So now, I'm coding...finding themes/ categories and realizing these:
-what if I make a matrix of codes to sort of 'count' or keep track of 'hits' to the each code
-why? cuz some themes have double codes to mean that one code seem to answer 2 questions?! is this okie at all?!!
MORE RE DATA ANALYSISI am now recalling the time when I was thinking of a way to 'organize' findings for this study on SOC=Sense of Community. Reading more about SOC, has led me to decide that perhaps the 4 elements can be a means to classify our data. My plan was to discuss the findings through these four elements--influence, membership,fulfillment of needs and shared connection or as later on surfaced by my co-writer, the stages of community building. Then later on, in the midst of look into our available data, other matters arose which led me to decide to do it differently. While we did maintain discussion of our findings through these elements, the data presented and analyzed turned out to be different. This was realized due to our 2nd research question which relates to the meanings adult learners attach to virtual community.
I'll explain later on.
But here's what I found to verify this:
p 183-185 of Sharan Merriam's Qualitative Research A Guide to Design and Implementation
"Names of your categories can come from at least three sources ( or a mix of these): yourself, the researcher, the participants or sources outside the study such as the literature....Applying someone else's scheme requires that the categories be compatible with the purpose and theoretical framework of the study. The database is scanned to determine the fit of a priori categories and then the data are sorted into the borrowed categories.....As Glaser and Strauss (1967) point out "Merely selecting data for a category that has been established by another theory tends to hinder the generation of new categories, because the major effort is not generation but deata selection. ALSO EMERGENT CATEGORIES USUALLY PROVE TO BE TH EMOST RLEVANT AND BEST FITTED TO THE DATA...."
Merriam proceeds to specify criteria for construction of categories:
these should " be RESPONSIVE to the purpose of the research...should be EXHAUSTIVE...MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE....be CONCEPTUALLY CONGRUENT" (from exhibit 8.2 p 186)
..."In summary, dat analysis is a process of making sense out of data. TI can be limited to determining how best to arrange the materials into a anrrative account of the findings. More commonly researchers extend analysis to developing categories, themes or other taxoomic classes that interpret the meaning of the data. The categories become findings of the study..." (p193)
Then I chanced upon this: NARRATIVE ANALYSIS p 202
Now isn't that one of my earlier concerns...what sets it apart from other types of analysis.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Monday, October 11, 2010
Case Study: What's it About?
BEFORE READING:
My experiences tell me that the case study design helps look at data as if I have a microscope. There's a phenomena that makes me want to look at it closely--describe it for what it is; conditions surrounding it in the hope of understanding it from a certain perspective. It allows me to see the data for what it is then discuss/explain it through layers of existing theory.
What's appealing about this design is this: it fits what I want to describe about programs, models of instruction, methods of teaching---all these within the realm of my experience as a teacher. The findings allow me to reflect on what is happening
So I've done a few ones but what I need to understand is how do you analyze data once you have all these. Yes, I tried looking at patterns. Yes, sometimes I try to generalize or come up with big ideas. Yes, I try to see the theory that supports what is happening right in front of me.
What are the varied forms of case study? Its uses and applications across fields/ disciplines? and when it is best used as a design?
How do the results become valid?
But how data analysis can be done more systematically?
WHILE READING:
Now I have a few readings/ notes to guide:
Application of Case Study Methodology by Winston Tellis, 1997 (The Qualitative Report, Volume 3, Number 3, September, 1997 Retrieved from: www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-3/tellis2.html
Yin (1993) has identified some specific types of case studies: Exploratory, Explanatory, and Descriptive. Stake (1995) included three others: Intrinsic - when the researcher has an interest in the case; Instrumental - when the case is used to understand more than what is obvious to the observer; Collective - when a group of cases is studied. Exploratory cases are sometimes considered as a prelude to social research. Explanatory case studies may be used for doing causal investigations. Descriptive cases require a descriptive theory to be developed before starting the project.
Case study research is not sampling research; that is a fact asserted by all the major researchers in the field, including Yin, Stake, Feagin and others. However, selecting cases must be done so as to maximize what can be learned in the period of time available for the study.
The unit of analysis is a critical factor in the case study. It is typically a system of action rather than an individual or group of individuals. Case studies tend to be selective, focusing on one or two issues that are fundamental to understanding the system being examined.
Case studies are multi-perspectival analyses. This means that the researcher considers not just the voice and perspective of the actors, but also of the relevant groups of actors and the interaction between them. This one aspect is a salient point in the characteristic that case studies possess. They give a voice to the powerless and voiceless. When sociological investigations present many studies of the homeless and powerless, they do so from the viewpoint of the "elite" (Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1991).
Case study is known as a triangulated research strategy. Snow and Anderson (cited in Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1991) asserted that triangulation can occur with data, investigators, theories, and even methodologies. Stake (1995) stated that the protocols that are used to ensure accuracy and alternative explanations are called triangulation. The need for triangulation arises from the ethical need to confirm the validity of the processes. In case studies, this could be done by using multiple sources of data (Yin, 1984). The problem in case studies is to establish meaning rather than location
Yin (1994) presented at least four applications for a case study model:
To explain complex causal links in real-life interventions
To describe the real-life context in which the intervention has occurred
To describe the intervention itself
To explore those situations in which the intervention being evaluated has no clear set of outcomes.
PREPARING A CASE STUDY: A Guide for Designing and Conducting a Case Study for
Evaluation Input By Palena Neale, PhD, Senior Evaluation Associate
Shyam Thapa, PhD, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation AdvisorCarolyn Boyce, MA, Evaluation Associate, May 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.pathfind.org/site/DocServer/m_e_tool_series_case_studypdf?docID=6302
What is a Case Study?
A case study is a story about something unique, special, or interesting—stories can be about individuals, organizations, processes, programs, neighborhoods, institutions, and even events.1 The case study gives the story behind the result by capturing what happened to bring it about, and can be a good opportunity to highlight a project’s success, or to bring attention to a particular challenge or difficulty in a project. Cases2 might be selected because they are highly effective, not effective, representative, typical, or of special interest. A few examples of case study topics are provided below—the case studies would describe
what happened when, to whom, and with what consequences in each case.
What are the Advantages and Limitations of a Case Study?
The primary advantage of a case study is that it provides much more detailed information than what is available through other methods, such as surveys. Case studies also allow one to present data collected from multiple methods (i.e., surveys, interviews, document review, and observation) to provide the complete story. There are a few limitations and pitfalls however, each of which is described below.
Can be lengthy: Because they provide detailed information about the case in narrative form, it may be difficult to hold a reader’s interest if too lengthy. In writing the case study, care should be taken to provide the rich information in a digestible manner.
Concern that case studies lack rigor: Case studies have been viewed in the evaluation and research fields as less rigorous than surveys or other methods. Reasons for this include the fact that qualitative research in general is still considered unscientific by some and in many cases, case study researchers have not been systematic in their data collection or have allowed bias in their findings. In conducting and writing case studies, all involved should use care in being systematic in their data collection and take steps to ensure validity3 and
reliability4 in the study.
Not generalizable: A common complaint about case studies is that it is difficult to generalize from one case to another. But case studies have also been prone to overgeneralization, which comes from selecting a few examples and assuming without evidence that they are typical or representative of the population. Yin, a prominent researcher, advises case study analysts to generalize findings to theories, as a scientist generalizes from experimental results to theories.5
3 Validity refers to the degree to which a study accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept that the researcher is attempting to measure.
4 Reliability is the extent to which an experiment, test, or any measuring procedure yields the same result on repeated trials.
5 Yin, Robert K. (2003). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Addt'l Reads: http://ctl.sri.com/publications/downloads/vstaera2001.pdf
My experiences tell me that the case study design helps look at data as if I have a microscope. There's a phenomena that makes me want to look at it closely--describe it for what it is; conditions surrounding it in the hope of understanding it from a certain perspective. It allows me to see the data for what it is then discuss/explain it through layers of existing theory.
What's appealing about this design is this: it fits what I want to describe about programs, models of instruction, methods of teaching---all these within the realm of my experience as a teacher. The findings allow me to reflect on what is happening
So I've done a few ones but what I need to understand is how do you analyze data once you have all these. Yes, I tried looking at patterns. Yes, sometimes I try to generalize or come up with big ideas. Yes, I try to see the theory that supports what is happening right in front of me.
What are the varied forms of case study? Its uses and applications across fields/ disciplines? and when it is best used as a design?
How do the results become valid?
But how data analysis can be done more systematically?
WHILE READING:
Now I have a few readings/ notes to guide:
Application of Case Study Methodology by Winston Tellis, 1997 (The Qualitative Report, Volume 3, Number 3, September, 1997 Retrieved from: www.nova.edu/ssss/QR/QR3-3/tellis2.html
Yin (1993) has identified some specific types of case studies: Exploratory, Explanatory, and Descriptive. Stake (1995) included three others: Intrinsic - when the researcher has an interest in the case; Instrumental - when the case is used to understand more than what is obvious to the observer; Collective - when a group of cases is studied. Exploratory cases are sometimes considered as a prelude to social research. Explanatory case studies may be used for doing causal investigations. Descriptive cases require a descriptive theory to be developed before starting the project.
Case study research is not sampling research; that is a fact asserted by all the major researchers in the field, including Yin, Stake, Feagin and others. However, selecting cases must be done so as to maximize what can be learned in the period of time available for the study.
The unit of analysis is a critical factor in the case study. It is typically a system of action rather than an individual or group of individuals. Case studies tend to be selective, focusing on one or two issues that are fundamental to understanding the system being examined.
Case studies are multi-perspectival analyses. This means that the researcher considers not just the voice and perspective of the actors, but also of the relevant groups of actors and the interaction between them. This one aspect is a salient point in the characteristic that case studies possess. They give a voice to the powerless and voiceless. When sociological investigations present many studies of the homeless and powerless, they do so from the viewpoint of the "elite" (Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1991).
Case study is known as a triangulated research strategy. Snow and Anderson (cited in Feagin, Orum, & Sjoberg, 1991) asserted that triangulation can occur with data, investigators, theories, and even methodologies. Stake (1995) stated that the protocols that are used to ensure accuracy and alternative explanations are called triangulation. The need for triangulation arises from the ethical need to confirm the validity of the processes. In case studies, this could be done by using multiple sources of data (Yin, 1984). The problem in case studies is to establish meaning rather than location
Yin (1994) presented at least four applications for a case study model:
To explain complex causal links in real-life interventions
To describe the real-life context in which the intervention has occurred
To describe the intervention itself
To explore those situations in which the intervention being evaluated has no clear set of outcomes.
PREPARING A CASE STUDY: A Guide for Designing and Conducting a Case Study for
Evaluation Input By Palena Neale, PhD, Senior Evaluation Associate
Shyam Thapa, PhD, Senior Monitoring and Evaluation AdvisorCarolyn Boyce, MA, Evaluation Associate, May 2006. Retrieved from: http://www.pathfind.org/site/DocServer/m_e_tool_series_case_studypdf?docID=6302
What is a Case Study?
A case study is a story about something unique, special, or interesting—stories can be about individuals, organizations, processes, programs, neighborhoods, institutions, and even events.1 The case study gives the story behind the result by capturing what happened to bring it about, and can be a good opportunity to highlight a project’s success, or to bring attention to a particular challenge or difficulty in a project. Cases2 might be selected because they are highly effective, not effective, representative, typical, or of special interest. A few examples of case study topics are provided below—the case studies would describe
what happened when, to whom, and with what consequences in each case.
What are the Advantages and Limitations of a Case Study?
The primary advantage of a case study is that it provides much more detailed information than what is available through other methods, such as surveys. Case studies also allow one to present data collected from multiple methods (i.e., surveys, interviews, document review, and observation) to provide the complete story. There are a few limitations and pitfalls however, each of which is described below.
Can be lengthy: Because they provide detailed information about the case in narrative form, it may be difficult to hold a reader’s interest if too lengthy. In writing the case study, care should be taken to provide the rich information in a digestible manner.
Concern that case studies lack rigor: Case studies have been viewed in the evaluation and research fields as less rigorous than surveys or other methods. Reasons for this include the fact that qualitative research in general is still considered unscientific by some and in many cases, case study researchers have not been systematic in their data collection or have allowed bias in their findings. In conducting and writing case studies, all involved should use care in being systematic in their data collection and take steps to ensure validity3 and
reliability4 in the study.
Not generalizable: A common complaint about case studies is that it is difficult to generalize from one case to another. But case studies have also been prone to overgeneralization, which comes from selecting a few examples and assuming without evidence that they are typical or representative of the population. Yin, a prominent researcher, advises case study analysts to generalize findings to theories, as a scientist generalizes from experimental results to theories.5
3 Validity refers to the degree to which a study accurately reflects or assesses the specific concept that the researcher is attempting to measure.
4 Reliability is the extent to which an experiment, test, or any measuring procedure yields the same result on repeated trials.
5 Yin, Robert K. (2003). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications.
Addt'l Reads: http://ctl.sri.com/publications/downloads/vstaera2001.pdf
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