Writing Case Studies in Information Systems Research

2003 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heico van der Blonk
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Methodological Issues ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Information Systems Research

Case study research can be reported in different ways. This paper explores the various ways in which researchers may choose to write down their case studies and then introduces a subsequent typology of writing case studies. The typology is based on a 2 × 2 matrix, resulting in four forms of writing case studies: chronology, play, biography and voices. The four forms are characterized and discussed and some methodological issues concerning the writing of case studies are highlighted.

scholarly journals Using Interpretive Qualitative Case Studies for Exploratory Research in Doctoral Studies: A Case of Information Systems Research in Small and Medium Enterprises

10.28945/2339 ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 535-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shana R. Ponelis
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Doctoral Students ◽  
Research Training ◽  
Research Paradigm ◽  
Case Study Method ◽  
Qualitative Case Studies ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Information Systems Research

The use of the case study method has gained mainstream acceptance in both entrepreneurship and information systems research to develop conceptual and theoretical models that are novel, yet grounded in the literature. In spite of many texts on the case study method and the growing acceptance and use of thereof, there are relatively few examples that discuss how to apply the case study method. The purpose of this paper is to provide such an example by drawing upon the author’s research for her doctoral dissertation in the discipline of information systems and entrepreneurship research. First, the use of qualitative case studies as research method is motivated, then the importance of the research paradigm is discussed and the interpretivist research paradigm justified followed by a detailed discussion of the research design. The paper concludes with a discussion of lessons learned and recommendations based on the author’s experience with using the case study method. The practical yet theoretically founded approach of this paper may be useful to doctoral students who are considering or using the case study method. Equally, supervisors and others involved in research training may find this paper useful as an illustrative example of the case study method for their students.

Exploring the Role of Informants in Interpretive Case Study Research in IS

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 32-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bendik Bygstad ◽  
Bjørn Erik Munkvold
Keyword(s):  
Case Study Research ◽  
Engaged Scholarship ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Interpretive Case Study ◽  
Information Systems Research ◽  
Interpretive Process

Recent information systems research calls for interaction between the researcher and the informants in interpretive case study research. In line with Van de Ven's call for engaged scholarship, we Investigate how to involve the informants in case studies, not only for the collection of facts, but also in the co-construction and interpretation of the case narrative. The paper builds on a longitudinal case study, in which we explored an approach of extensive informant involvement. Using the ladder of analytical abstraction as our analytical tool, we discuss how an extended involvement of informants may enrich the Interpretive process In case study research, and increase the relevance of the findings. We discuss how and under what conditions this form of involvement may take place, and potential challenges of this approach.

Civics education in Malaysia: a clash between ethics, religion and cultural norms

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishalache Balakrishnan
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Project Based Learning ◽  
Cultural Norms ◽  
Digital Citizenship ◽  
Civics Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Qualitative Approaches

PurposeTo showcase the importance of digital citizenship in the current era. This article compares the nine features of digital citizen provided by Ribble and Bailey (2007) with a case study conducted in a multicultural setting and identifies the tensions between ethics, religion and cultural norms in that environment.Design/methodology/approachA case study approach has been used in this research. Why case study? Because it is unique and provides in-depth, unique and invaluable findings. Case studies researchers have contributed to the development of case study research from diverse disciplines. Historical examples of case studies go back as far as the nineteenth century with the biography of Charles Darwin (Stewart, 2014). The dominance of positivism in science in the late 1940 and 1950s in social science sidelined qualitative approaches such as case studies. Although case study research was often criticized for its inability to support generalizations, and thus, provided limited validity and value as a research design (Merriam, 2009; Stewart, 2014), case study research provides intensive analysis of an issue. A Case study is intrinsic, instrumental and collective (Stake, 1995, 2006). Case study research encourages the detailed enquiry of a unit of analysis within its context.FindingsFindings show that current society needs to be educated on the nine aspects of digital citizenship. In the current era, changes are so rapid that every now and then, there must be collaboration and cooperation between different agencies to ensure that the tension between religiosity, cultural norms and ethics would be able to find some common ground. With more knowledge and wisdom on human rights, sustainability education and project-based learning in Civics Education, teachers, students, parents and community should often meet to decide on controversial issues and find ways to ensure that each one in society has the knowledge, skills and values for digital citizenship to grow and flourish.Originality/valueThe article is original in nature and has much social impact.

Design-Based Case Study

2018 ◽  
pp. 50-62
Author(s):  
Cynthia C. M. Deaton ◽  
Jacquelynn A. Malloy
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Design Based Research ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Instructional Innovations

Design-based case studies allow researchers to examine instructional innovations that are bounded by perspective, context, and time. Design-based case study is an approach that blends case study research with design-based research in order to more systematically examine the process and products of an intervention. This approach provides a framework for engaging in iterative cycles of data collection and analysis to determine if, how, and why goals of instructional innovations have been met. This chapter provides an overview of the design-based case study approach and responds to common concerns surrounding case study and design-based research and how design-based case studies address these concerns by building on the strengths of both approaches.

Qualitative Research in Information Systems

2011 ◽  
pp. 291-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Gordon Hunter
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Research ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Narrative Inquiry ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
Qualitative Research Methods ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Information Systems Research ◽  
Research Questions

The purpose of this chapter is to provide the researcher, who already is inclined to apply qualitative research, with an overview of methods. A representative sample of qualitative research methods is presented, which may be employed when conducting information systems research. These methods include Action Research, Case Study, Ethnography, Grounded Theory, and Narrative Inquiry. Examples of these research methods are also included, which provide a description of the method and references to more detailed presentations. Researchers should thoroughly explore these methods and become fully cognizant of when to appropriately apply each method. It is important to ensure that the chosen method addresses the research questions and supports the research objectives.

Applied Multi-Case Research in a Mixed-Method Research Project

2009 ◽  
pp. 120-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Slinger Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Mixed Method Research ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Case Research ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Information Systems Research

Even though information systems is a maturing research area, information systems case study reports generally lack extensive method descriptions, validity defense, and are rarely conducted within a multicase research project. This reduces the ability to build theory in information systems research using case study reports. In this chapter we offer guidelines, examples, and improvements for multicase studies. If information system researchers stick to these guidelines, case study reports and papers will get published more often, improving the rapidly maturing research area of information systems.

Cultural Differences, Information and Code Systems

2006 ◽  
pp. 51-71
Author(s):  
Brian J. Corbitt ◽  
Konrad J. Peszynski ◽  
Saranond Inthanond ◽  
Byron Hill
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
National Culture ◽  
Alternative Model ◽  
Structural Framework ◽  
Systems Research ◽  
Information Systems Research ◽  
And Behavior

This paper explores an alternative way of framing information systems research on the role and impact of national culture. It argues that the widely accepted structural framework of Hofstede reduces interpretation to a simplistic categorical description which in many cases ignores differentiation within cultures. The alternative model suggests, that national culture can be better understood by seeking out the dominant codes that frame the discourse pervasive in a culture and understanding how that discourse affects the obvious social codes of ritual, custom and behavior and the textual codes which express the nature of that culture. This framework is applied to two different case studies — one in New Zealand and one in Thailand — to demonstrate its applicability.

scholarly journals Case study research for better evaluations of complex interventions: rationale and challenges

BMC Medicine ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Paparini ◽  
Judith Green ◽  
Chrysanthi Papoutsi ◽  
Jamie Murdoch ◽  
Mark Petticrew ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Health Research ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Main Body ◽  
Case Study Methodology ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Empirical Case Studies

Abstract Background The need for better methods for evaluation in health research has been widely recognised. The ‘complexity turn’ has drawn attention to the limitations of relying on causal inference from randomised controlled trials alone for understanding whether, and under which conditions, interventions in complex systems improve health services or the public health, and what mechanisms might link interventions and outcomes. We argue that case study research—currently denigrated as poor evidence—is an under-utilised resource for not only providing evidence about context and transferability, but also for helping strengthen causal inferences when pathways between intervention and effects are likely to be non-linear. Main body Case study research, as an overall approach, is based on in-depth explorations of complex phenomena in their natural, or real-life, settings. Empirical case studies typically enable dynamic understanding of complex challenges and provide evidence about causal mechanisms and the necessary and sufficient conditions (contexts) for intervention implementation and effects. This is essential evidence not just for researchers concerned about internal and external validity, but also research users in policy and practice who need to know what the likely effects of complex programmes or interventions will be in their settings. The health sciences have much to learn from scholarship on case study methodology in the social sciences. However, there are multiple challenges in fully exploiting the potential learning from case study research. First are misconceptions that case study research can only provide exploratory or descriptive evidence. Second, there is little consensus about what a case study is, and considerable diversity in how empirical case studies are conducted and reported. Finally, as case study researchers typically (and appropriately) focus on thick description (that captures contextual detail), it can be challenging to identify the key messages related to intervention evaluation from case study reports. Conclusion Whilst the diversity of published case studies in health services and public health research is rich and productive, we recommend further clarity and specific methodological guidance for those reporting case study research for evaluation audiences.

Case Study Research

2014 ◽  
pp. 454-470
Author(s):  
Helen Simons
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Ethical Practice ◽  
Multiple Perspectives ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Political Interests

This chapter explores case study as a major approach to research and evaluation. After first noting various contexts in which case studies are commonly used, the chapter focuses on case study research directly Strengths and potential problematic issues are outlined and then key phases of the process. The chapter emphasizes how important it is to design the case, to collect and interpret data in ways that highlight the qualitative, to have an ethical practice that values multiple perspectives and political interests, and to report creatively to facilitate use in policy making and practice. Finally, it explores how to generalize from the single case. Concluding questions center on the need to think more imaginatively about design and the range of methods and forms of reporting requiredto persuade audiences to value qualitative ways of knowing in case study research.

scholarly journals An alternative approach for socio-hydrology: case study research

2018 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 317-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Mostert
Keyword(s):  
Case Studies ◽  
Case Study Research ◽  
Coupled Model ◽  
Interdisciplinary Cooperation ◽  
Limited Attention ◽  
Coupled Models ◽  
Study Research ◽  
Technical Developments ◽  
Alternative Approach

Abstract. Currently the most popular approach in socio hydrology is to develop coupled human–water models. This article proposes an alternative approach, qualitative case study research, involving a systematic review of (1) the human activities affecting the hydrology in the case, (2) the main human actors, and (3) the main factors influencing the actors and their activities. Moreover, this article presents a case study of the Dommel Basin in Belgium and the Netherlands, and compares this with a coupled model of the Kissimmee Basin in Florida. In both basins a pendulum swing from water resources development and control to protection and restoration can be observed. The Dommel case study moreover points to the importance of institutional and financial arrangements, community values, and broader social, economic, and technical developments. These factors are missing from the Kissimmee model. Generally, case studies can result in a more complete understanding of individual cases than coupled models, and if the cases are selected carefully and compared with previous studies, it is possible to generalize on the basis of them. Case studies also offer more levers for management and facilitate interdisciplinary cooperation. Coupled models, on the other hand, can be used to generate possible explanations of past developments and quantitative scenarios for future developments. The article concludes that, given the limited attention they currently get and their potential benefits, case studies deserve more attention in socio-hydrology.

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