The purpose of this section is to compare and contrast case study and quasi-experiment research designs. I will outline how they differ in their general purpose and goals, which in turn dictates their differences in approaching sampling concerns, the type of data collection methods they employ, and the data analysis techniques they employ. For example purposes, I will be utilizing Dorothy Winsor’s Engineering Writing/Writing Engineering to exemplify case studies and Barry Kroll’s Explaining How to Play a Game to exemplify quasi-experiments. Case studies are qualitative descriptive studies, whereas quasi-experiments are quantitative studies. Therefore, while the main purpose of case studies is to merely “discover [and identify] variables” within …show more content…
However, since the two differ in their overall goal, their primary interests and methods of receiving a non-random sample differ. In case studies, emphasis is placed on obtaining a representative sample. As MacNealy states, “if several subjects are [being] studied, then the researcher may want to consider how to best achieve a representative sample” (201). A representative sample is key within case studies, because case studies are designed to help build upon preexisting theories and help generate new ones, so it is important that the subjects providing insight actually have some relevance to the study. MacNealy makes this clear when she states, “a researcher will want to select a subject who is typical of some area of interest to begin to collect insights which, when combined with other insights from other empirical projects, could be used to build a general theory” (201). For example, in Engineering Writing/Writing Engineering, Winsor chose her subject, John Phillips, because he is an Engineer, and therefore relevant to her study; her case study can help frame future research within the scope of engineering and writing only because Phillips represents the sample of people within this field. However, in case studies, researchers cannot generalize beyond their representative sample. On the other hand, in quasi-experiments, pretests are of high importance and “research design hypotheses,” in which researchers make generalizations in order to “account for ineffective treatments and threats to internal validity” are crucial (179). Lauer and Asher state that the “quasi-experiment must have at least one pretest or prior set of observations on the subjects in order to determine whether the groups are initially equal or unequal on specific variables tested in the pretest” (179). This practice is seen in Kroll’s Explaining How to Play a Game,”
Quasi-experimental designs are experimental designs that do not provide for the full control of extraneous variables. Primarily, the absence of control in this design is due to the lack of random assignment to groups. Quasi-experimental research designs are used in the study of cause and effect by manipulating the independent variable.
A study area is expected to capture the complexity of a single case, and the methodology which enables this has developed within the social sciences. Such methodology is applied not only in the social sciences, such as psychology, sociology, anthropology, and economics, but also in practice-oriented fields such as environmental studies, social work, education and business studies. In the research will try to capture the essence of case study methodology : firstly, by discussing the notions of “case study” and “case”. Secondly, by tracing its history; and finally, by making explicit its most characteristic features. The notions of “case study” and “case”. There are different ideas about what case study is. If try to find a common denominator that case study researchers (Yin 1994; Merriam 1994; Stake 1995,1998; Miles and Huberman 1994; Gillham 2001) might agree on, it would be something along the following lines: The study should have a “case” which is the object to study. The “case” should, be a complex functioning unit, be investigated in its natural context wit a multitude of methods, and must be contemporary.
Different styles of research are employed in research to safeguard that the facts are acquired to permit examiners to find resolution to the principal queries for the study correctly, therefore, evading uncertainty ( ). Acquiring relevant proof encompasses stipulating the type of proof mandatory in answering the query. Methodological designs encompass logical complications; therefore, matters of sampling, information gathering methods, and queries are secondary to the type of method used in research. Strategies are often compared with quantitative and qualitative research methods. Research and collective studies are often observed as principal specimens of quantitative research and are evaluated compared to the flaws and strong point of numerical, examination, and quantitative research methods ( ).
The variety of methods and data collection within the research design provided the author with a greater ability to support her thesis.
Deciding which method to use for research depends on resources (time, finances, etc.), and the subject of the research. Case studies have their pros and cons. A major positive aspect of the case study, is one I mentioned earlier, researchers are able to study rare occurrences or situations. Another positive aspect of the case study is there are several sources to attain information such as, observation, surveys, questionnaires, interview, personnel records, and the like.
There was two parts to this study - Part 1 (study 1, 2) was defined as descriptive, and explorative design methods, Part 2 (study 3, 4, 5, 6) is quasi-experimental, it had six sub-studies with various aims, designs and methods. The studies #3, #5, #6 involved quasi-experimental design, meaning subjects are not randomly assigned as they would be in an experimental study.
Each research design has its own advantages and disadvantages, depending upon three conditions: the type of research
Experimental designs are viewed as the most accurate, and most demanding of research designs, requiring strict attention to rules and procedures. Researchers use these research designs to manipulate and control testing procedures as a way to understand a cause and effect relationship. Commonly, independent variables are manipulated to judge or decide their effect on a dependent variable (Trochim & Donnelly, 2008).
The “[r]esearch designs are types of inquiry within qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches that provide specific direction for procedures in a research design” (Creswell, 2014, p. 12). Following Bryman (2012, p. 45), the literature differentiates between the five research designs: experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal, case study, and comparative.
The program used a quasi-experimental research design with a non-equivalent group design as the methodology...
Creswell, J. W. (2009). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Now within the rest of this paper you will be finding a few different things getting discussed. Staring it off we will be discussing the articles that we have found to make our arguments and hypotheses. After wrapping up the literature reviews we will be discussing the hypotheses thus continuing onto our variables and indicators. Once we discuss our hypotheses we will be moving onto the research design. The research design will have our general issues, sampling, and methods.
The nature of research instruments, the sampling plan and the type of data the research design constitutes the blueprint for the collection, the measurement and analysis of data. It aids the researcher in the allocation of his limited resources by posing crucial choices.
There are different types of qualitative research design; namely - a case study, action research, ethnography, phenomenology, narrative inquiry and grounded theory (Saunders et al., 2012). The philosophical position of this study of interpretivism supports the case study approach used to investigate the phenomenon under study. A case study design is particularly useful in empirical enquiry investigating in-depth contemporary phenomena, and drawing data from multiple sources for triangulation (Yin, 2014, p. 16 and 17). Yin (2014) emphasises the importance of context in a case study in research design, adding that the advantage of case study research is the fact that the boundary between the phenomenon and the context within which a case is being studied is not always discernible. Importantly, a case study is pertinent to answering the “who”, what”, where”, “how “and “why” research questions in both exploratory and explanatory studies (Saunders et al., 2012; Yin, 2014). The presented study has chosen a case study design to
According to Mouton, research designs are tailored to address different kinds of research questions. Thus, when attempts are made to classify different kinds of research studies to different design types, they are classified by the kind of research questions they are able to answer. Research designs can be mapped out to the types of research questions (research problem) using four dimensions: 1) empirical versus non-empirical dimension, 2) using primary versus using secondary data, 3) the nature of the data (numerical versus textual data) and 4) the degree of control (structured (laboratory) conditions versus natural field settings)