6:1 Qualitative and case study research

1. Briefly explain to a first year university student what a case study is.

A case study is a form of research strategy wherein you may combine quantitative and qualitative research methods.

Typically, case studies combine data collection methods such as interviews, observations and archival sources, and focuses on a specific target group and setting. Case studies have no hypothesis (initially), uses the research question to focus. Multiple investigators may be involved.

An overlap with quantitative research is the encouragement for observer to in their field notes note react rather than highlight and the “Thinking aloud” process described as important tool to pilot test questionnaires (source: Olof Bälter).

There is sometimes confusion between case studies and qualitative studies. A distinction is that case studies can include qualitative or quantitative data collection, or both. Benefits of combining these is that qualitative data can explain theory or relationships revealed in quantitative data research. Alternatively, build theory from qualitative research supported by quantitative methods.

Finally, case studies can change in process; a case study can begin without hypothesis, but build theory in the study in case unexpected findings justifyies it.

2. Select a media technology research paper that is using the case study research method. Use the "Process of Building Theory from Case Study Research" (Eisenhardt, summarized in Table 1) to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of your selected paper.

“Understanding tourist behavior using large-scale mobile sensing approach: A case study of mobile phone users in Japan” makes its focus clear in early process; the target group and environment are specific yet without hypothesis with broad outcome. This retains theoretical flexibility and a strong foundation for the study. Prior evidence is showcased well, which ties into population mobility, predictability and how this case study can contribute due to tourists being less predictable, supporting theoretical sample selection.

Multiple data collections were made to analyze travel distance, identify work/home- and touristic or non touristic locations. Parallel analyses linked locations to tourist behavior, inflow and outflow to specific cities and attractions, length of trips and more, broadening the study. However, despite the method of solely analysing user data being valid, other methods included could have been beneficial.“As trips became longer, more time was spent in a car, but less time was spent walking” could have used follow up questions to understand why car usage increased. Nevertheless, the extensive data analysies is a main strength of the study.

Field notes from different observers were not contributing. Nevertheless, data collection sets were opportunistic and in some cases very specific and tailored to what can be useful to, for example, urban planners. It could also be argued that avoiding hypothesis formation is beneficial.

A weakness of the study was that only one mobile phone provider in Japan was used. You could criticise that the sample could have been better had they used two different companies as sources. Another weakness was that sample exclusion due to GPS tracking being active less than 350 days in a year. No argument was given as to why this amount of days was required. Frequent international travellers were excluded from the sample and it could be argued that this group could add validity. Furthermore, is it abnormal for a Japanese person to travel 15 days in one year internationally? Could this not have been resolved by using wifi?

The researchers themselves identified additional important weaknesses; missing out bus and cycling means of transportation and trips where mobile phones were not brought being excluded. However, they could have done a better job in connecting conclusions with existing theory and whether it strengthens or weakens what is already known.

3. Select a media technology research paper that is using qualitative methods. Which qualitative method or methods are used in the paper? Which are the benefits and limitations of using these methods? What did you learn about qualitative methods from reading the paper? Which are the main methodological problems of the study? How could the use of the qualitative method or methods have been improved?

Overall, many qualitative studies include sensitive topics such as sexuality, security, privacy, health or finances - sometimes in combination. “Flexible working, work–family conflict, and maternal gatekeeping: The daily experiences of dual-earner couples” was selected on background of reading “Work’s intimacy” by Melissa Gregg where the flexible work space is discussed.

The selected study used interviews and diaries to explore effects of the flexible workplace on dual earners in the UK. To interview a couple individually and together allows for access to sensitive information that may be hard to capture otherwise. At the same time, writing diaries might not be a form of expression that suits everyone. An alternative could be offering respondents to self-record, blog or vlog.

Another con is costly and time-consuming 30-90 minute interviews in participant homes. An option could be Skype interviews, alternatively a combination.

Main problems with the study identified were individuals, heteronormative focus and cultural background influencing results. A bigger sample size with respondents on a global rather than national level could add relevance to flexible workers worldwide (taking legal differences into consideration). LGBTQ couples should be included for better representation.