Case Study Research Designs and Methods – by Yin K Robert (2008)

Providing a complete portal to the world of case study research, the Fourth Edition of Robert K. Yin’s bestselling text Case Study Research offers comprehensive coverage of the design and use of the case study method as a valid research tool. This thoroughly revised text now covers more than 50 case studies (approximately 25% new), gives fresh attention to quantitative analyses, discusses more fully the use of mixed methods research designs, and includes new methodological insights. The book’s coverage of case study research and how it is applied in practice gives readers access to exemplary case studies drawn from a wide variety of academic and applied fields.

Key Features of the Fourth Edition: 

• Highlights each specific research feature through 44 boxed vignettes that feature previously published case studies;
• Provides methodological insights to show the similarities between case studies and other social science methods;
• Suggests a three-stage approach to help readers define the initial questions they will consider in their own case study research;
• Covers new material on human subjects protection, the role of Institutional Review Boards, and the interplay between obtaining IRB approval and the final development of the case study protocol and conduct of a pilot case;
• Includes an overall graphic of the entire case study research process at the beginning of the book, then highlights the steps in the process through graphics that appear at the outset of all the chapters that follow;
• Offers in-text learning aids including “tips” that pose key questions and answers at the beginning of each chapter, practical exercises, endnotes, and a new cross-referencing table.

Case Study Research, Fourth Edition is ideal for courses in departments of Education, Business and Management, Nursing and Public Health, Public Administration, Anthropology, Sociology, and Political Science.

Click here to see full contents.

Table of contents

Foreword vii
Preface ix

1. Introduction: How to Know Whether and When to Use Case Studies as a Research Method 3
The Case Study as a Research Method 3
Comparing Case Studies with Other Research Methods in the Social Sciences 5
Different Kinds of Case Studies, but a Common Definition 16
Summary 21

2. Designing Case Studies: Identifying Your Case(s) and Establishing the Logic of Your Case Study 25
General Approach to Designing Case Studies 25
Criteria for Judging the Quality of Research Designs 40
Case Study Designs 46
Modest Advice in Selecting Case Study Designs 60

3. Preparing to Collect Case Study Evidence: What You
Need to Do Before Starting to Collect Case Study Data 67
The Case Study Investigator: Desired Skills 67
Preparation and Training for a Specific Case Study 73
The Case Study Protocol 79
Screening the Candidate “Cases” for Your Case Study 91
The Pilot Case Study 92
Summary 94

4. Collecting Case Study Evidence: The Principles You
Should Follow in Working with Six Sources of Evidence 99
Six Sources of Evidence 101
Three Principles of Data Collection in Case Study Method 114
Summary 124

5. Analyzing Case Study Evidence: How to Start Your Analysis, Your Analytic Choices, and How They Work 127
An Analytic Strategy: More Than Familiarity with Analytic Tools 127
Five Analytic Techniques 136
Pressing for a High-Quality Analysis 160
Summary 162

6. Reporting Case Studies: How and What to Compose 165
Targeting Case Study Reports 167
Case Study Reports as Part of Larger, Mixed Methods Studies 173
Illustrative Structures for Case Study Compositions 175
Procedures in Doing a Case Study Report 179
What Makes an Exemplary Case Study? 185

References 193
Author Index 203
Subject Index 207
About the Author 219

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