Negative Case Analysis

In communication research studies, negative case analysis is most often used as a qualitative methodological approach to build and strengthen qualitative rigor. This method is used in the formation and revision of assertions about the phenomena under investigation in a study. Negative case analysis is often described as the process of revising hypotheses as each new negative or deviant case arises. However, to avoid confusion about quantitative and qualitative methodology as hypotheses are generally associated with a quantitative study, when the word hypothesis is used in this entry, it does not mean a hypothesis is generated at the beginning of a study and then tested using statistical means but rather it means that qualitative methods of gathering data are used and then in ...