Кейс-метод в исследованиях

Аспирантура 2020/2021

Статус: Курс по выбору

Направление: 38.06.01. Экономика

Кто читает: Департамент менеджмента

Когда читается: 1-й курс, 1 семестр

Формат изучения: без онлайн-курса

Преподаватели: Широкова Галина Викторовна

Язык: английский

Кредиты: 3

Контактные часы: 28

Full Syllabus

Abstract

Qualitative methods, particularly case studies are a popular research strategy used in business and management disciplines. Yet the researcher is faced with a complex set of choices when planning and undertaking a case study. In this advanced course, Doctoral students will be introduced to current debates on case study methodology, key considerations for case researchers during the research process and contrasting perspectives on how the quality of case research should be evaluated. Doctoral students will also be given the opportunity to reflect on and enhance their own research practice. The purpose of this course is to introduce doctoral students to the diversity of ways of conducting case study research and to improve their own research practice. As an advanced course on qualitative research, it is assumed that students have already completed an introduction to research methods. The course has a strong focus on the process of conducting case studies which necessitates interaction with fellow students and instructor over course duration. After this course, the doctoral student will be able to evaluate case research with increased confidence and enhance his/her own case study design.

Learning Objectives

to be able to find appropriate method for the research purposes
to execute several advanced methods of business research
to interpret results of estimation and analysis
to present obtained research results to the academics and business orally and in written format
to master research skills

Expected Learning Outcomes

Be familiar with the key literature and debates on the case study methodology, and their philosophical underpinnings
Understand the main choices that a case researcher faces at each stage of the study, from design to reporting
Have demonstrated the ability to evaluate the quality of case research
Have applied methodological insights gained from the readings and seminar discussion to their own research
Learn how to identify research questions or other rationale for doing a case study
Learn how to develop theory, propositions, and issues underlying the anticipated study
Learn how to use multiple sources of evidence
Learn how to analyse case study evidence and how to display data apart from interpretation
Learn how to compose textual and visual materials in reporting case study

Course Contents

Topic 1: What are qualitative methods and what is a case study?
Key points: (1) Comparing case studies with other research methods in social science (2) What is a case? Discussion on various definitions of the case study and to reflect when a study meets the criteria of a case study (3) Discussion (students’ presentations of the home task)
Topic 2: Positivist and alternative approaches to case studies and the quality of case study research
Key points: • To show that views on the case study stem from differing philosophical assumptions • To demonstrate that the debate between ‘positivist’ and alternative positions on the case study has implications for doing and evaluating case studies • To understand that quality criteria for assessing case research are not value free • To discuss the debate on case studies and (1) generalisability
Topic 3: Research design: selecting cases and casing
Key points: • The ‘traditional’ (positivist) view of research design: Yin (2009) - Key design tasks - Role of theory - Case selection (number, sampling) (1) The alternative view of research design - Rethinking the concept of research design - Process of casing (boundaries, unit of analysis, iteration between ideas/evidence)
Topic 4: Data sources and analysis for case research
Key points: • The ‘traditional’ (positivist) view of research design: Yin (2009) - Key design tasks - Role of theory - Case selection (number, sampling) The alternative view of research design - Rethinking the concept of research design - Process of casing (boundaries, unit of analysis, iteration between ideas/evidence)
Topic 5: Theorising with cases. Reporting and publishing case studies
Key points: (1) To challenge the notion that case studies are only suitable for theory-building (as per Eisenhardt 1989) and show the limits of this approach (2) To argue that case studies have an expanded role to play in theorizing process (theory generation, development, testing – and beyond) (3) To show how case studies can produce meaningful explanations (i.e. beyond exploration) (4) To show that ‘context’ is an essential component of, not hindrance to, theorizing (5) To provide a pluralist approach to theorising from case studies

Assessment Elements

Paper presentation (in pairs)
please find and bring to the first seminar a case study-based article you admire from an academic journal in your field. The case study can be on any topic in your field, but it must have used some empirical method and presented some empirical (qualitative or quantitative) data. Be prepared to discuss a) on what basis you decided this was a case study, b) what, if anything, is distinctive about the findings that could not be learned by using some other social science method focusing on the same topic, and c) why you think this is a quality piece of research.
Participation in and contribution to class discussion
Students’ participation and contribution to class discussion will be assessed during the course.
Examination in the form of an individual written essay
For this task, you will be required to submit a written report (of 8-10 pages double-spaced) by e-mail that analyses the course themes in the context of one case-based article in student’s research area.
Presentations of students’ projects
During the course, students will do an analysis of real data about different industries and markets. They will use them to answer their research questions. Students will report results for each stage of their research and discuss their managerial implications.
Workshops
The course will include three workshops on data analysis techniques, in particular, cluster analysis and factor analysis, panel data, and structural equation modeling.

Interim Assessment

Interim assessment (1 semester)
Final assessment: 50% exam assessment + 50% intermediate assessment Exam assessment: written examination at the end of the course Intermediate assessment: Control work (20%) Problem-solving discussions (20%) Workshops (30%) Teamwork task (30%) Grading policy: The assessment list with all students’ grades will be published in the LMS

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Yin, R. K. . (DE-588)136005616, (DE-576)163641544. (2014). Case study research : design and methods / Robert K. Yin. Los Angeles, Calif. [u.a.]: Sage. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=edswao&AN=edswao.380931494

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Aguinis, H., & Solarino, A. M. (2019). Transparency and replicability in qualitative research: The case of interviews with elite informants. Strategic Management Journal (John Wiley & Sons, Inc.), 40(8), 1291–1315. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3015
Dorothy Leonard-Barton. (1990). A Dual Methodology for Case Studies: Synergistic Use of a Longitudinal Single Site with Replicated Multiple Sites. Organization Science, 3, 248. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1.3.248
Dubois, A. 1962, & Gadde, L.-E. 1945. (2017). Systematic Combining: An approach to case research. JOURNAL OF GLOBAL SCHOLARS OF MARKETING SCIENCE, 27(4), 258–269. https://doi.org/10.1080/21639159.2017.1360145
Eisenhardt, K. M. (1989). Building Theories from Case Study Research. Academy of Management Review, 14(4), 532–550. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMR.1989.4308385
Piekkari, R., Welch, C., & Paavilainen, E. (2009). The Case Study as Disciplinary Convention: Evidence From International Business Journals. Organizational Research Methods, 12(3), 567–589. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428108319905
Plakoyiannaki, E., Wei, T., & Prashantham, S. (2019). Rethinking Qualitative Scholarship in Emerging Markets: Researching, Theorizing, and Reporting. https://doi.org/10.1017/mor.2019.27

Course Syllabus