For this seminar we had two topics to discuss, qualitative studies and case studies. I feel that I already had a pretty good grasp of what qualitative studies are and what it means. Qualitative studies are often used to gain understanding of an underlying issue. The data is often gathered through interviews and observations in a semi or non-structured way. To make any sense of the data it is later analysed and hopefully results in an answer to the complex question.
During the seminar we did not discuss qualitative research and studies for long, since we all new what it was. Case studies was more interesting. I had heard about the term case studies before but did not really understand it and never thought about it as something different from other types of research methods.
A case study is not defined by the method it is using. I.e. it does not matter if the research is using a qualitative or a quantitative method or something else in order for it to be a case study. In a case study you look at a specific object or subject. I think it is important to really isolate the object you are researching in order to really concentrate on just the characteristics and look at what is unique with your study. This is important in order to come up with new theories which is the really strong benefit of using case studies.
Case studies are really useful when you want to do a first study on something that is weird and new. It can be a good start to come up with a theory and a plan on how to continue study the subject. Illias had a funny example for this that if our kids would start wearing all purple and wearing head mounted displays, bumping into each other. We should study this phenomena by isolating it and look at the different characteristics that could provoke this specific behaviour. It is important to sometimes just look at the subject we are interested in to know more about it. We do not always have to follow a specific method in order to come up with new knowledge. For example, Copernicus wanted to prove the we revolve around the sun. In order for him to do this, he did not follow a specific method, instead he made his reasons and arguments through logic, which I think is important.
Well that is all I got, bye bye.
Great reflection on what defines a case study and what it can be used for. I like that you bring up that we don't have to follow a specific method; I believe that if you do follow specific methods your research can become too constrained and the knowledge gained won't be of as great value as it could be if you were to "think outside the box".
ReplyDeleteHello Arvid! A great reflection indeed! Your understanding of case studies seems to be in line with the understanding that I´ve gained during this theme. The realization that a case study is not a method in itself. I like how you bring back the Copernicus example from Kant's text from theme 1 to visualize what you mean. Great job and good luck with the final paper!
ReplyDeleteHey Arvid!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you say about an important aspect of case studies being to isolate what is being studied to investigate what makes it interesting and differentiates it from other cases. This also gives way for what you bring up next, that in this way we uncover the specifics of the phenomena or object in order to study it further. When we know the basics we know when and where the object of phenomena is interesting.
Hi Arvid!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection a lot and agree on many of the points you made about case studies! I believe it is especially important to understand that case studies are more of a strategy when doing research than a method since it in itself contains other methods. I agree that you isolate a case to the extent that you look at just that case, but not to the extent that it is isolated from the environment in which it occurred. I believe the setting of the case is very important in case studies!
Great job and good luck with your final reflection!
Hello Arvid!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like you understood the theme and I enjoyed reading your reflection. I think you provided good examples, both from what's been brought up at this seminar but also from the first theme we had. I think you're right to say that a case study is not defined by its methods, since it's not really a method in itself but a way of thinking when doing research. A combination of research techniques.
Hi!
ReplyDeleteI agree that case studies was something new and therefore more interesting than the already known concepts of quantitative and qualitative research. However, at first, like you mention, it was certainly harder to conceptualize than the previous concepts discussed. The fact that a case study is research conducted on some specific event or object, often times in order to generate new theories (due to it often being research conducted on novel events/objects), makes it very interesting. I agree that it was nice to hear that there are no real right or wrongs when it comes to designing research and conducting experiments, only more and less fruitful ways. There is no framework as to how one should do, it is all based on the study itself and its research questions. Thanks for a great final post-reflection!
Hello Arvid!
ReplyDeleteAn interestning reflection indeed. I think your thoughts on case studies are spot on. The important thing is to isolate the case and look at a specific detail. It is also important to not have any hypothesis or similar before going into the case study. But if the study is about something new and unexplored then a hypothesis is difficult to formulate. Byebye!
Hi!
ReplyDeleteThank you for a very interesting reflection of the theme 6. I you think make an interesting assertion that it is not required to follow any specific method to come up with knowledge, it reminds me that chance/mistakes sometimes can generate knowledge. Well done!
/Paul