Case studies

Overview
A case study is an in-depth study of a particular group or 'case'. It is often longitudinal—studied over a long period of time. A range of qualitative methods such as interviews and participant observation can be used in a case study.

Strengths

 * In-depth qualitative study is likely to be high in validity
 * People can 'speak for themselves'
 * Sometimes a small-scale case study is used as a pilot study

Limitations

 * Practical issues such as research fundings and time
 * Sometimes difficult to generalise the results to a larger population

Examples of Research
Just Like a Girl - Sue Sharpe