View/Open - Sokoine University of Agriculture

location, such as a community or organizations, but can also be about individuals andhistorical events (Bryman 2008).According to Bryman a “basic case study entails the detailed and intensive analysis ofa single case” (Bryman 2008, p.52). Nevertheless, it is here important to note that acase study can entail several cases, and a distinction is made between a single-case(such as the study of one community or organisation), or a multiple-case (containing areplication of study of example two or more organisations). In addition a furtherdefinition can be made between a case study which is holistic and one which isembedded. A holistic case study means that an entire unit (or units) is studied, be itfor instance a community or an organization. An embedded case study on the otherhand focuses on more than one unit, and is rather split into multiple units of analysis(Yin 2003).In terms of Yins definitions our case is then a single and embedded case as it entailsthe analysis of one specific country‟s experience with REDD, but also an analysis atboth national and local level, i.e. the pilot project in Kilosa can be seen as a subunit ofREDD in Tanzania as a whole.There is still, though, one more important distinction to be made when in terms ofwhat type of case we are working on. Also here Yin has provided with a distinction ofdifferent cases, shown below, however as Bryman points out “any case study caninvolve a combination of these elements, which can best be viewed as rationales forchoosing particular cases” (Bryman 2008, p.56.).Following Yins work our study does not fall under the first two categories, the criticalcase and the extreme/typical case, as those cases are chosen due to its ability to test ahypothesis, and because the case is in one way or another unique, respectively.The third case however, the representative/typical case (by some also referred to asthe exemplifying case) which “either epitomize a broader category of cases or theywill provide a suitable context for certain research questions to be answered”(Bryman 2008, p.56.) can be applied to our case because many developing countries,not just Tanzania, suffer from unsustainable governance and management of itsforests, and thus suffers from deforestation and forest degradation, which in turnmakes them eligible or has led to them start implementing REDD. In addition, as“exemplifying cases allow for the researcher to examine key social processes… or isknown to have implemented a new technology and he or she wants to know what the57