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 the data analysis process, a hypothesis is generated to make sense of the communication event in question, thus driving theory development.

In negative case analysis, when interpreting and analyzing the data, once a hypothesis about the phenomena is put forth, the researcher continues the data analysis process to find any cases that do not support the hypothesis and the original idea is reworked to encompass the negative case. The researcher continues this process of collecting, interpreting, and analyzing data, with the goal of addressing all negative cases until no more emerge in the data. At this point, the researcher can offer an interpretation of the data that is inclusive and supported in the data. Negative case analysis is related to and commonly seen/understood with deviant or disconfirming cases, analytic induction, and used in grounded theory studies. In the process of negative case analysis, the research questions and/or hypotheses about the data are revisited and revised according to the data.[Page 1085] Therefore, the qualitative data analysis is iterative and constantly compared against itself as new data are collected, analyzed, and geared toward theory development. Negative case analysis is a method of boosting qualitative methodology rigor and strengthening validity of qualitative study results.

This entry discusses the qualitative approach to studying phenomena and specifically focuses on the iterative, constant comparative nature of qualitative analysis related to grounded theory. Once the methodological approach has been discussed, more specific information related to negative case analysis, including analytic induction and deviant cases, is discussed. Examples of negative case analysis are shared such as communication challenges chaplains face in providing spiritual care for patients. The entry closes by discussing how negative case analysis offers an opportunity to increase rigor in qualitative studies through reliability and validity in the interpretations of results. Advantages and disadvantages of negative case analysis are discussed last.