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Definition of Case Study

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Definition of Case Study
Definition of case study noun * 1a process or record of research into the development of a particular person, group, or situation over a period of time:the case study was undertaken over a period of two months through a series of visits to the school[as modifier]:case-study interviews

* 2a particular instance of something used or analysed in order to illustrate a thesis or principle:airline deregulation provides a case study of the effects of the internal market

Source: http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/case%2Bstudy

case study [countable] a detailed account of the development of a particular person, group, or situation that has been studied over a period of time

Source: http://www.ldoceonline.com/Education-topic/case-study

Documented study of a specific real-life situation or imagined scenario, used as a training tool in business schools and firms. Students or trainees are required to analyze the prescribed cases and present their interpretations or solutions, supported by the line of reasoning employed and assumptions made.

Read more: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/case-study.html#ixzz2DLI1dpM6

A case study (also known as a case report) is an intensive analysis of an individual unit (e.g., a person, group, or event) stressing developmental factors in relation to context. The case study is common in social sciences and life sciences. Case studies may be descriptive or explanatory. The latter type is used to explore causation in order to find underlying principles. They may be prospective (in which criteria are established and cases fitting the criteria are included as they become available) or retrospective (in which criteria are established for selecting cases from historical records for inclusion in the study).
Thomas offers the following definition of case study: "Case studies are analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied

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    Eckstein, Harry. [1975] 1992. “Case Studies and Theory in Political Science.” In Regarding Politics: Essays on Political Theory, Stability, and Change. Berkeley: University of California Press. Elman, Miriam, ed. 1997. Paths to Peace: Is Democracy the Answer? Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Feagin, Joe R., Anthony M. Orum, and Gideon Sjoberg. 1991. A Case for the Case Study. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press. Fenno, Richard F., Jr. 1978. Home Style: House Members in their Districts. Boston: Little, Brown. George, Alexander. 1979. “Case Studies and Theory Development: The Method of Structured, Focused Comparison.” In Diplomacy: New Approaches in History, Theory, and Policy, ed. Paul Gordon Lauren. New York: Free Press. George, Alexander L., and Andrew Bennett. 2004. Case Studies and Theory Development, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. Gerber, Alan S., and Donald P. Green. 2000. “The Effects of Canvassing, Direct Mail, and Telephone Contact on Voter Turnout: A Field Experiment.” American Political Science Review 94: 653–63. Gerring, John. 2001. Social Science Methodology: A Criterial Framework. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Gerring, John. Forthcoming. “Causation: A Unified Framework for the Social Sciences.” Journal of Theoretical Politics. Goertz, Gary. 2003. “The Substantive Importance of Necessary Condition Hypotheses.” In Necessary Conditions: Theory, Methodology and Applications, ed. Gary Goertz and Harvey Starr. New York: Rowman and Littlefield. Goertz, Gary, and Harvey Starr, eds. 2003. Necessary Conditions: Theory, Methodology and Applications. New York: Rowman and Littlefield. Hall, Peter A. 2003. “Aligning Ontology and Methodology in Comparative Politics.” In Comparative Historical Analysis in the Social Sciences, ed. James Mahoney and Dietrich Rueschemeyer.…

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