these criteria are appropriate for their work. Writers of qualitative case study research tend to play down or ignore the salience of these factors (cf. Stake, 1995). Those influenced by the quantitative research tradition see them as more significant, and usually try to develop case studies that meet the criteria ‘One question that has generated a great deal of discussion concerns the external validity or gener- alizability of case study research. How can a single case possibly be representative of other cases? For example, would the findings from a study ofthe ‘o- ronto police department be generalizable to al large turban police departments in Canada? ‘Ihe answer, of course, is that the findings probably cannot be applied to other police departments. Case study researchers do not usually delude themselves into thinking that itis possible to identify typical cases that can represent a class of objects, whether factor- ies, mass media reporting, police services, or com. munities. In other words, they typically do not think that a case study isa sample of one. Types of case Yin (1984) distinguished three types of case, each of hich relates to the issue of external validity: + The critical case. Here the researcher has a clearly specified hypothesis, andacaseis chosen on the grounds that twill allow a better under standing ofthe circumstances under which the hypothesis does or does not old. ‘Ihe cassie study by Festinger et al. (1956) of a dooms- day/UFO cult is an example, The fact that the ‘world did not end allowed the researchers to test propositions about how people respond to thwarted expectations. What did cult members dio when, after quitting their jobs, leaving their homes, and waiting on a mountaintop, nothing happened? Did they sneak down and move to another town? No: they decided that thei faith hhad saved humankind and that their new role ‘was to tel others ofthat miracle so more people could be converted to thei religion. + The extreme, even unique, case a common focus in clinical studies. Margaret Mead’ (1928) well- known (albeit controversial) study of grosing 2 | Research Designs up in Samoa seems to have been motivated by her belie that it represented a unique case and thus could challenge the then popular nature-over-nurture hypothesis. She reported that, unlike adolescents in most other societies, Samoan youth did not suffer a period of anxiety and stress in their teenage years. She explained this by their cultures strong, consistently en. forced standards of conduct and morality. These factors were of interest because many readers thought they might contain lessons for the West + The revelatory case. The basis for the revelatory case exists “when an investigator has an oppor- tunity to observe and analyse a phenomenon previously inaccessible to scientific investiga- tion” (¥in, 1984, p. 44). This can happen when previously unavailable evidence becomes ac- cessible, as was the case with certain KG files after the fall ofthe Soviet Union. ‘Cases may also be chosen for mundane reasons, such as convenience, and still provide an adequate context for answering certain research questions oF examining key social processes. To take a concrete example, Russell and Tyler (2002) studied a Girl Heaven store in the UK (which caters to3- to 13-year old girls) not because it was a critical or unique case, oor because it offered a context never before stued, but because ofits capacity to illuminate the links be- ‘tween gender and consumption and the commoditic cation of childhood in modern society. Indeed, often, it is only at a very late stage in the rescarch that the singularity and significance of the case becomes ap- parent (Radley & Chamberlain, 2001). {As we have mentioned, one of the standard criti cisms ofthe case study is that its findings cannot be generalized. Case study researchers argue strenu. ously that this is not the purpose of their craf A valid picture of one case is more valuable than a potentially less valid picture of many, Their aim isto generate an intensive examination of a single case, which may or may not be used for theoretical analy- sis, Pratt and Valverde (2002) studied only Somalis and expressed a hope that others would study other immigrant groups in other places, Their central con- cern was the richness of the data and the quality of 4548 PART! Fundamental issues in Social Research the theoretical reasoning that the case allowed. As ‘we have noted, sometimes case studies are primarily inductive, used as information to generate theories Other times they may be deductive in nature, pro- vviding the data required to assess theories Problems can arise when the research involves comparison of two or more cases. Dyer and Wilkins (1991), for example, argued that a multiple-case study approach means that less attention is paid to the specific details of a particular case, and more to the ways in which multiple cases can be contrasted. thermore, the need for comparison often leads the researcher to choose an explicit focus at the outset, when it might be advantageous to adopt 4 more open-ended approach. A preference for contextual insight and a less structured research approach is associated with a qualitative research strategy. As illustrated in Box 2.6, comparative case study work is often quantitative in orientation. ‘The strength of comparative designs is that they highlight the similarities and differences be- tween cases, which can be used to assess or gener- ate theories. They exhibit certain features similar to ‘experiments and quasi-experiments, which also rely ‘on the capacity to establish comparisons. Bringing research orientation and design together Finally, we can bring together the two general re- search orientations covered in Chapter 1 with the research designs outlined in this chapter. Table 2.1 BOX 2.6 Comparative research: Cross-cultural studies Phenomena such as voting behaviour or crime victimization in two or more countries can be ‘compared using the same research instruments, seeking similarities and differences and a deeper understanding of social reality in different na- tional contexts. At the very least such research supplies a replication, Cross-cultural research is more expensive than ‘other approaches. It also presents other problems. When using existing data such as official statistics or survey evidence, the researcher must ensure that the variable categories and data-collection methods are comparable. When new data are being collected, the researcher must ensure that data.collection instruments (far example, ques: tionnaires and interview schedules) are translated properly. Even when translation is carried out competently, there may still be a problem with insensitivity to specific national and cultural mi- lieus. For example, the London “tube,” the Toronto “subway” and the Montreal "metro" differ in more than name: public transit experiences in the three cities may be very different in terms of ridership, safety, cleanliness, and so an. A strength of cross-cultural research is that it helps eo illustrate how social scientific findings may be culturally specific. For example, Wilson's (2002) examination of Ontario raves made frequent com- parisons to the earlier rave scene in Britain, How- ever, the UK scene was primarily an outgrowth of working-class struggles, whereas Canadian raves appealed more to middle-class, culturally alien- ated youths. Similarly, Baer et al, (2001) found that joining clubs and voluntary organizations in- creased toward the end of the last century in the US, West Germany, and the Netherlands, was stable in Canada and 10 other countries, but decreased in Spain, Finally, Young and Dugas (2012) compared Canadian print media coverage of climate change issues in English-language publications with those in written in French, and found that the different environmental and media cultures in the two lan- guage communities contributed toimportant ctfer- ences in how climate change topics were narratedshows the typical form associated with each com. bination of research orientation and research design, along with a number of examples that either have been encountered so far or will be covered in later chapters, Table 2.1 also refers to research methods to be introduced in later chapters, but not referred to s0 far, The Glossary provides a quick reference for unfamiliar terms. “The distinctions are not always perfect. In particular, in some qualitative research it is not obvious whether a study is an example of a longi: tudinal design or a case study design. Life history 2 | Research Designs studies, research that concentrates on a specific issue over time, and ethnography, in which the researcher charts change in a single case, contain elements of both designs. Such studies are per- hhaps better conceptualized as longitudinal case studies rather than as belonging to one category or another. A further point is that there is no typ- ical form in the qualitative research orientation/ experimental research design cell. Qualitative re- search in the context of true experiments is very unusual; a quasi-experimental design is a more realistic alternative, TABLE 2.1 | Research strategy and research design GENERAL RESEARCH ORIENTATION Research design Quantitative Qualitative Experimental discussed in this chapter. Cross-sectional another. Example: Box 1.3. Longitudinal Example: Box 2.5 Case study Typical form: Most experiments involve {quantitative comparisons between ‘experimental and control groups on the dependent variable. Example: the Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) study ‘Tpical form: Survey research and structured observation on a sample at a single point in time are two forms; content analysis of a sample of documents is ‘Wpical form: Survey research on a ‘sample on more than one occasion, as In panel and cohort studies, is one form; content analysis of documents relating to different time periods is another. ‘Tpical form: Survey research is conducted fon a single case with a view to revealing Important features about its nature. Example: the Bellet al. (2007) study of the 2004 Alberta provincial election. Experiments are not used in qualitative research, although they may inspire ‘or be inspired by qualitative findings. For example, @ qualitative study of the teachers who participated in the Rosenthal ‘and Jacobson (1968) study discussed in this chapter would be enligntening. Typical form: Qualitative interviews or focus groups at a single point in time are two forms; qualitative content analysis of a set of documents relating to a single period is another. Example: the Beardsworth and Kell (1992) study of vegetarianism discussed in this chapter. Typical form: These include ethnographic research over a long period, qualitative Interviewing on more than one occasion, (or qualitative content analysis of documents relating to different time periods. Such research is longitudinal when the main purpose is to map change. Example: the Lynd and Lynd (1929) study of "Middletown" discussed in this chapter. Typical form: The intensive study done by qualitative interviewing of a single cease, which may be an organization, person, family, or community. Example: Box 1.4. aPART! Fundamental issues in Social Research Key Points + There is an important distinction between @ gen- feral research orientation (quantitative versus qualitative) and a research design + The nomothetic approach to explanation involves discovering general laws and principles. + Nomothetic explanations must satisfy three cri- teria of causation: correlation, time order, and ‘non-spuriousness. + Qualitative researchers usually take the idl graphic approach to explanation, which entails Creating a rich description of a person or group based on the perceptions and feelings of the people studied. Questions for Review (r) and Creative Application (a) Criteria for the evaluation of social research IR Explain the time order criterion of causation, AA survey researcher finds that people with high self-esteem make more money than people with low self-esteem. You are tempted to conclude from this that self-esteem influences earning power. But can time order be established using this design? Explain. R What is 2 spurious correlation? A You are at a dance party where a lot of alcohol is, being served. You abstain from drinking, but notice that the people with the craziest dancing style are the most likely to go to the washroom and vomit. Should you conclude that dancing crazily induces vomiting? Explain, R What is 2 nomothetic explanation? ‘A Come up with a nomothetic explanation for why students sometimes drop out of university. R What is an iiographic explanation? How do quali- tative researchers produce them? ‘A Assume that your best friend just dropped out of university. Come up with an idiographic explana- tion of how that happened. Research designs Experimental design How are tue experiments able to establish causal connections between variables? Explain. ‘A You want to know whether the amount of time spent on social media affects loneliness levels + Replicability, validity (measurement and external). and the ability to establish causation are import ant criteria for evaluating the quality of quantita: tive social research + Four key research designs are experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal, and case sty. + Threats to the establishment of causation are of particular importance in nan-experimental, quan titative research + External validity is @ concern with case studies (generalizability) and laboratory experiments (findings may not be applicable outside the re- search environment) ‘among.15-year-olds at summer camp. You decide to conduct an experiment, and have followed proper ‘ethics protocols. How could you conduct the ex: periment? Provide as much detail as possible What isa quasi-experiment? ‘A You want to know whether the legalization of marijuana in Canada will affect national crime rates. How could you use the quasiexperimental method to research ths issue? Explain Cross-sectional design R What is meant by across-sectional research design? ‘A How could you use a cross-sectional design to de- termine whether there is an association between the amount of time spent studying and grades? [Assess the degree to which your method can es- tablish causality Longitudinal design(s) FR Why might a longitudinal research design be su- periorto a cross-sectional one? ‘A How could @ qualitative researcher use a longi tudinal design to study people active in a local en- vironmental movement? case study design What isa case study? [A Pick a particular case (itcan be any person, group, ‘or event) and explain how a qualitative researcher could study it. Then describe how a quantitative researcher could gather information on the case that is relevant to the findings of the qualitative investigator.Interactive Classroom Activities 1. This activity involves some friendly competition. Divide the class into small groups. Each group is given 15 minutes to come up with as many ‘examples of spurious correlations as they can (eg. the correlation between the number of fire trucks at a fire and the amount of fire damage). Examples given in this chapter or in previous classes are not allowed. After the time is up, a spokesperson from each group presents the group's spurious correlations to the rest of the class, and the instructor judges whether each cone is in fact an example of a spurious correla- tion, The instructor also keeps a record of all groups’ accepted correlations. The group with the most accepted correlations wins. ‘Once that has been done, the class examines each correlation individually. The instructor asks for volunteers to name an antecedent third factor that might be causing the two variables to vary Rel b: The National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth site provides information on an ongoing, longi- tudinal study in Canada, ‘www12.statcan.ge.ca/census-recensement/2011/ rel/92-135/surveys-enquetes/nationalchildren- nationaleenfants-eng.cfm The Online Dictionary of the Social Sciences site, maintained by Athabasca University, “has 1000 entries covering the disciptines of sociology, criminology, pol- itical science and women's study with a commitment to Canadian examples and events and names.” bhtipy/bitbucket icaap.org/dict pt The Research Methods Knowledge Base provides a detailed discussion of various types of experimental design 2 | Research Designs together (eg, it would be the severity ofthe fre for the fire trucks and damage example given above). 2. Divide the class into small groups. Each group isto a, pick a social phenomenon or experience of in: terest (eg, sex work, homelessness) b. provide a nomothetic explanation for it; and . provide an idiographic explanation for it ‘The groups are to go into as much detail as pos sible When thatis completed, each group is paired with another group (A and B, Cand D, Eand F, etc) such that Group A presents ts results to the rest of the class, while Group B has the task of providing. 2 critical evaluation (enumerating both strengths ‘and weaknesses) of Group A's arguments. Then the reverse: Group B presents and Group A critiques. Repeat for Groups C and, € and F, and so on The Human Genome Project site offers some basic information on this 23-year project and its implica: tions for understanding human behaviour. /hups/web.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_ Genome/index.shtmt The Behavior Genetics Association, an international organization, provides a forum for the dissemination of behavioural genetic research and offers methodo. Logical workshops. www.bga.org (weber secessee 6 ocene-2036) ep Dashboard Met resources ae available an Dashboard Visit dashboard. oup.com for: + Student study Guide + Student self-quiz + Flash cards + Audio clips + Videos + Web links + Activities 49