The discussions in this weeks seminar were very basic due to the missing lecture on Monday. We had to discuss general questions about the topic, for example what our understanding about case studies is and how we define a case study. When Ilias joined our discussion we tried to sum up what we found out about case studies and how we can put all those pieces together into one good definition. The main thing I got to understand during this weeks theme was that a case study generates in-depth knowledge about an in-depth situation. When you take a deeper look at one case you can ask if this certain case applies to other cases as well. A case study can also deal with one case, which would never happen again. Therefore you can gain knowledge about the situation and what to do that this never happens again. A good example for such case studies are terror attacks like 9/11. Another important characteristic about case studies is that they are used when there is not that much knowledge about a very new topic. When doing a case study you do not go with an existing theory or a hypothesis, but you start forming hypothesis after the case study.
One question we came up with in our discussion was how we pick a certain case for a case study. An interesting case is one that we do not see in particular in the existing books. Therefore it has to be a very new situation where you can have a closer look at. Many case studies take place in Neuroscience where very rare and new behaviors or illnesses are examined. The examples Ilias gave were people who have short term memory and keep forgetting everything that happens in 30 minutes or a person that keeps forgetting faces but remembers voices and recognizes people trough them.
A very important thing about case studies is that it is not the method that makes them a case study. Case studies can use both qualitative and quantitative methods. In most cases a mixture of different methods is used to gain the most possible knowledge about a specific case.
In the small group we also discussed our chosen research papers and how we found them. For me it was quite hard to find an interesting case study because I did not really had a good understanding about what a case study is. Reading the paper to prepare for this weeks theme did not really helped me. I felt like the paper was more a collection of thoughts people had about case studies than a in-depth explanation about what a case study is.
In the end of the seminar Ilias came up with Paul Feyerabend, who is an Austrian philospher. Feyerabends main point is that anything is possible in research and that we should broaden our horizon about how to gain knowledge. Having very clear definitions sometimes keeps us from thinking great and from thinking about every possible way to solve a problem. For me this was a very nice ending of the last seminar in this course. It shows how important it is to keep your eyes open for new things and it gives me a good impression how we, as masterstudent at KTH, should think and deal with problems during our studies.
Interesting example with 9/11, and I'd only been in touch with case studies maybe generating theory, but not having mentioned hypothesis as well, so interesting!
AntwortenLöschenNice distinction between case study and qualitative/quantitative methods too. It's important to note just that the method does not define a case study. In a case study you almost go in blindly, not really knowing what to expect from it, and the methods are picked as the study goes on. If something goes wrong you can always backtrack. This goes well with "anything is possible in research" in your last paragraph. Case studies are so broad and opens up for creativity, no limitations or recipes for how things are to be done.
Good luck on the last post!
Hello!
AntwortenLöschenFeyerabend's thoughts stuck with me after the seminar as well. I really liked his points and how it ties to case studies where no previous frameworks may exist etc, but the research methods you use may restrict the research if not used with care.
Great summary and reflection on what we learned about case studies this week, I feel like we had a similar experience for this theme.
Thanks a lot for sharing your thoughts! In this blog post I enjoyed that you give your honest opinion about the canceled lecture. I also had some troubles finding a good paper. In the end, I choose I choose the paper “A Qualitative Research to Classifying Comments in Online Shops Based on Contents” The paper focuses on what online retailers and product producers should pay attention to the advices and items written in comments system of online shops, try hard to mine useful knowledge and discover shortages, so as to improve their services or products effectively. Furthermore, I find your example of the 9/11 case really intersting and that you mentioned Feyerabend and his statement that anything is possible in research. Well done!
AntwortenLöschenHi,
AntwortenLöschenI really enjoy reading your reflection. The example of 11/09 is very interesting. The aspect that defines a case study is not the method of research but the case of the research. The case has to be about one thing that different from the other. That's why this thing is interesting to be investigated. Also, you explained well that the case study is not about confirming a theory. The case study is about something new and there is nothing similar that has been done before to base your research, you are kind of blind when you start a case study.
I am glad you talk about how a case should be picked. And it make sense to choose something that is rather novel and has not been studied before. It is interesting that there are many cases in Neuroscience, but wish they could have happened in our area of study. You talked about a very important characteristic of a case study. You are right, case studies can be both qualitative and quantitive. Exactly what i didn’t know before the seminar. I had the same problem with finding an interesting case study. All in all, enjoyed reading your blog. Cheers!
AntwortenLöschenHi Hannah!
AntwortenLöschenI like that you're honest in your reflection about how you feel about this week (about the canceled lecture and it being hard to find a suiting paper, and I totally agree).
I like the way you seem to have understood the concept of a case study, and it makes it very clear to me as a reader of your reflection that you have understood the concepts when you highlight good ones. In this reflection, I want to complement you on doing the highlighting-part very well.
I also like the final part of your reflection where you've referred to Paul Feyerabend, it makes your reflection look "serious" when you incorporate other sources (especially since we didn't have a lecture this week). However, I do think that you could have elaborated a bit on this last part of the text (maybe you could have tried to find a text by Paul Feyerabend or something like that?).
But I think you did a really good job this week,
keep it up in the final post!
Like for many of us, the question of what is a case study seems to have been your primary topic. I think you summarised it nicely and added several important points that are part of the concept. Especially the point of the method not being what makes a study a case study. That was something that I realised also, that cleared it up a lot for me.
AntwortenLöschenHi! I feel that you have understood the last theme very well and made a good reflection. It's important as you say that a method does not define a case study. A case study is a research strategy where you can use the methods as a guidance and help during the investigation process. I really like your connection to 9/11 as a good example for a case study. To add to your thoughts on that, 9/11 was a rare attack and therefor something that is good to be investigated with a case study. Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
AntwortenLöschen