PhD Final Thesis April 2013.pdf - Anglia Ruskin Research Online

Thesis Keith Gale 2013and became a strong advocate of the case study method for use where observation ofsocial interaction between individuals or groups is required.Although not discounting use of case studies as a form of research method,Abercrombie et al (1994, p34) warned that any conclusions arrived from a singlecase study ‘cannot provide reliable information about a broader class’.Abercrombie’s statement has some validity where results from a single case studyare extrapolated into larger experimental groups, but does not take in considerationthe depth of data available when using a case study approach. Sociological andanthropological studies rely upon single case studies to elicit behaviour and this is anaccepted method for analysis (Ragin and Becker, 1992). Careful triangulation of datafrom differing areas of a single case study may be constructed into a matrix thatprovides a cohesive analysis of results to strengthen information. Provided a singlecase study has sufficient mass, then a comparison with a broader class is certainlyavailable (Yin, 2009). Bent Flyvberg (2011) went further by stating:‘One can often generalize on the basis of a single case, and the case study may becentral to scientific development via generalization as supplement or alternativemethods. But formal generalization is overvalued as a source of scientificdevelopment, whereas ‘the force of example’ and transferability are underestimated’.Flyvberg argued that a large number of samples can hide information rather thanexpose it, and cited Karl Poppers ‘White Swans’ as an example. Followingexamination of a number of similar case study examples, especially with the detailedstudy of deviant cases, George and Bennett (2005) demonstrated strong linksbetween single case studies and theory development. Walton (1992, p. 129) foundsimilar evidence and concluded that ‘case studies are likely to produce the besttheory.’Another perceived difficulty with case studies is the possibility of researcher biasthrough an observational process or when dealing with introduction of extraneousvariables (Fellows and Liu, 2008). Observational bias occurs where a researcherinterprets actions using assumptions without investigating motives leading to theactions. Extraneous variables are those specific to an individual project ororganisation that are particular to that case. Such variables may skew results leadingtoward inaccurate conclusions that do not represent the topic under study. Diamond,(1996, p.6) viewed that case studies suffered from lack of scientific methods whichassisted with ‘curbing one’s tendencies to stamp one’s preexisting interpretation on103