Data Resources

Varied Types of Data Resources

As a research tradition, case study research can involve an eclectic mix of research methods and data resources. One single kind or source of evidence is typically insufficient to sustain a case study; instead, multiple sources of evidence are generally considered essential because of the need for extended descriptions to understand a given case. Multiple data resources provide a description of the case from different angles and perspectives and allow researchers to address possible discrepancies or inaccuracies that could result from a single data resource.

Case studies tend to focus on cases as they occur in natural, real-world settings. To understand such settings it is common to review documents, artifacts, and archival records that have accumulated before and during the case study research period. These data resources might include policy statements, guidelines, reports, letters, memos, meeting minutes, account books, school records, site blueprints and layouts, Web pages, brochures, posters, work products, and so forth. Researchers may consider textual and visual aspects of these resources. In addition, researchers may seek written evidence from participants in the form of questionnaires, journals, stories, sketches, and other such materials.

Interviews are another common interactive method of gathering data for case study research. These interviews could be formal or informal, structured or unstructured, and individual or collective (e.g., focus groups). Interview records might be documented in audio or video recordings, field notes, or transcripts. Interviews could be conducted with individuals who are the focus for the case or with individuals who help to elucidate the case without being the focus of that case (e.g., a case study of a child with special needs might involve interviews with the child her- or himself or interviews with any combination of parents, siblings, teachers, and other individuals who could help the researcher understand the child).

Direct observations for a case study tend to be recorded on site in field notes (which may include textual data, sketches, and maps) and checklists, but they could also be drawn from audio or video recordings or photographs. As well, some researchers rely on trace data captured by software and computer logs, wear patterns left behind in a site, and similar evidence.

It is not always possible to predict in advance what data resources will be most useful or informative for a case study; therefore, case study researchers tend to begin their studies with a broad focus on accumulating any available evidence. Some researchers might characterize the early phases of case study research as a brainstorming approach whereby they consider all kinds of data resources without prescreening, judging, or limiting options. As the study takes shape, researchers become more conscious of the desirable foci for the case study and the relevance of potential data resources.

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