Qualitative Methods Essay Example for Free

Qualitative Methods Essay One of the primary goals of qualitative case study research is in bringing clearness and excellence to knowledge obtained thru previously made researches. Case study methods envisage the analysis of limited number of events in certain context at certain time frame in order to track the existing relationships between them and regarding the surroundings. Nowadays, case study research is a popular and widely used method in social science because its ability to examine the real life situations in the frame of existing theories and methods. Robert K. Yin is one of the biggest contributors into the case research study science, he stresses on the importance of bounding the contemporary studies with its real contexts and the great role case study research leads in this deal (Yin, 1994, p. 22). Case study research procedures always generate the large amount of data, that’s why it is necessary to bring it into order, for getting the information sorted on data, category, history, items, etc. Creating the comprehensive a well organized case study database prevents the researcher from losing the main point and value of his research, at the end the analysis of data is simplified and clarified within the systematization used in database. One the main peculiarities in building and maintaining the efficient database are in ability to maintain the relationship between the particular event and the evidence appropriately. At the time, when data can be physically entered and stored in the database with the capability to bring several data at the same time to be stored in the database, there are the procedures, which should be kept orderly and in certain time frame. The list of these procedures includes documents classification, cross referencing and documentation of important evidences and facts. There are six major steps to be performed for getting the substantial and procedural case study research. They include: 1. Determination and identification of research goals and questions; 2. Selection of targeted cases in the terms of research purposes and identification of research techniques to be used; 3. Preparations to data collection, and building the comprehensive database of collected data; 4. Data evaluation and analysis; 5. Reporting Case study report is an expected outcome of research procedures, its quality and comprehensiveness depends on the quality of database the researcher afforded to build. Going thru all the steps required to be performed in order to gain the main goals of case study research, there is a necessity to stress that case study report is a method to structure and order the all research procedures, which predominate at the earliest stages of investigation. There is a direct link between determination of goals and questions and the report quality. The same relevant boundaries are to be mentioned between case study report and research techniques chosen and preparation for database creation. Preparation of report envisages the creation of procedure, which will allow transforming the complex issues into the comprehensive form, which can be understood by the reader and the questions on the particular research case can be set up. In other words case study research is a method to build a bridge between investigators with massive data stores and the reader, who is surfing for some valuable comprehensive study. Case study report maintains the reader’s ability to use the most complex database created by researches in the way, which is clear and efficiently useful for gaining required knowledge on particular case. Technically case study report deliveries a value of all the cases gathered in research study database have been analyzed and communicated in order to browse the pure outcome acceptable by reader in terms of his/her real life situations. There are various ways to represent a case study report including the ability to review the each case in separate modules or chapter or putting the facts chronologically. One of the methods used for accomplishing the qualified case study report includes the usage of representative audience group in order to receive and independent and sufficient opinion on the draft report document. It is easier to write the revisions afterwards. There is a dilemma. Some researches prefer the study participants to have the access to draft document only, the others underline the efficiency of audience group. The relevancy of data gathered in report achieved by the both methods depends on the accuracy of database accomplishment and evaluation and analysis procedure and the personality of researcher. Case study report is a document structured in a way that makes all the information highlighted and combined in accordance with the different cases reviewed. Case study report is a tool for further construction of the account, thus it should contain the most substantial information along with its deep analysis. Technically database should contain all the available information about case study including meetings protocols, various project documentation, interviews data, surveys, etc. The peculiarity of case study database is in its ability to store collected, documented and classified data, which is easy to be generated into required form of case study report. References: 1. Yin R. K. (1994), Case Study Research Design and Methods, 2nd ed. Newbury Park, Sage Publications