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FOCUS: CONDUCTING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Conducting Case Study Research
SUZANNE CAMPBELL
1
LEARNING OBJECTIVES have a better prognosis than others? A quantitative
1. Describe when the case study approach is the most research method would not provide the data needed to
appropriate qualitative research method. respond to those questions. Therefore, we should
2. Outline the components of a case study research consider conducting a qualitative research method.
method.
3. Discuss data coding and analysis and how categories As previously identified, there are five approaches to
and themes are developed. qualitative research methods: narrative inquiry, Downloaded from
4. Identify considerations for reporting the findings of phenomenological, grounded theory, ethnographic and
2
case study research. case study research. It is vital that the researcher
consider the research questions and research design so
INDEX TERMS: Case study research, qualitative the appropriate qualitative research method is selected.
research methods, data coding, data validation Qualitative research methods are used in psychology,
sociology, philosophy, political science, medicine, social http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/
Clin Lab Sci 2015;28(3):201 science, anthropology, government, business and
education.1,3,4,5 Let us explore in more detail the case
CM study research method.
Suzanne Campbell, PhD, MLS(ASCP) , Seward
County Community College/Area Technical School,
Liberal, KS Case study research is an “…intensive study of a single
case where the purpose of that study is… to shed light
Address for Correspondence: Suzanne Campbell, on a larger class of cases.”4 Being of an exploratory
CM nature, case study research results in hypothesis
PhD, MLS(ASCP) , STEM Project Director, Medical
Laboratory Technician Program Coordinator, Seward generation versus hypothesis testing. The findings
County Community College/Area Technical School, provide a deep scope of proposition through on August 19 2022
Liberal, KS 67901, 620-417-1403, suzanne.campbell@ concentrated data. Evidence from case study research
4
sccc.edu supports a firm causal effect.
INTRODUCTION Purpose
As medical laboratory professionals, we compare patient In case study research, the researcher can expect “…
results to reference ranges and determine the clinical [an] intensive analysis and descriptions of a single unit
5
significance of the findings. Those numbers indicate or system bounded by space and time.” The purpose of
whether a patient is healthy or will be diagnosed with a conducting case study research is to provide “… in-
disease process. Even after the diagnosis, the numbers depth understanding of situations and meaning for
still have meaning as they reflect the outcome of the those involved.”5 Case study research is defined as the
treatment. The result of the analytical process provides study of a “case” – a single individual, a situation, an
the healthcare team vital information regarding organization, or a phenomenon. The study is conducted
diagnosis and treatment. Because of the nature of our in the natural setting and is bounded by time and
3
profession, quantitative research may be more readily space. When conducting qualitative research, “the
accepted. We incorporate the results of quantitative researcher is the primary instrument for data collection
research when we consider the likelihood of developing and analysis.”5
the disease, treatment success/failure rate, and
prognosis. However, do we ever consider “how” the The five different applications of the case study research
patient reacts to the diagnosis or “why” some patients method include “to explain the presumed causal links in
201 VOL 28, NO 3 SUMMER 2015 CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
FOCUS: CONDUCTING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
real-life interventions; to describe an intervention and able to note the weaknesses and strengths of the
5
the real-life context; to illustrate certain topics using a previous work. Additionally, the literature review assists
descriptive mode; to explore situations in which in determining the method of reporting the findings of
intervention has no clear set of outcomes; and to the study. My literature review revealed that most
conduct a meta-evaluation.”1 Furthermore, as indicated higher education administrators were men. However, if
with case study design, “The interest is in process rather a woman held the position of a higher education
than outcomes, in context rather than a specific administrator, particularly of a college of allied health,
variable, in discovery rather than confirmation. Insights their academic background was nursing. The lack of
gleaned from case studies can directly influence policy, information regarding women clinical laboratory
practice, and future research.”6 scientists who held positions as higher education
administrators supported the need for the case study
When designing case study research, one must consider research.
the knowledge and skill of the researcher, a well-defined
research question, the information that is available in The case is defined as an individual, organization, event Downloaded from
the literature, the identified case, the data collection or entity. It is important that the researcher identifies
protocols, the data coding and analysis strategies, and the characteristics of the case to be studied. The
the method of reporting the findings. The process is of participants constitute a purposive sample as they must
an exploratory nature where data codes are used to meet characteristics identified by the researcher. In case
develop categories which are then used to formulate study research, the case number is often less than 12 http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/
4
themes. The themes are considered findings and are and may even be a single case. The eight participants of
1,3,7
used to answer the research questions. my study were female clinical laboratory scientists who
held the position of a higher education administrator
I utilized the case study research method to investigate and resided in the Midwest region of the United States.
and document career paths of women clinical laboratory
scientists that have transitioned from the clinical setting Data Collection
to the higher education arena and held an Yin (2014) identifies six sources of evidence:
administrative position at the dean’s level. The findings documents, archival records, interviews, direct
identified the experiences, training, obstacles, and observation, participant observation, and physical
opportunities that directed and influenced the career artifacts. However, interviews, observations and
8 documents are the most common sources of on August 19 2022
paths of these women.
3
information. When conducting interviews in case study
A case study researcher is committed to spending design, asking “how” and “why” questions provide the
extended periods of time in the natural setting. Data opportunity for participants to tell their story in their
1
coding and analysis also require extensive time on task own words. After explaining the purpose of the
and knowledge of the complex coding process. research and obtaining consent from the participant, the
Cognitive skills identified as necessary for case study interviews can be conducted. A semi-structured
research include induction, deduction, synthesis, interview protocol with probes and follow up questions
evaluation, and logical and critical thinking.7 Being was developed. The researcher becomes a listener in the
organized, possessing perseverance, dealing with interview process and acts to reduce any researcher bias.
ambiguity, being flexible and creative, utilizing Audio recorded documentation of the interview results
rigorously ethical standards, and having an extensive in a verbatim transcript. Examples of additional
vocabulary are skills best suited for the data coding documents included participant curriculum vitas and
7 demographic information. Field notes written by the
process. Because case study research does not have well-
defined guidelines, the researcher must contend with researcher provide a source of additional data noting
3 10
the evolving and changing procedures. observations of the setting and the participant.
Observations of the university, the participant’s office
A thorough review of the existing literature assists the and my first impression of the location were included in
researcher in defining the research question. The my field notes written the day of the interview.
researcher identifies the known and unknown and is
VOL 28, NO 3 SUMMER 2015 CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE 202
FOCUS: CONDUCTING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
Data Analysis phrases resulted in 80 pages of data. To group the data,
Ten open-ended questions were used for the semi- I needed a visual display so the information was
formal interview format. The verbatim transcripts from transferred to four large poster boards. After further
eight participants resulted in hundreds of pages of synthesis of the data, a total of 33 codes were identified.
narrative. “Coding is just one way of analyzing As the codes were assembled and reassembled, axial
7 coding occurred as categories began to emerge around a
qualitative data, not the way.” Coding of the data can
2
be performed manually or with the assistance of core phenomenon. Nine categories were noted. After
computer software. I elected to code the data using the completing the selective coding process, the final
manual method. The format of the transcripts included research themes were developed from the categories.
a wide right margin for my written codes and notes. The data collection and analysis strategies resulted in
Reading the transcripts multiple times and reflecting on three major themes. See Figure 1. To ensure high
the meaning of the statements resulted in reduction of quality data analysis, consider the following attention to
the data and identification of key words and phrases. “A all data – don’t ignore parts or pieces, address all
code in qualitative inquiry is most often a word or short plausible rival interpretations, focus on the most Downloaded from
phrase that symbolically assigns a summative, salient, significant aspect of the case study, and use one’s prior,
essence-capturing, and/or evocative attribute for a expert knowledge as the data is considered.9
portion of language-based or visual data.”7 This is often
referred to as the open coding process.2 Coding is the Data Validation
“critical link” between data collection and the While it is difficult to generalize findings from a http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/
explanation of the meaning.7 qualitative research project, the researcher must ensure
the validity of the data analysis. Strategies to validate the
In my study, gathering and sorting of key words and study include triangulation, member-checks, rich-thick
Getting to the Right The Right Navigational The Right Place
Place at the Right Skills are Required Comes With a Price
Time
The Clinical Don’t Wait for The Price on August 19 2022
Laboratory Opportunity to Knock Women Pay
Professors in Communication is Gender
Higher the Key Considerations
Education
Higher The Right Place
Education Requires a
Administration Balancing Act
The Road Block to
the Right Place Has a
Crack
Figure 1. CLS to Higher Education Administrator Research Themes and Categories
203 VOL 28, NO 3 SUMMER 2015 CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE
FOCUS: CONDUCTING QUALITATIVE RESEARCH
descriptions, clarification of researcher bias, evaluation I don’t think I can be the best advocate for people if
of negative/discrepant information, and an external I don’t understand their programs or their
3,6 positions… hear their concerns. I also think that
auditor. The validation methods that I selected
included member-checks, rich-thick descriptions, an when you’re at the dean’s level or associate dean
external audit and awareness of bias. The transcripts and really even at the chair level, you need to hear
were returned to the participants for review and the concerns of the people under you. Even if you
additional information needed for clarification. I used don’t agree on the outcome or agree with
rich-thick descriptions to report findings in such a everything, it is important that you hear that. I
manner that allowed the reader to be present in the think to communicate means to be able to not only
2 be articulate in talk but to have very good listening
setting. An experienced external auditor was employed
to review the IRB approval letter, all correspondence skills.
with the participants, the informed consent form, the
transcript verification form, interview transcripts, Limitations
3 One of the challenges of conducting case study research Downloaded from
coding key and a draft of the findings. My researcher
2
bias was fully disclosed and monitored so as not to is the identification of the case. The researcher must
influence data interpretation. make decisions related to the definition of the bounded
study and the size of the purposive sample population.
Data Results Most case study designs consist of a small sample
Once the themes have emerged, the researcher must population, thus limiting the ability to generalize the http://hwmaint.clsjournal.ascls.org/
consider how best to articulate the findings and who findings to a larger population. Because the researcher is
will compose the audience. A few examples of ways to a vital component of case study research, researcher bias
disseminate the findings include an oral presentation to must be recognized and handled in an ethical manner.
a doctoral dissertation committee or at a professional
conference, a publication in a scholarly journal, or even CONCLUSION
5
a theatrical performance. For most researchers, the Case study research is one method of conducting
written format is the selected method. However, for qualitative research. The case is defined as an individual,
some, writing up the findings can be as challenging as an organization, or an entity and is bounded by time
conducting the case study. It may help to consider this and space. The researcher is the primary instrument in
as a composition versus a written report. Additionally, case study methods; therefore researcher bias should be
beginning to draft the composition with the “when” recognized and minimized as much as possible. Case on August 19 2022
and “how” sections even before the data collection and study data is collected via observations, interviews and
9 documents. In this example, semi-structured interview
analysis is completed may be helpful. During the initial
steps of the research design, it is helpful to be thinking questions with probes and follow up questions were
of how best to distribute the findings of the study. The designed to allow the participants to tell their story such
researcher should be aware that case study reports tend that the role of the researcher was as a listener. The
to have a larger number of audiences than other forms interviews were audio recorded and transcribed to
of research because the findings can be presented in provide a verbatim transcript of the interview. After the
multiple ways. field notes and transcripts were reviewed multiple times,
key words and phrases were noted. From this
Finally, it is important that the findings of the case information, codes, categories and themes were
study research be a significant contribution to developed and reported as findings to support the
knowledge or practice, must be complete, must consider research questions.
alternative perspectives and must be composed in an
engaging manner.9 REFERENCES
To do so, my research findings were
reported using rich-thick description including 1. Yin, R. 2003 Case study research: design and methods.
quotations of the participants when appropriate. An Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
example of listening as a communication key was 2. Creswell, J. 2013. Qualitative inquiry and research design.
expressed by one participant in these words: Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
3. Creswell, J. 2003. Research design: qualitative, quantitative,
and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE
VOL 28, NO 3 SUMMER 2015 CLINICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE 204
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