LibGuides: Qualitative study design: Case Studies

Case Studies

Purpose

In depth description of the experience of a single person, a family, a group, a community or an organisation.

Definition

An example of a qualitative case study is a life history which is the story of one specific person. A case study may be done to highlight a specific issue by telling a story of one person or one group.

Methods

Observation
Interview
Oral recording
Documents

Strengths

Ability to explore and describe, in depth, an issue or event.
Develop an understanding of health, illness and health care in context.

Single case can be used to develop or disprove a theory.
Can be used as a model or prototype.

Limitations

Labour intensive and generates large diverse data sets which can be hard to manage.
Case studies are seen by many as a weak methodology because they only look at one person or one specific group and aren’t as broad in their participant selection as other methodologies.

Example questions

This methodology can be used to ask questions about a specific drug or treatment and its effects on an individual.

Does thalidomide cause birth defects?
Does exposure to a pesticide lead to cancer?

Example studies

Choi, T. S. T., Walker, K. Z., & Palermo, C. (2018). Diabetes management in a foreign land: A case study on Chinese Australians. Health & Social Care in the Community, 26(2), e225-e232.

Reade, I., Rodgers, W., & Spriggs, K. (2008). New Ideas for High Performance Coaches: A Case Study of Knowledge Transfer in Sport Science. International Journal of Sports Science & Coaching, 3(3), 335-354.

Wingrove, K., Barbour, L., & Palermo, C. (2017). Exploring nutrition capacity in Australia's charitable food sector. Nutrition & Dietetics, 74(5), 495-501.

References

Green, J., & Thorogood, N. (2018). Qualitative methods for health research (4th ed.). London: SAGE.

University of Missouri-St. Louis. Qualitative Research Designs. Retrieved from http://www.umsl.edu/~lindquists/qualdsgn.html