Yes, another case study...

I don't know how I can top Brian's post on Yin's article citing Miles's scathing analysis of case studies. By no stretch of the imagination am I an expert on the topic, and I am speaking as a student forced for almost six years to read case study after case study in readings, assignments, etc. I understand the argument that a case study, unlike a survey, is structured as a story. The researcher observes, takes notes, recognizes patterns and similarities, and ends up compiling a representative narrative. Almost the exact same process a novelist follows, although the end result is not as gripping to read.

But during my undergrad studies in English, many class discussions were centred around answering the age-old question: to what extent if fiction 'fiction'? Does the label 'narrative' imply a fictional account? Why are canonical social scientists prone to dismissing case studies - too general? reductionist? unreliable? Why not quantitative research findings, where the numbers can potentially be fudged?

I liked Yin's metaphor of detective work, particularly the reliance on past 'crimes' for solving new ones. Maybe case studies are contextually-limited, but they are also great for recognizing and predicting future patterns of behaviour.

Personally case studies make research concepts come alive for me. I believe in their usefulness as a pedagogical tool.