I prepared myself for the theme by reading all the
material on the weekend before the pre-theme deadline. By doing so I had time
to reflect and try to make sense of the thoughts that arose. In this week’s
lectures we focused on qualitative and case study research. Since we did not
have a lecture this week, this reflection will focus on the seminar. I think that having a lecture helped me better understand the whole topic.
In the seminar, we were urged to not focus so much on
the qualitative part since this topic was discussed in the week before.
Therefore, we focused on case study research and discussed the 8 steps
recommended in "Process of Building Theory from Case Study Research".
In the seminar, we talked about what a case study is. First of all, it does not
start with a hypothesis because there is not enough data about the subject. A
case study does not seek out to address specific hypothesis. The main point of
a case study is to build a theory and not test theory. Furthermore it helps to
enter into an area where you know too little and want to find out more. Also as
a methodology it does not have a clear cut structure.
During the discussion in the seminar, one person gave
an example when a case study was useful: A paper about internet addiction in
the year 2000 in which surveys and interviews were used. The person explained
that it was a good example of trying to find out if something is there or not.
Hi Corinna,
AntwortenLöschenNice reflection! You did a great job on summarizing all the important aspects we learned about 'case studies'. They are clear structured and very useful to help further understanding, since you did not only present the conclusions but also provide explanations. For example, it is good to know that case study does not start with a hypothesis because there is not enough data about the subject. Together with the example you mentioned, it is a very coherent way to study and understand the method. Thanks for your sharing your insightful thoughts. Good luck to your final blog!
Hello,
AntwortenLöschenThank you for sharing. I understand how difficult to write a reflection without a lecture or without a seminar, both of them can lead us to a good reflection. I'm in the same situation with you, in my seminar group talk, we also focus on our reading references, and hope to conclude something from them. I like your example in the end about internet addiction in the year 2000, and you said both survey and interview are used, I'm curious about your reflection about this paper, hope if you can write more. Keep on this good work!
Hello! I agree with you about the lectures and how they help us getting a better general understanding of the topic. The combination of lectures and seminars were great in my opinion, and it was interesting to see how it was one week without the seminar and one week without the lecture! Your findings about case studies seem to correspond with mine, that a case study is used to build a theory and not test theory I think is a good summary! The paper example about internet addiction seems interesting, I would have liked to hear more about it as well as some of your own opinions of this method!
AntwortenLöschenYou have written a very clear and concise text that mananges to summarize what I think are the cost important aspects of case study, Since we were in the same seminar group I also found the example of when case studies are useful very helpful to better understand what a case study is since this was difficult for me to grasp. I agree with you in that case study methodology is used in order to find out more and I also want to add that it is used in order to construct a theory about the field one is studying. Good job!
AntwortenLöschenHi Corinna!
AntwortenLöschenSince this is my last comment on you blog I would like to thank you for all good reflections during the course and I think that you have completed this course in a very good way. I think it was sad that the lecture for this theme was cancelled because I really appreciate to have both lecture and seminar so that you get as much information as possible before the seminar, and at the seminar discuss with the classmates. I agree with you that you are not supposed to have a hypothesis in a case study and that you build a theory in a case study instead of using one. Good reflection and a good job during the course.
Hi! You made very good reflection. I think you point out the most important characteristic of case study such as that goal of case study is to build theory and it doesn't start with hypothesis. I think that this seminar helped to understand the idea of case study and how it differ from other research methods. You shows clear understanding of the topic. Well done!
AntwortenLöschenYou did a good job summarizing the main points about last weeks theme. I also felt that a lecture would have helped me to understand the topic better, but during the seminar I could clarify most of my questions about the theme. I like how you point out that a case study is not about addressing specific hypothesis but about building new theories. For me this is very important to understand what a case study is about. It is about something new where we know nothing or at least not that much about. The thought that it is not about testing theories could be confusing because this is also a characteristic from qualitative methods. But Ilias cleared that in the group discussion that case studies are not about the method, they are about the case. The example you give in the end of your reflection is a very good one to explain how case studies investigate new phenomena and situations.
AntwortenLöschenHi,
AntwortenLöschenThanks for sharing your short but clear and impressive reflection. I like your explanation pretty much which said "The main point of a case study is to build a theory and not test theory" because it is the point that I've never thought before.I suppose that case study is not aimed at proposing any specific hypothesis and it is aimed at guide ourselves to conduct the study.As you said,Maybe we need a lecture to have a better understanding.
Thanks for your sharing. It also gives new ideas to me.