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Chapter 3 Research Framework
According to Dempsey and Dempsey (2000), case study may be defined as an
intensive, detailed, in-depth study, examination or investigation of a single unit – the
case. Stake (2000) added that case studies have the capacity to offer purposive,
situational or interrelated descriptions of phenomena, connecting practical complex
events to theoretical abstractions, while Remenyi et al,(2002) stated that the aim of
case study research is always to provide a rich, multi-dimensional picture of the
situation being studied.
Yin (1994) defined case study research as:
“An empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in
depth and within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries
between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident.”
Yin (1994, pp.15)
He added to this definition in (Yin, 2009):
“The case study inquiry copes with the technically distinctive situation in
which there will be many more variables of interest than data points, and as
one result relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to
converge in a triangulating fashion”.
(Yin, 2009, pp.18)
All of these definitions reveal that case study research is in-depth and uses multiple
data sources from multiple perspectives.
Further to these definitions, several types of case study design have also been
presented. The researcher may focus on single cases or multiple cases (when the
same study may contain more than one single case – Figure 3.1) and may also
choose a type of case study. Stake (1995, 2000) identified three types of case study:
intrinsic, instrumental or collective. Intrinsic case study is used when the researcher
has an intrinsic interest and wants a better understanding of one particular case,
without the desire to generalise or build theory. Instrumental case study refers to the
examination of cases mainly to provide insight into an issue. Collective case study
involves collecting data from a number of cases to understand a particular
phenomenon or general condition. Yin (2009) identified three further types of case
study: descriptive, exploratory and explanatory. Descriptive case studies illustrate
examples of a particular phenomenon in question. Thus descriptive approaches
present a complete description of a phenomenon within its context. Exploratory case