Comparative Case Study Design

Description:

We offer two tailored 5-day (1 week) qualitative methods modules on one of the UK’s most scenic university campuses, close to the lovely beaches of Cornwall. The modules have a practical, hands-on focus on the possibilities and pitfalls of applying a range of comparative qualitative and case study techniques in different research settings. Each module has up to 25 participants and consists of a 3 hour seminar in the morning and a 1 hour lab session in the afternoon each day.

The modules are open to postgraduate research students, PhD students, postdocs, academics, and research-oriented practitioners who engage in social research, across the UK and internationally. Upon completion of a written assignment, each module is credited with an equivalent of 7.5 ECTS points. You can also attend the modules without getting credits if you wish to.

You can sign up for one or both modules. If you have any questions, please contact us at penryn-methods@exeter.ac.uk .

Week 1: Comparative Case Study Design

What? This module provides you with the skills needed to design your qualitative case study research. It covers concept formation, casing and case selection, logics and strategies of comparison, accounting for context and time, data collection strategies, and both conceptual and research-practical issues such as limited diversity, Galton’s problem, conceptual stretching, and thinking about scope conditions. In the lab sessions, we will work extensively with you on your own research projects.

• The logic and goals of qualitative comparative case study research
• Defining, structuring and measuring social science concepts and typologies
• Casing: what is a case? What is context?
• Case selection and scope conditions
• Logics and techniques of comparison across time and space

Who? The course targets MRes and PhD students, researchers and research-oriented practitioners from the United Kingdom and abroad, in the social sciences and beyond. You should have basic knowledge of empirical social research (e.g. what is a case and what is a variable). Those who bring along a specific empirical project will benefit most, but this is not required.

Module aims

At the end of the week, you will:

• Be able to find the suitable comparative case study research design to answer your research question
• Know common techniques of structuring and defining concepts, defining and selecting cases, thinking about time and context in comparative case study research, and analysing and comparing cases depending on the inferential goal, and be able to apply them in your own research
• Be aware of potential pitfalls of comparative case study research, such as limited empirical diversity and conceptual stretching, and ways of addressing them
• Be familiar with some seminal texts about comparative case study research, covering both classics and recent innovations.

Cost:

External participants from within the UK:
Early bird £300 (until 15.3.2019), full fee £350

International participants from outside the UK:
Early bird £550 (until 15.3.2019) full fee £600

Website and registration:

http://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/politics/studying/penrynmethods/

Region:

South West

Keywords:

Exploratory Research, Explanatory Research and Causal analysis, Comparative and Cross National Research, Cross-Sectional Research, Longitudinal Research , Quasi-Experimental Research, Evaluation Research, Case Study, Mixed Methods, Sampling , Qualitative sampling, Non-probability sampling

Related publications and presentations:

Exploratory Research
Explanatory Research and Causal analysis
Comparative and Cross National Research
Cross-Sectional Research
Longitudinal Research
Quasi-Experimental Research
Evaluation Research
Case Study
Mixed Methods
Sampling
Qualitative sampling
Non-probability sampling

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