrative case study is defined as the intensive examination of an individual unit, although such units are not limited to individual persons. Families, treatment teams, clinical interview segments, and even whole communities are legitimate units for investigation (Gilgun, 1994). It also can be argued that a defining characteristic of the case study in social work is its focus on environmental context, although certain exceptions may exist (e.g., single-case experimental research designs, where context is either not emphasized or deemed to be irrelevant). Case studies are held to be idiographic (which means that the unit of study is the single unit); multiple variables are investigated; and generalization is fundamentally analytic, inferential, and impressionistic rather than statistical and probabilistic. When generalization takes this form, the findings extrapolated from a single case subsequently are compared for “goodness of fit” with other cases and/or patterns predicted by extant theory or prior research (Gilgun, 1994). Nomothetic research, by contrast, systematically investigates a few variables using groups of subjects rather than individual units. Nomothetic [Page 295] research, currently the dominant mode of investigation in the social and behavioral sciences, attempts to distill general laws from its findings. Large probability samples are especially valued inasmuch as they permit the use of powerful statistics. These, in turn, strengthen the claim of probabilistic generalizability (Gilgun, 1994).

Postmodernism and the Narrative Case Study

Although many journals in social work continue to place an emphasis on nomothetic research, clinical social work, psychology, and other human services appear to be in a transitional period where basic assumptions about what constitutes science and scientific inquiry are being challenged. The positivist worldview, which has exerted a powerful and pervasive influence on modern scientific thought, also has imposed significant restraints on the nature of research within the clinical professions (Howard, 1985; Mahoney, 1991; Niemeyer, 1993; Polkinghorne, 1988). As theorists have become increasingly aware of such restrictions, efforts to cultivate and distill methods of investigation that are less bound by the assumptions of positivist science have increased (Niemeyer, 1993). Consequently, clinical scholars have begun to consider issues or approaches such as self-agency, hermeneutics, semiotics, and theories that emphasize intentional action and narrative knowing. Anderson (1990) even goes so far as to declare, “We are seeing in our lifetimes the collapse of the objectivist worldview that dominated the modern era” and that it is being supplanted by a constructivist worldview (p. 268). This position seems rather extreme, although there clearly has been a sustained transdisciplinary interest in constructivism over the past 20 years or so. The common assumption shared by all constructivist orientations has been described in the following manner: No one has access to a singular, stable, and fully knowable reality. All of our understandings, instead, are imbedded in social and interpersonal contexts and are, therefore, limited in perspective, depth, and scope. Constructivist approaches appear to have a common guiding premise that informs all thinking about the nature of knowing. In effect, constructivist thinking assumes that all humans (a) are naturally and actively engaged in efforts to understand the totality of their experiences in the world, (b) are not able to gain direct access to external realities, and (c) are continually evolving and changing (Niemeyer, 1993). Therefore, constructivism and the study of case narratives are the study of meaning making. As social workers and as humans, we are compelled to interpret experience, to search for purpose, and to understand the significance of events and scenarios in which we play a part. Although incompatible with the aims of nomothetic [Page 296] research investigation, the narrative case study might prove to be especially well suited for the requirements of a postmodern era.

Limitations of the Narrative Case Study

Several significant limitations of the narrative case study have been identified in both the clinical social work and psychoanalytic literatures. One of these is the heavy reliance placed on anecdote and narrative persuasion in typical case studies, where a favored or singular explanation is provided (Spence, 1993). In effect, the story that is being told often has but one ending. In fact, the narrative case study might “function best when all the evidence has been accounted for and no other explanation is possible” (Spence, 1993, p. 38). Spence (1993) also believes that the facts presented in typical case studies almost invariably are presented in a positivist frame. In other words, a somewhat artificial separation occurs between the observer/narrator and the observed. Although clinical realities are inherently ambiguous and subject to the rule of multideterminism (a construct in which any psychic event or aspect of behavior can be caused my multiple factors and may serve more than one purpose in the psychic framework and economy [Moore & Fine, 1990, p. 123]), “facts” in the case narrative are presented in such a manner as to lead the reader to a particular and, one might argue, inevitable solution.

Another criticism of the narrative case study has been what Spence (1993) terms the “tradition of argument by authority.” The case narrative has a “closed texture” that coerces the reader into accepting at face value whatever conclusions the narrator himself or herself already has made about the case. Disagreement and alternative explanations often are not possible due to the fact that only the narrator has access to all of the facts and tends to report these selectively. In Spence's view, this “privileged withholding” occurs for two interrelated reasons: (a) the narrator's need to protect the client's confidentiality by omitting or altering certain types of information and (b) the narrator's unintended or unconscious errors of distortion, omission, or commission. The effect, however, is that the whole story is not told. Sigmund Freud, whose detailed case studies of patients with obsessive-compulsive, phobic, hysterical, and paranoid disorders are recognized as exemplars of the psychoanalytic method, appears to have anticipated this limitation. Freud (1913/1958) remarked, “I once treated a high official who was bound by his oath of office not to communicate certain things because they were state secrets, and the analysis came to grief as a consequence of this restriction.” Freud reasoned,

The whole task becomes impossible if a reservation is allowed at any single place. But we have only to reflect what would happen if the right of asylum existed at any point in a town; [Page 297] how long would it be before all the riff-raff of the town had collected there? (p. 136, as cited in Spence, 1993)

Using the Narrative Case Study as a Qualitative Research Tool

Although some authors have observed that case studies are not limited to qualitative research applications, the basic focus in the remainder of this chapter is on the narrative case study in the context of qualitative research. The case study allows for the integration of theoretical perspective, intervention, and outcome. In an effort to establish a link between a unique clinical phenomenon and its context where one might not be immediately evident, the case study can be used to hypothesize some type of cause and effect. In clinical work, case studies often are the only means by which to gain entrée to various dimensions of therapeutic process and of certain hypothesized aspects of the complex treatment relationship between the social worker and the client (e.g., the transference-countertransference axis). The dissemination of such data thus becomes an important method both for theory building and as a vehicle for challenging certain assumptions about treatment process, diagnosis, and the therapeutic relationship, inter alia. Despite the limitations noted earlier and the fact that there appears to be little uniformity in the structure of published case studies, the narrative case study, nevertheless, continues to make significant (some would argue seminal) contributions to social work practice theory and clinical methods.

Guidelines for Determining Goodness of Fit

It first must be determined whether the narrative case study is the most appropriate research tool for the theme or issue that is being explored. Narrative case studies should be written so that it is possible to make useful generalizations. It should be possible to use the case study as the basis for additional research, an important point that argues against the closed texture issue identified by Spence (1993). For example, in hypothesizing that a particular variable or a specific sequence of events is responsible for a particular outcome, the structure of the case study should permit the subsequent testing of such a hypothesis via additional qualitative or quantitative means.

One might consider the case of a man who has developed a fear of riding in cars following an automobile accident in which another motorist was killed. In his case, he eventually becomes fearful not only of riding in cars but also of being near streets or, perhaps, even of seeing films of others riding in cars. These, as well as other phenomena associated with automobiles and accidents, eventually lead to states of nearly incapacitating anxiety. The clinician might hypothesize that, following a traumatic experience such as a serious automobile accident, the development of acute [Page 298] anxiety might not be limited solely to driving in cars but might extend or generalize to other, nominally more benign stimuli (e.g., pictures of cars, engine sounds). One might design another study to determine the statistical probability of developing such symptomatology following a serious auto accident by interviewing a large sample of accident victims to determine how similar their experiences were. However, suppose that in our case, the man developed not only a fear of cars and associated phenomena but also a fear of leaving his house or of being around unfamiliar people. This might be somewhat more difficult to explain without obtaining additional data. One might wish to have further information regarding whether there is a history of emotional problems or other traumata predating the most recent traumatic experience, the individual's physical health status, current or past use of drugs and/or alcohol, and quality of current interpersonal relationships including those with family members. It also might be helpful to have more remote data such as early life history and history of losses. In effect, as more variables are added to the equation, the narrative case study becomes that much more attractive as a basic research instrument, uniquely equipped to identify an extensive range of variables of interest.

In such an instance, the narrative case study permits the researcher to “capture” exceedingly complex case situations, allowing for a considerable degree of detail and richness of understanding. Elements of the recent and remote past can be interwoven with particular issues in the present, thereby creating a rich tapestry and an equally sound basis for additional investigation. In fact, the narrative case study is especially useful when complex dynamics and multiple variables produce unusual or even rare situations that might be less amenable to other types of research investigations.

Specific Guidelines for Practice Utilization

One very common type of case study is chronological in nature, describing events as they occur over a period of time. Making inferences about causality, or about the linkage between events and particular sequelae, may be enhanced by the use of such an organizing framework. A second type of structure for organizing the narrative case study is the comparative structure , in which more than a single commentary is provided for the case data. Such an organizing framework may be a method for combating the problem of the narrator's tendency to arrive at a singular explanation for the clinical facts and their meaning.

One somewhat more complex sequence for the structure of the narrative case study might consist of the following components: (a) identification of the issue, problem, or process being studied; (b) review of relevant prior literature; (c) identification of methods used for data collection such as written process notes, progress notes, other clinical documentation, archival records, client interviews, direct observation, [Page 299] and participant observation; (d) description of findings from data that have been collected and analyzed; and (e) development of conclusions and implications for further study.

Certainly, other frameworks also exist inasmuch as case studies are heterogeneous, and serve a variety of purposes Runyan (1982) observes that case studies may be descriptive, explanatory, predictive, generative, or used for hypothesis testing. Furthermore, case narratives may be presented atheoretically or within the framework of particular developmental or clinical theory bases.

Clinical Case Illustration

The case study method was selected in this instance for two reasons. First, this case was deemed by the therapist (the first author) to have a highly unusual and complex clinical profile. Second, there is a paucity of clinical and theoretical literature focusing generally on countertransference issues and reactions in the treatment of children and adolescents. The case is described in the first person by the first author (for a more detailed discussion of this case, see Brandell, 1999).

Dirk was not quite 20 years old when he first requested treatment at a family service agency for long-standing insomnia and a “negative outlook on life.” He often felt as though he might “explode,” and he suffered from chronic anxiety that was particularly pronounced in social situations. He reluctantly alluded to a family “situation” that had exerted a dramatic and profound impact on his life, and as the early phase of his treatment began to unfold, the following account gradually emerged. When Dirk was perhaps 13 years of age, his father (who shall be referred to as Mr. S.) was diagnosed with cancer of the prostate. Unfortunately, neither parent chose to reveal this illness to Dirk, his two older brothers, or his younger sister for nearly 1½ years. Mr. S., an outdoorsman who had been moderately successful as a real estate developer and an entrepreneur, initially refused treatment, and his condition gradually worsened. By the time he finally consented to surgery some 18 months later, the cancer had metastasized and his prognosis was terminal. A prostatectomy left him impotent, increasing the strain in a marriage that already had begun to deteriorate.

Within several months of his father's surgery, when Dirk was perhaps 14 or 15 years old, Ms. S. (Dirk's mother) began a clandestine affair with a middle-aged man who resided nearby. The affair intensified, and presumably as a consequence of Ms. S.'s carelessness, Mr. S. learned of the affair. He also learned that she was planning a trip around the world with her lover. Although narcissistically mortified and enraged, he chose not to confront his wife right away, instead plotting secretly to murder her. On a weekday morning when Dirk and his younger sister were at school (his older brothers no longer resided in the family home), Mr. S. killed his wife in their [Page 300] bedroom with one of his hunting rifles. He then carefully wrapped her body up, packed it in the trunk of the family car, and drove to a shopping center, where he took his own life. The news was, of course, devastating to Dirk and his siblings, and it was made even more injurious due to the relentless media coverage that the crime received. Every conceivable detail of the murder-suicide was described on television and in the local press. Suddenly, Dirk and his siblings were completely bereft of privacy. Nor was there any adult intercessor to step forward and protect them from the continuing public exposure, humiliation, and pain.

These traumatic injuries were compounded by the reactions of neighbors and even former family friends, whose cool reactions to Dirk and his siblings bordered on social ostracism. The toll on Dirk's family continued over the next several years. First, the elder of Dirk's two brothers, Jon, committed suicide at the age of 27 years in a manner uncannily reminiscent of Mr. S.'s suicide. Some months later, Dirk's surviving brother, Rick, a poly-substance abuser, was incarcerated after being arrested and convicted of a drug-related felony. Finally, Dirk and his sister became estranged from each other, and by the time he began treatment, they were barely speaking to one another. Dirk, in fact, had little contact with anyone. After his parents' deaths, he spent a couple of years in the homes of various relatives, but eventually he decided to move back into his parents' house, where he lived alone. Dirk had been provided for quite generously in his father's will. He soon took over what remained of the family business, which included a strip mall and a small assortment of other business properties. At the time when he began weekly therapy, Dirk had monthly contact with some of his tenants when their rents became due and made occasional trips to the grocery store. He had not dated since high school and had only episodic contact with his paternal grandmother, whom he disliked. He slept in his parents' bedroom, which had not been redecorated after their deaths. There even was unrepaired damage from the shotgun blast that had killed his mother, although he did not at first appear discomfited by this fact and maintained that it was not abnormal or even especially noteworthy. He explained that he was loath to change or repair anything in the house, which he attributed to a tendency toward “procrastination.” People were unreliable, but his house, despite the carnage that had occurred there, remained a stabilizing force. Change was loathsome because it interfered with the integrity of important memories of the house and of the childhood lived within its walls.

Dirk was quite socially isolated and had a tremendous amount of discretionary time, two facts that were alternately frightening and reassuring to him. Although he wanted very much to become more involved with others and eventually to be in a serious relationship with a woman, he trusted no one. He believed others to be capable of great treachery, and from time to time, he revealed conspiratorial ideas that had a paranoid, if not psychotic, delusional resonance to them. He lived in a sparsely populated semirural area, and for the most part, he involved himself in solitary pursuits [Page 301] such as stamp collecting, reading, and fishing. He would hunt small game or shoot at targets with a collection of rifles, shotguns, and handguns that his father had left behind, and at times he spoke with obvious pleasure of methodically skinning and dressing the small animals he trapped or killed. There was little or no waste; even the skins could be used to make caps or mittens. He maintained that hunting and trapping animals was by no means unkind; indeed, it was far more humane than permitting the overpopulation and starvation of raccoons, muskrats, opossums, foxes, minks, and the like. Occasionally, he would add that he preferred the company of animals, even dead ones, to humans. They, unlike people, did not express jealousy and hatred.

As the treatment intensified, Dirk began to share a great deal more about his relationships with both parents. Sometimes, he would speak with profound sadness of his staggering loss. Needing both to make sense of the tragedy and to assign responsibility for it, he then would become enraged at his mother's lover. It was he who was to blame for everything that had happened, Dirk would declare. At other times, he described both of his parents as heinous or monstrous, having total disregard for the rest of the family's welfare.

Things never had been especially good between Dirk and his mother. She had a mild case of rubella during her pregnancy with Dirk, which he believed might have caused a physical anomaly as well as a congenital problem with his vision. Perhaps, he thought, she had rejected him in his infancy when the anomaly was discovered. The manner in which his mother described the anomaly, which later was removed, made him feel as though his physical appearance displeased, and perhaps even disgusted, her. Although he spent a great deal of time with her growing up, he recalled that she often was emotionally distant or upset with him.

From this time onward, he had gradually become less trusting of his mother and grew closer to his father, whom he emulated in a variety of ways. He often had noted that he and his father were very much alike. He had thought the world of this strong “macho” man who demanded strict obedience but also was capable of great kindness, particularly in acknowledgment of Dirk's frequent efforts to please him. It was quite painful for Dirk to think of this same strong father as a cuckold. It was even more frightening to think of him as weakened and castrated, and it was profoundly traumatic to believe that he could have been so uncaring about Dirk and his siblings as to actually carry out this unspeakably hateful crime of vengeance.

Early in his treatment, Dirk was able to express anger and disappointment with his mother for her lack of warmth and the painful way in which she avoided him, even shunned him. She had made him feel defective, small, and unimportant. This material was mined for what it revealed of the nature of Dirk's relational (selfobject) needs. We gradually learned how his mother's own limited capacity for empathy had interfered with the development of Dirk's capacity for pleasure in his own accomplishments, [Page 302] for healthy self-confidence and the indefatigable pursuit of important personal goals. In fact, Dirk avoided virtually any social situation where he thought others might disappoint him, where his mother's inability to mirror his boyhood efforts and accomplishments might be traumatically repeated. This was an important theme in our early explorations of Dirk's contact-shunning adaptation to the world outside his family home. However, this dynamic issue was not at the core of the transference-countertransference matrix that gradually evolved in my work with Dirk.

During the early spring, about 5 months into his treatment, Dirk gradually began to reveal more details of his relationship with his father. His father, he observed, was really more like an employer than a parent, forever assigning Dirk tasks, correcting his mistakes, and maintaining a certain aloofness and emotional distance from him. Although up until this point Dirk had tended to place more responsibility for the murder-suicide on the actions of his mother and her lover, he now began to view his father as having a greater role in the family tragedy. For the first time, he sounded genuinely angry. However, awareness of this proved to be exceedingly painful for him, and depressive thoughts and suicidal fantasies typically followed such discussions: “My father could have shot me…. In fact, sometimes I wish he had blown me away.”

During this same period, burglars broke into the strip mall that Dirk had inherited from his father's estate. This enraged Dirk, almost to the point of psychotic disorganization. He reacted to it as though his personal integrity had been violated, and he reported a series of dreams in which burglars were breaking into homes or he was being chased with people shooting at him. His associations were to his father, whom he described as a “castrating” parent with a need to keep his three sons subservient to him. Dirk observed, for perhaps the first time, that his father might have been rather narcissistic, lacking genuine empathy and interest in his three boys. He was beginning to think of himself and his two older brothers as really quite troubled, although in different ways. He then recounted the following dream:

[A man who looked like] Jack Benny was trying to break into my house to steal my valuables. He wanted me to think that he had rigged some electrical wire with a gas pipe to scare me and, thereby, force me to disclose the hiding place where my valuables were…. He was a mild-mannered man.

We hypothesized that Benny, a mild-mannered Jewish comedian whose initials were identical to my own, also might represent me or, in any event, aspects of Dirk's experience of the treatment process. In an important sense, I was asking Dirk to reveal the hidden location of treasured memories, feelings, and fantasies that he had worked unremittingly to conceal not only from others but also from himself. These interpretations seemed to make a good deal of sense to both of us, yet my recollection [Page 303] at the end of this hour was that I somehow was vaguely troubled. It also was approximately at this point in Dirk's treatment that I began to take copious notes. I rationalized that this was necessary because I felt unable to reconstruct the sessions afterward without them. However, I now believe that this note taking also was in the service of a different, fundamentally unconscious motive. From time to time, Dirk would complain that I was physically too close to him in the office or that I was watching him too intently during the hour, which made him feel self-conscious and ashamed. On several occasions, I actually had moved my chair farther away from him at his request. Again, in response to his anxiety, I had made a point of looking away from him precisely during those moments when I ordinarily would want to feel most connected to a client (e.g., when he had recalled a pioignant experience with his father or was talking about the aftermath of the tragedy). I also noted that it was following “good” hours—hours characterized by considerable affectivity and important revelations—that he would request that our meetings be held on a biweekly basis. When this occurred, probably a half dozen times over the 2 years he was in treatment with me, I recall feeling both disappointed and concerned. My efforts to convince him of the therapeutic value in exploring this phenomenon rather than altering the frequency of our meetings were not simply fruitless; they aroused tremendous anxiety, and several times Dirk threatened to stop coming altogether if I persisted. In effect, my compulsive note taking represented an unconscious compliance with Dirk's articulated request that I titrate the intensity of my involvement with him. At times, our interaction during sessions bore a marked similarity to his interactions with both parents, particularly his father. Like his father, I had become increasingly distant and aloof. On the other hand, Dirk exercised control over this relationship, which proved to be a critical distinction for him as the treatment evolved.

It was during a session in late July, some 9 months into treatment, that I reminded Dirk of my upcoming vacation. As we ended our hour, he remarked for the first time how similar we seemed to each other. I did not comment on this observation because we had reached the end of the hour. However, I believe that I felt rather uneasy about it. During the next session, our last hour prior to my vacation, Dirk reported that he was getting out more often and had been doing a modest degree of socializing. He was making a concerted effort to be less isolated. At the same time, he expressed a considerable degree of hostility when speaking of his (then-incarcerated) brother, whom he described as “exploitative” and deceitful. Toward the end of this hour, he asked where I would be going on vacation. On one previous occasion, Dirk had sought extra-therapeutic contact with me; that had been some months earlier when he called me at home, quite intoxicated, at 2 or 3 a.m. However, during his sessions, he rarely had asked me questions of a personal nature. I remember feeling compelled to answer this one, which I believed represented an important request. It was while I was on vacation some 800 miles away, in a somewhat isolated and unfamiliar setting, [Page 304] that I experienced a dramatic countertransference reaction inextricably linked to my work with Dirk. Although space does not permit a more detailed discussion here, at its core, this reaction faithfully reproduced two important elements of our work: Dirk's paranoia and the highly significant and traumatogenic elements of his relationship with both parents.

Although Dirk was not an easy client to treat, he was likeable. I felt this way from our first meeting, and I believe that this basic feeling for him permitted our work to continue despite his paranoia and a number of disturbing developments along the transference-countertransference axis. During the first weeks of therapy, I recall that although I found his story fully believable, I also felt shocked, overwhelmed, and at times even numbed by it. It was difficult, if not impossible, to conceive of the impact of such traumas occurring seriatim in one family.

Although I felt moved by Dirk's story and wished to convey this to him, his manner of narrating it was a powerful signal to me that he would not find this helpful, at least for the time being. It was as though he could not take in such feelings or allow me to be close in this way. I was not especially troubled by this, and I felt as though my principal task was simply to listen, make occasional inquiries, and provide a climate of acceptance. Although I believe that my discomfort with Dirk cumulated silently during those first few months of treatment, an important threshold was crossed with Dirk's revelation that he continued to sleep in his parents' bedroom. I found this not only bizarre but also frightening. When we attempted to discuss this, he was dismissive. I, on the other hand, was quite willing to let the matter rest, and it was only much later in his treatment that we were able to return to this dialogue. This fact, in combination with my awareness of Dirk's nearly obsessive love of hunting and trapping, led me to begin to view him not so much as a victim of trauma as a heartless and potentially dangerous individual. It did not occur to me until months later that each time he killed a muskrat or a raccoon, it might have served as a disguised reenactment of the original trauma and simultaneously permitted him to identify with an admired part of his father, who had taught him how to hunt and trap. Dirk, after all, had observed in an early session that he and his father were really quite similar. It may, of course, be argued that his paranoia and penchant for hunting, trapping, and skinning animals, in combination with my knowledge of the frightening traumas he had endured, might have helped to shape my countertransference-driven withdrawal and compulsive note taking. He also had requested, somewhat urgently, that I exercise caution lest he feel “trapped”; I was to pull my chair back, not make eye contact, and the like. But soon I felt trapped as well; I had altered my therapeutic modus operandi, and I became aware of experiencing mild apprehension on those days when Dirk came in for his appointments. Some of Dirk's sessions seemed interminable, and if I was feeling this way, then I think it likely that he was feeling something similar. Perhaps in this additional sense, both of us were feeling trapped.

As Dirk became increasingly aware of the depth of the injury that he believed his mother had caused him and of the rage he felt toward his father, the extent of his developmental arrest became more comprehensible. I had noted to myself at several junctures that Dirk spoke of his father, in particular, as though he still were alive. In an important sense, Dirk had been unable to bury either parent. Haunted by them, he was unable to relinquish his torturous ties to them. Eventually, the house came to symbolize not only the family tragedy that had begun there but also his relationship with both parents.

As Dirk developed greater awareness of the rage he felt for his father, a feeling that he had worked so hard to project, dissociate, and deny, he seemed to demonstrate greater interest in me and in our relationship. When he commented with some satisfaction that the two of us seemed to be similar, I suddenly recalled Dirk's earlier comment about how similar he and his father were. His associations to dream material as well seemed to equate me with his father. Like his father, I might attempt to trick him into a relationship where he was chronically exploited and mistreated and was reduced to a type of helpless indentured servitude. Although the oedipal significance of this dream was not inconsequential, with its reference to hidden valuables, I do not believe that this was the most salient dynamic issue insofar as our relationship was concerned. As mentioned earlier, I ended that hour feeling vaguely troubled in spite of Dirk's agreement that the interpretation was helpful. Although the dream was manifestly paranoid, an important truth about the asymmetry of the therapeutic relationship also was revealed. I was apprehensive because Dirk's associations had signaled the presence of a danger, and that danger now was perceived in some measure as coming from me.

Dirk's report that he was “getting out more” and was less reclusive should have been good news, although I recall reacting with but mild enthusiasm when he informed me of this shortly before my vacation. Dirk was just fine to work with so long as his paranoid fears prevented him from venturing out very far into the world of “real” relationships. However, the thought of Dirk no longer confined to a twilight existence, coupled with his increasing capacity both to feel and express rage, was an alarming one. What ultimately transformed my countertransference fantasies into a dramatic and disjunctive countertransference reaction was the haunting parallel—partially transference based, partially grounded in reality—that had emerged in Dirk's view of me as fundamentally similar to both him and his father. I now believe that my intensive countertransference reaction while on vacation had accomplished something that had simply not been possible despite careful introspection and reflection. I finally came close to experiencing Dirk's terror, although in my own idiosyncratic way. Like Dirk, I felt small, vulnerable, and alone. I was isolated and helpless, in unfamiliar surroundings, and cut off from contact with reality and the intersubjective world. Dirk was frightening, but it was even more frightening to be [Page 306] Dirk. As his therapist, I had been the hunter; suddenly, I was the hunted. I was convinced that I had betrayed Dirk in much the same way as his father had betrayed him, the trauma reenacted in his treatment. In effect, in this extra-therapeutic enactment, I felt not only as Dirk felt but also as I believe he might wish his father to feel—the dreaded and hated father against whom he sought redress for his grievances. Dirk, of course, had enacted both roles daily for well over 5 years; I had enacted them but for a single night.

The narrative case illustration used here highlights the complexity of the intersubjective milieu surrounding this young man's treatment and the relationship of past traumata to the evolving therapeutic relationship. The case study method permitted an examination of various historically important dynamic issues that might have relevance to the client's presenting symptomatology. It also revealed important parallels between features of the client's transference relationship and various unresolved issues between the client and his parents. Finally, reasons for the powerful countertransference reactions of the clinician were suggested and explored. This narrative case study is principally generative. It focuses on an exceptional case, addressing particular issues germane to the transference-countertransference matrix in adolescent treatment for which there is little antecedent clinical or theoretical literature. A range of researchable themes and issues (e.g., the impact of severe childhood trauma on personality development, handling of transference, recognition and use of disjunctive countertransference reactions) can be identified for subsequent investigation.

Reliability and Validity in Qualitative Research

In-Depth Interviews

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Real Case Studies in Social Work Education

The central elements of the Real Cases Project curriculum integration effort are three case studies, drawn from the ChildStat Initiative—an innovative, agency-wide case review process of New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services. As documented in Brenda McGowan’s introduction to the case studies and their development, we went through a rigorous selection process to insure that the cases would be diverse, engaging, and useful in meeting the objectives of the Real Cases Project . The overview of the case studies, by Tatyana Gimein, (Co-Chair of the Project before her retirement from ACS), highlights key elements of each case study, and the profound challenges facing the families, staff and communities involved.

The decision to use real case studies in a curriculum integration effort was adopted after an extensive assessment phase. In 2004, the Planning Committee initially began the case selection process, focusing on cases drawn from the ACS Accountability Review Process. An expert panel convened by the Committee narrowed the selection to one case. After recruitment and preliminary work by faculty on individual teaching guides, this case became unavailable. The ChildStat approach was then proposed and access to cases was granted, resulting in the selection of the three cases in this document. Faculty authors adopted these three cases as framing elements in their teaching guides. The three case studies collectively raise critical issues in public child welfare practice today, show a diverse range of practices, family issues, and populations, as well as showcase the ChildStat Initiative.

The Real Cases Project is part of the social work tradition of case study education. During our profession’s history, social work educators have used case studies in the classroom to teach particular course content (Richmond, 1897; Towle, 1954), drawing vignettes from students’ work in the field (Reynolds, 1965; Wolfer & Gray, 2007), published case studies and cases from their own practice (Cohen, 1995). The case study approach appears to be experiencing resurgence, as indicated by the number of published books of cases and suggestions for their use in the classroom (Fauri, Wernet & Netting, 2007; Haulotte & Kretzschmar, 2001; Hull & Mokuau, 1994; LeCroy, 1999; Rivas & Hull, 2000; Stromm-Gottfried, 1998; Wolfer & Scales, 2006). Even with its widespread use, the efficacy of the case study approach for learning specific content or integrating multiple content areas has not been extensively tested and remains a fruitful area for inquiry.

Case studies are especially useful for training professionals in disciplines as social work, where critical thinking and problem solving skills are necessities (Ross & Wright, 2001). Case studies are often utilized in professional social work education in order to provide students with a real life example on which to practice their skills of critical analysis and assessment. In addition to practicing a particular skill set, case studies also allow faculty to assist students in their application of theory into practice. In addition, when used properly, case studies can provide students an opportunity to accept responsibility for their own learning (Armisted, 1984).

This Project contributes to the growing literature on using child welfare case studies in social work education (Brown, 2002; Johnson & Grant, 2005). We advance this effort, especially considering that the cases are drawn from a public child welfare agency and are accompanied by teaching guides that demonstrate how the cases can be used successfully in different courses across the curriculum. The Real Cases Project does not suggest that the cases supplant the content of a particular course. Rather, the cases can be used to illuminate and expand course content. While students may become familiar with the cases in more than one class, the teaching guides will insure that the use of the cases is not redundant, and is appropriate to each course in the curriculum. Thus, both the individual courses and the understanding of child welfare as a part of social work are enriched.

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COMMENTS

2024 Social Work Case Planning Guide – What You Need ...
Apr 13, 2024 · Social work case studies examples (and case studies in general) contribute to the development of evidence-based practices, inform social work education and training, and highlight the vital role of social workers in promoting social justice, empowerment, casework group work community work, and well-being for individuals.
Case Studies - Grand Challenges for Social Work
Case Studies The following case studies were included to highlight different ways that social workers can assess and intervene with issues of social isolation. These cases are free to you to use, modify, and incorporate into your teaching. They include: The case of George, which demonstrates the need to examine our cases with
Case Study: A Qualitative Approach - socialworkmethods.com
According to Goode and Hatt, a case study is a method for organizing social data that maintains the cohesive nature of the social object under investigation. Pauline. V. Young defines a case study as a method of exploring and analyzing the life of a social unit, be that a person, a family, an institution, a cultural group, or even an entire ...
Current Guide - The WAC Clearinghouse
Gilgun, J. F. (1994). A Case for Case Studies in Social Work Research. Social Work, 39, 4, 371-381. This article defines case study research, presents guidelines for evaluation of case studies, and shows the relevance of case studies to social work research. It also looks at issues such as evaluation and interpretations of case studies.
Sage Research Methods - The Handbook of Social Work Research ...
Case studies continue to hold a prominent role in the dissemination of clinical knowledge in social work education. Although somewhat less common today, the use of casebooks to augment textual and other didactic materials in the clinical instruction of social work graduate students historically was a common practice.
Real Case Studies in Social Work Education | Adelphi University
The three case studies collectively raise critical issues in public child welfare practice today, show a diverse range of practices, family issues, and populations, as well as showcase the ChildStat Initiative. The Real Cases Project is part of the social work tradition of case study education. During our profession’s history, social work ...