The Pros And Cons Of Qualitative Case Study
This essay critically evaluates 5 peer reviewed articles that adopted qualitative case study research methodology. The objective of the essay is to evaluate the selected published articles to consider the methodological influence on the study design, choice of method, data analysis and interpretation, as well as observe for the onto-epistemological grounding of the research.
Essay Structure
The essay begins with an introduction/background of case study research as a methodology within the health discipline, in particular, the midwifery profession. It will highlight the general concept of a case study research; the definition, advantages and limitations. Further, an introduction of the selected studies will be presented. This will be followed …show more content…
There is variance in the understanding and definition of case study among different authors. Bromley (1990, pg. 302) defined case study as “a systematic inquiry into an event or a set of related events which aims to describe and explain the phenomenon of interest”. Case study research examines a person, a phenomenon, an event, a place, or other types of subject of inquiry as a means to understand complex behavioural/contextual/cultural factors (Stake, 1995; Yin, 2014). It helps suggest future trends or bring into limelight previously uncovered issues which can be applied to modern day practice (Labaree, 2017). Though CSRM is often used to explore single subjects of analysis, they can also provide researchers with the tools to study complex phenomena in their own context. As a principal qualitative approach, CSRM can be used to inform evidence-based decision making both in terms of policy realms and clinical professional practice (Baxter & Jack, 2008). The substantial methodological development of CSRM as a qualitative approach over the last four decades has resulted in its use to provide a comprehensive in-depth understanding of different phenomena across various disciplines; due to its flexibility and pragmatic approach (Harrison, Birks, Franklin, & Mills, 2017). In CSRM, case selections are precursors to case analysis and this requires convincing arguments from researchers on the rationale for selection of cases (Merriam,
Essay Structure
The essay begins with an introduction/background of case study research as a methodology within the health discipline, in particular, the midwifery profession. It will highlight the general concept of a case study research; the definition, advantages and limitations. Further, an introduction of the selected studies will be presented. This will be followed …show more content…
There is variance in the understanding and definition of case study among different authors. Bromley (1990, pg. 302) defined case study as “a systematic inquiry into an event or a set of related events which aims to describe and explain the phenomenon of interest”. Case study research examines a person, a phenomenon, an event, a place, or other types of subject of inquiry as a means to understand complex behavioural/contextual/cultural factors (Stake, 1995; Yin, 2014). It helps suggest future trends or bring into limelight previously uncovered issues which can be applied to modern day practice (Labaree, 2017). Though CSRM is often used to explore single subjects of analysis, they can also provide researchers with the tools to study complex phenomena in their own context. As a principal qualitative approach, CSRM can be used to inform evidence-based decision making both in terms of policy realms and clinical professional practice (Baxter & Jack, 2008). The substantial methodological development of CSRM as a qualitative approach over the last four decades has resulted in its use to provide a comprehensive in-depth understanding of different phenomena across various disciplines; due to its flexibility and pragmatic approach (Harrison, Birks, Franklin, & Mills, 2017). In CSRM, case selections are precursors to case analysis and this requires convincing arguments from researchers on the rationale for selection of cases (Merriam,