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Encyclopedia of Case Study Research

Quantitative Analysis in Case Study

Contributors: Hubert Korzilius Editors: Albert J. Mills & Gabrielle Durepos & Eiden Wiebe Book Title: Encyclopedia of Case Study Research Chapter Title: "Quantitative Analysis in Case Study" Pub. Date: 2010 Access Date: October 02, 2013 Publishing Company: SAGE Publications, Inc. City: Thousand Oaks Print ISBN: 9781412956703 Online ISBN: 9781412957397 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412957397.n279 Print pages: 761-765

This PDF has been generated from SAGE Research Methods. Please note that the pagination of the online version will vary from the pagination of the print book.

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http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412957397.n279 Case studies using quantitative analysis contain elements of the empiricalanalytical scientific approach. These are often considered as opposing the dominant qualitative approach of case study research. The use of quantitative analysis in case studies may depend, among other things, on the phenomena under study, the research questions formulated, the type of case study, and the sources of evidence used. For case study research, quantitative analysis can be used either on its own or to complement qualitative analysis.

Conceptual Overview and Discussion


In the social sciences there is a rather firm differentiation between qualitative and quantitative research. Each approach has its advocates and opponents, and usually a number of characteristics are used by each to substantiate one's point of view. For example, in regard to the way to collect knowledge about the social reality (the epistemological view in research), qualitative research often proposes an interpretative view. In short, this means that researchers have to imagine themselves as part of the object of research (e.g., employees) and have to understand and interpret the behavior in the context (e.g., organizational change and feelings of stress). In contrast, the epistemological view in quantitative research is essentially empirical analytic. This means that knowledge has to be based on observation through sensory perception, and scientific research methods guarantee that systematical observations result in scientific theories and general laws. To take another stance, the line of reasoning to acquire knowledge can be, in qualitative research, generally inductive. This means that on the basis of collected empirical data (e.g., various observations of employees during a process of organizational change) a broader theory is derived (e.g., organizational change leads to feelings of stress among employees). In contrast, quantitative research is mainly based on deductive reasoning. Here, research starts from generally formulated laws or derived hypotheses that are subsequently empirically tested. In the same vein, other characteristics of qualitative and quantitative research are discussed in various methodological handbooks; however, these differentiations are, in practical research, not always clearly discernible. Even the boundaries of what the researchers who conducted the inquiry themselves call case studies is not fixed

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Encyclopedia of Case Study Research: Quantitative Analysis in Case Study

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but rather permeable. The following example illustrates this. Suppose that over the course of 3 years a research project has examined the educational effects, in terms of acquired study attitude and study behavior, of a revised bachelor's degree curriculum, using a pretest and posttest design in a restricted group of students in one university. Such a study can be labeled as an experiment, when referring to the research strategy; as a case study, when focusing on the educational situation of a restricted sample of students; or as a longitudinal study, by concentrating on tracking the [p. 761 ] same group of students during a certain time span. It could even be that the label case study is chosen to soften possibly disappointing results, implying that outcomes could have been better in other instances. This shows that there may be confusion about the terminology used to characterize a study, such as aspects of demarcating the situation of research, the research strategy, types of evidence, and various data collection methods. Researchers are well advised to give arguments and report why a specific label has been chosen. Nevertheless, when labeled as a case study the evidence in the example just given basically is quantitative. The evidence in case studies thus can be based on either a qualitative or a quantitative approach, or on combinations of both methodologies. Among other things, this may depend on the phenomena under study, the research questions formulated, the type of case study, or the sources of evidence used. This entry considers characteristics of quantitative analysis to see how they might provide a way to perform data analysis in case studies that is complementary to mainstream qualitative analysis.

Case Selection and Sampling


In quantitative analysis researchers ideally strive for samples that are statistically generalizable to or representative of the population regarding a number of characteristics, such as distribution of sex, income and age groups, and so on. To achieve a representative sample, units are drawn randomly from a larger population by some form of probability or random sampling. The sample is considered random when the chance of being chosen is equal (and known) for every unit of the population. This requires a sampling frame, a numbered list of all units in the populationfor example, records of all employees working for an organization. The simplest form of random sampling, a simple random sample, can by achieved by means of tables of

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Encyclopedia of Case Study Research: Quantitative Analysis in Case Study

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random numbers or by using computergenerated random numbers. To make sampling more efficient, variants of simple random sampling are used in quantitative analysis, for example, stratified random sampling, cluster sampling, and systematic random sampling. In case study research the ideal is to realize not statistical generalization but analytical generalization, to be able to generalize results to a broader theory. Case selection is focused on achieving a reflection of the diversity of the phenomena in a population. Robert Yin discusses a number of rationales for case selection. A case may be a critical case to test a theory, an extreme or unique case that is so exceptional that it is worth studying, a typical case that captures characteristics of everyday situations, a revelatory case unfolding phenomena that were previously inaccessible for researchers, and a longitudinal case following a single case in more points in time. By means of all differentiated rationales for case selection a form of purposive or strategic sampling is achieved because researchers deliberately include characteristics of the case into account. So, in case study research, whether a single case is studied or multiple cases are studied, case selection will generally not use sampling procedures derived from quantitative analysis but will instead use a form of purposive sampling. It is necessary here to point to the so-called embedded case studies that Yin differentiates. An embedded case study involves more than one unit of analysis; that is, subunits are considered, and as a result analyses may take places at different levels. Consider, for example, a case study of a single company, a software producer. When there are no clear substantial reasons for selection of subunits the researcher may let chance decide which subunits are chosen. In this case, a probability sample may then result in the selection of various departments within the company (e.g., software production, marketing, and human resources). If this example were extended to an embedded multiple-case study designincluding, say, three more software producersit is conceivable that, in order to make similar comparisons across companies, the selection of the embedded units of the three additional companies is purposive, taking into account departments similar to those in the first company. Depending on the purpose and research questions of the inquiry, embedded case study units can be selected through purposive sampling, probability sampling, and combinations of these methods.

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Encyclopedia of Case Study Research: Quantitative Analysis in Case Study

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Sources of Evidence
One of the characteristics of case studies is that multiple, not just single, sources of evidence [p. 762 ] are used. This is in contrast to experimental and survey research, in which one data source dominates (i.e., observations and questionnaires). Yin differentiates various sources of evidence, with their strengths and weaknesses, among which are possible candidates for quantitative analyses: documentation, archival records, direct observations, and physical artifacts. In case studies, quantitative analyses of these sources will then likely be used in addition to qualitative analysis and in context of the case of interest. Case studies are different from experiments and surveys, in which context effects are controlled, either by the study design or by statistical techniques. This entry does not give an exhaustive account of all possible quantitative sources of evidence in case studies but instead presents some illustrative examples. An example of documentation is the annual report from which numerical information of organizations can be derived and analyzed, such as figures on the number of employees, profits, investments, sickness, and absences. Case studies focusing on working conditions of construction workers could use direct observations, for example, the amount of weight that has to be lifted and moved on a daily basis. An example of a case study of physical artifacts might require one to make an inventory of the art collection of banks in terms of number of art objects and type of art (e.g., figurative art vs. abstract art). This study of physical artifacts could be undertaken in order to explore expressions of corporate communication. Returning to the preceding discussion of sampling, sources of evidence may very well be selected through probability sampling. For example, to compare data from employees of the various departments, the researcher may make selections by using random samples of employee records from all of the company's departments. Yin warns against a potential problem about analyzing quantitative sources of evidence: using categories that are too small and too numerous. This may be especially the case for beginning case study researchers. Yin's advice is that quantitative data should reflect meaningful events. To establish what is meaningful, it is necessary to render explicit the goals of the case study. This requires that the research questions of the case study need to be formulated before data are collected. During the course of the
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study it may, of course, appear necessary to modify the research questions. This will become clear during iterations, which involve moving back and forth in the data collection and data analysis process. Quantitative analysis thus has a different function in case studies than in experiments and surveys. Because the latter research designs are more linear in nature, data analysis is a well-delineated phase in research. Case studies have a process and cyclical character and, as a consequence, the collection and analysis of quantitative data are less fixed and more dependent on what is needed to describe or explain phenomena in their context. In embedded as well as single case study designs it may even be possible to conduct surveys at the level of each (sub)unit. These data may be highly quantitative, focusing on opinions, attitudes, and behavior of individual employees, and the data may be used along with archival information to interpret the success of, for example, organizational changes in the various departments. A possible drawback of collecting sources of evidence in embedded cases is a pooling of results across subunits. If survey data are pooled, an embedded case study design is no longer being used, and the investigation is likely to be a survey rather than a case study design. Thus, it is important to return to the larger unit of analysis; otherwise, the original phenomenon of study will shift. Quantitative analysis can be useful, but it must be considered within the frame of the case study design, examining a phenomenon in its real-life context. To help to choose the right method for achieving the goals in embedded case studies, Ronald Scholz and Olaf Tietje discuss a number of methods that explicitly combine qualitative and quantitative knowledge. They differentiate four types of methods: (1) case representation and modeling (e.g., system dynamics), (2) case evaluation (e.g., risk management), (3) case development and transition (e.g., future workshops), and (4) case study team (e.g., synthesis moderation). These methods all deal with planning and decision making in case studies. An interesting example of the first type is the system dynamics method that, according to Scholz and Tietje, may answer key questions, such as What are the most important variables in temporal dynamics? and What outcomes result from dynamic interactions of variables? In [p. 763 ] situations where groups have to deal with wicked or messy problems (problems that have incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements; in which different people have different views; and whose solutions are often difficult) system dynamics may be used as a problem-structuring method. In case studies, system dynamics may contain a qualitative
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phase in which essential variables are identified and related to each other by a group of people involved (e.g., stakeholders). Characteristics are so-called feedback loops that indicate any reciprocal flow of influence, so it does not take place in just one direction (as is the case in causality). Next, in a quantitative phase the identified relations are quantified and modeled. A quantitative model may then be used to study policy effects of interventions made in the system.

Analysis of Quantitative Data


In case studies, collected quantitative data may be analyzed in connection with other qualitative information but may also be used in their own accord. In combination with the analysis of qualitative data, quantitative data become part of the iteration processes of data collection and data analysis described earlier. Numerical data are collected, analyzed, and interpreted as though they are textual information to which informants and researchers give meaning. For example, archival figures on loss of working time due to illness are related to employee views on working conditions as expressed in open interviews. This may possibly reveal contradictions, such as espoused policies of organizations that are not achieved in practice. Often, such contradictions point to important aspects of the phenomena under study. Because it is likely that the weight attached to quantitative data compared with qualitative information will vary from study to study, no firm statements can be made in that respect. A more exclusive focus on the analysis of quantitative data is evident when statistical analysis is performed. Examples include numerical and graphical displays of variables of study, such as the percentages of employees being ill and bar charts of such figures for different departments. These are called descriptive statistics. Another important characteristic of statistical analysis is to make inferences (estimates, decisions, and predictions) about the population based on the sample of study. An example is to establish whether there is a statistical difference between various employee types and the mean number of days of absence due to illness. Statistical theory states that random samples are used to make correct inferences. Depending on the circumstances, random samples may be needed in case studies.

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Encyclopedia of Case Study Research: Quantitative Analysis in Case Study

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Application
Two exemplars of quantitative analysis in case study research are Vidu Soni's case study on reception for diversity in the public sector and E. B. De Groot, H. Korzilius, C. Nickerson, and M. Gerritsen's study on analysis of text and photographic themes in Dutch and British annual reports. Soni's study focuses on the factors influencing the acceptance of workforce diversity and support for diversity-management initiatives. The sample consists of employees from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The diversity factors are the influence of race and gender identity, prejudice and stereotyping, and interpersonal relationships. Soni used a survey to measure perceptions and attitudes of employees and managers. The study consisted of the entire population of managers and a stratified random sample of employees, with groups based on race and gender. Although the author also reviewed several internal documents and conducted a few interviews, the analysis of the case was based on statistical analysis of quantitative data. One of the findings is that women and minorities show greater support for diversity in comparison to white men. In brief, this is an example of a case study that relies heavily on quantitative analysis. Although De Groot et al. do not use the term case study, their research contains the characteristics of a case study combining a qualitative and a quantitative approach. The study is a corpus (content) analysis of text and photographic themes in Dutch and British annual reports. A qualitative aspect of the study is that the text-genre (written or spoken discourse) annual report is conducted within the social context within which the text evolves and is based on interviews with producers of annual reports. The content analysis of textual and photographic themes uses a sampling procedure that is a combination of a qualitative (purposive, based on [p. 764 ] company size, the company's English language policy) and qualitative (cluster sampling according to industry) case selection method. A list of 97 text themes and 23 photographic themes is registered. Differences in the identified themes between the British and Dutch annual reports are analyzed statistically with chi-square analyses. One of the study's conclusions links the quantitative results with the qualitative evidence by suggesting that thematic differences between the Dutch and British annual reports may be attributable

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Encyclopedia of Case Study Research: Quantitative Analysis in Case Study

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to communicative and historical conventions as well as to current affairs in the business community studied.

Critical Summary
Quantitative analysis is not the most common way to analyze in case study research; however, depending on the phenomena under study, the research questions formulated, the type of case study, and the sources of evidence used the collection and analysis of quantitative data can be profound ways to describe and explain phenomena that would not have been possible had the focus had been exclusively on qualitative analysis. Hubert Korzilius http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781412957397.n279 See also Further Readings De Groot, E. B., Korzilius, H., Nickerson, C., and Gerritsen, M. A corpus analysis of text themes and photographic themes in managerial forewords of Dutch-English and British annual general reports. IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, (2006). vol. 49, pp. 217235. Scholz, R. W. Tietje, O. (2002). Embedded case study methods. Integrating quantitative and qualitative knowledge. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Soni, V. A twenty-first-century reception for diversity in the public sector: A case study. Public Administration Review, (2000). vol. 60, pp. 395408. Yin, R. K. The case study crisis: Some answers. Administrative Science Quarterly, (1981). vol. 26, pp. 5865. Yin, R. K. (2003). Applied social research methods: Vol. 5. Case study research (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
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Encyclopedia of Case Study Research: Quantitative Analysis in Case Study

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