During the group discussion with everyone we started by discussing qualitative studies. We discussed what the least amount of participants a qualitative study can have. Ilias instantly answered “one” and gave us the example of a study regarding someone with a very unusual disease. Of course one could conduct a fruitful study just based on this person.
Then we went in to the subject of case studies. We arrived at the conclusion that a case study cannot be used to confirm a theory but rather to gain knowledge. A case study looks at something specific and asks what sticks out? It can also be used before conducting a study with multiple participants since a case study can show if there even exists something interesting to look further into and it can also give you ideas of what questions to ask.
Finally we discussed something that maybe wasn’t very related to this theme but it was a very interesting topic that I would like to share. We talked about scientific studies that challenges the scientific world and what is currently know, like Copernicus did. It’s difficult to present a lot of evidence at the beginning since it’s a new paradigm and others will not be easily convinced. To do so you need to build a strong logical argument for your case. The first evidence you find will not be enough to convince the rest but slowly as more evidence is presented the scientific world with shift towards the new discovery.
Nice reflection, and good recap on the elements of case studies. You got the most important parts of the definition(s) down and your discussions on the seminar seems quite "fruitful". The touch at the end leaves us with something to think about, good.
SvaraRaderaOne aspect of case studies that was mentioned at our seminar was also that it's cyclic, and this because you can do backtracking when conducting a case study. I don't know if you talked about this as well but I thought it would be interesting to share.
Good luck on your last post!
Hello Alexis!
SvaraRaderaI too gained a lot more knowledge into the subject of case studies from the seminar. The most illuminating parts were the "why?" as to where a case study would be a good idea. As you say, a case study would be a good idea when you have a new concept you don't know anything about, where you don't really know how to even study it or from which perspective.
Even though I knew what a case study was, I wasn't certain when I would go about doing one, but after the seminar I felt more certain.
It was interesting to read about what helped you understand the methods discussed during this week's theme better. I think you have summarized the core concepts of case studies in a clear and concise way. Good job! What made case studies more difficult for me to grasp is that the method does not have a clear cut structure. This made it more difficult for me to understand the method and how it is carried out, but I also think that this is a strength, because it provides an advantage over other methods. What do you think?
SvaraRaderaIt was very interesting to read about your learning process. Because for me it was quite the opposite. After we talked about the case studies we were even more confused than before. The reason for this was that the more we talked about case studies the more difficult it became to define what exactly a case study is and how it could be distinguished from other research strategies. But in the end we came to the same conclusion as you did: a case study is used to gain knowledge about an unknown research field.
SvaraRaderaFurthermore, I think that it is a nice conclusion to give a cause for thought by mentioning your discussion about recent insights that could lead to a change of paradigm.
Hi,
SvaraRaderaBased on the content of your reflection I can assume that we were in the same group. You summarized well enough our discussion with Ilias. It was interesting that we could have qualitative research with only one participant. As long as the patient with the rare disease is the only one in the world with this disease, we can have qualitative research and our results will be accepted. But this could not happen if there are more than one patients. Also, the discussion about Copernicus was fruitful and helped me see the meaning of the case study from a different point of view.
Another well-written and interesting reflection Alexis! We didn't have the discussion in our group on how many participants a study should have, and while I agree that one is enough for such a study as you describe, I wonder what guidelines one should follow otherwise? How many times do you need to make a study or how many participants do you need to draw general conclusions? This makes me think of theme 3 where we discussed this a bit and how conclusions are assumptions we find credible.
SvaraRaderaI think you described case studies well and how it's ment for gaining knowledge in comparision to confirm theories. Good job!
I'm not sure I agree with you on the fact that a case study can never be used to confirm theory, only create it. Perhaps I'm reacting to your language, but I'm sure there are some cases where case studies can indeed be used on pre existing theories. In general I agree that it's preferable to use on new topics, as the example with purple and displays.
SvaraRaderaHi!
SvaraRaderaIt shows that you have learned something new from theme 6, and you have many interesting discussions. I think one of the most interesting discussion was about how many people you need to carry out a qualitative study and the conclusion that one only is needed 1. Very interesting!
/Paul
Hi,
SvaraRaderaThanks for your sharing and I agree with you that "A case study looks at something specific"and"It can also be used before conducting a study".While I think it can also to confirm a theory because a case study is more like a guidance with clear steps for us to conduct study. I like your instance that " Of course one could conduct a fruitful study just based on this person. "
thank you