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Summary of the compulsory chapters (Preface- 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 8 - 9 - 11) of the book Case Study Research by J. Gerring (2017) for the course PSRM I
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Summary Case Study Research – Principles and Practices (2nd ed.)J. Gerring (2017)
Preface
Studying cases
• Large-C approach
o Characterized by a large number of cases (denoted C) and a correspondingly narrow
focus of attention
• Small-C or case study approach
o Characterized by one or several cases and a correspondingly broad focus of attention
2 Definitions
Case
• Connotes a spatially and temporally delimited phenomenon of theoretical significance and
can be comprised of
o States or state-like entities
o Organizations
o Social groups
o Events
o Individuals
• However a case is defined, it must comprise the phenomena that an argument attempts to
describe or explain
• Cases are equivalent to units, with the added implication that a case has a temporal
boundary
Case study / small-C study
• An intensive study of a single case or a small number of cases which draws on observational
data and promises to shed light on a larger population of cases
• Clarifications and implications
o A case study is highly focused → considerable time is spent by the researcher
analyzing, and subsequently presenting, the chosen case, or cases, and the case is
viewed as providing important evidence for the argument
o As the number of cases increases, the attention devoted to each must decrease
o The causal factor in case study research is not intentionally manipulated by the
researcher, and in this sense is observational (non-experimental)
o Case study is generally drawn from different levels of analysis, a form of multilevel
inference
▪ Comparing the chosen case to others (cross-case comparison), follow at least
one case through time, and explore within-case observations at a lower level
of analysis (e.g. individuals within an organization)
o Goal: partly explaining the case(s) under investigation and shedding light on a larger
class of cases (population)
o There is likely to be considerable uncertainty about how well the case(s) under study
represent a larger population → cases are few, population of interest is generally
large, and the phenomena of interest are heterogeneous
1
, Additional terms
• Argument
o Central point of a study → what it is attempting to demonstrate or prove
o Argument can be articulated in a formal theory and may be disaggregated into
specific propositions or hypotheses
• Observation (denoted N)
o Defines the unit of analysis in a particular analysis
• In case study the case under study always provides more than one observation → C<N
o These may be constructed by observing the case longitudinally or within-case
observations at lower levels → both types are case-based
• Variable
o A single observation may be understood as containing several dimensions, each of
which may be measured as a variable
o Variables can have any sort of scale
• In case of causal arguments
o Outcome variable → Y or dependent variable
o Causal factor or condition of theoretical interest → X
o Background factors of no theoretical interest → may affect X and Y and may
therefore serve as confounders (Z)
• Sample
o Consists of whatever cases or observations are subjected to analysis
• The sample of cases rests within a population of cases to which a given proposition refers
3 Overview of case selection
Distinction between descriptive and causal inference
• Descriptive
• Causal
o Exploratory → intention to identify a hypothesis (Hx)
o Estimating → intention to estimate the causal effect of one factor on the outcome of
interest (X → Y)
o Diagnostic → intention to assess whether a hypothesis is true
See also table 3.1 p.41 for overview case-selection strategies and criteria
In addition to above, case selection also has some generic features
• Intrinsic importance
o Idiographic → such studies appear to disavow any claims to generality and are thus
not case studies by the definition of chapter 2, still these cases may result in insights
that have broader applicability: f.e. world wars, genocides, key inventions,
revolutions
• Independence
o When a case study is designed to shed light on a causal question, the chosen cases
should ideally be independent of each other and of other cases in the population
2
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