Case Study Research: Forming Questions to Map the Research - Essay Sample

Introduction

The case study, as a research design, has five primary components. These components include a question to the case study, the proposition of the study, the units of analysis essential for the study, the chronological approach or logic for connecting available data for the study to the study's proposition and the methods, criteria or principles for the interpretation of results or findings from the study (Yin, 2011).

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The study's questions form the roadmap for the research. It helps in formulating the research analysis process. It works best for research designs with an established proposition. A case study proposition as a design component may be available or not. It lays the foundation for the research and helps with the selection of the areas to dwell on when conducting the research. The units of analysis are vital components in the research design as they help in the determination of the research approach different (Yin, 2011). Studies have different units of analysis-the help in data collection that links the available data to the suggestion. Therefore, the logic in the data collection and proposition forms the other component of the design. Additionally, criteria for understanding and interpretation of the results and findings are a vital design component.

Appropriateness of the Design for the Topic

The case study design is appropriate for the topic on the perception of social and emotional learning in schools as it offers an opportunity for critical analysis of the situation through the instrumental case study, which is the baseline for the design. Instrumental case study enhances the research capacity as it offers a vital understanding of the group and situation and eliminates generalizations. It works best when the research focuses on analyzing a person or group in a departmental organization. Since the focal point of the topic is examining the social and emotional aspects, the case study design is the most appropriate. Additionally, the design is useful when determining in-depth information on issues and situations by focusing on natural states.

The design is appropriate for the study as it offers an opportunity to concentrate on particular, compelling, and pressing issues on the topic. The topic serves as an avenue to test and examine a theory prevailing in the case. Unlike other designs that might be extensive and involving lots of insignificant approaches, the design takes a much more refined course that includes thorough, systematic, and meticulous notes and recording of facts and figures. The ultimate result of the application of the design is a qualitative finding.

The Types of Data Collection Appropriate for the Design

The case study design, in this case, analyzes the perception of social and emotional learning in institutions. It relies on several types of data collection to ensure that it captures all the essential areas of the topic. Some of the data collection appropriate for the study includes those collected in interviews, the observation data, and the use of questionnaires, sampling techniques, and projective techniques, among other types (Duff, 2018).

In the study of the social and emotional perceptions, interviews form the grounds for the data collection. The method involves examining the effects on individuals within a group and then use the findings from individual samples of the group as a representation of the whole unit. The interview is useful as it enables the study design to obtain firsthand information on the area of study. The data collected here is adequate and appropriate for analysis as the biasness in the collection of data is minimal (Algozzine, & Hancock, 2016). An interview works perfectly when used in conjunction with observation. Observation in the collection of data entails the physical examination of the participants. The case study design analyzes the contributions of each sample in the observed group. Other types of data collection, such as sampling, questionnaires, and projective techniques, serve as subsidiary methods for the fore-mentioned main methods. They are useful in ensuring that the data collected remain mostly unaltered.

The Steps of Analysis Appropriate for the Design

There are numerous steps of data analysis essential for the case study design. These steps in chronological order include data mining or extraction, data cleaning, data transformation, hypothesis building based on the data, and statistical-based analysis of the data. Data mining is the initial step in the analysis of data from the case study design. It involves a critical assessment of the available set of data to determine the most relevant sets of data for the study. The extraction of the most appropriate data sets from the pool is essential as it eases the cleaning of data, which is the second step in the analysis steps. Cleaning of the data is the removal of all sets of data that may seem inappropriate either due to redundancy or failures in the collection process. Data transformation refers to the manipulation of the data to obtain consistent results. The change is essential in the hypothesis building step and statistical-based analysis (Algozzine, & Hancock, 2016).

References

Algozzine, B., & Hancock, D. (2016). Doing case study research: A practical guide for beginning researchers. Teachers College Press.

Duff, P. (2018). Case study research in applied linguistics. Routledge.

Yin, R. K. (2011). Applications of case study research. Sage.