2. Case study research is “the study of an issue explored
through one or more cases within a bounded system”
(Creswell, 2007,p. 73).
"This method is appropriate when
the researcher wants to answer a
descriptive question or an
explanatory question"
(Gay, Mills & Airasian ,2009,p. 427)
What
happened?
How or why
did this
happen?
http://cdn.softsailor.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/911-3.gif

3.  Merriam, as cited in Gay, Mills & Airasian (2009), in
explaining a bounded system said, “I can fence in what I
am going to study” (p. 426).
 In education for example, the bounded system might be a
teacher, classroom or school.
“Case study research often explores a bounded system (a
case) or multiple bounded systems (more than one
case) over a period of time” (Creswell, 2007, p. 73).

4. “Case study research can be presented as a strategy of
inquiry, a methodology or a comprehensive research
strategy”(Creswell, 2007, p. 73).

5. CASE STUDY

6.  Creswell (2007) identifies the different
types of case studies as:
• The collective or multiple case study in
which “one issue or concern is selected,
but the inquirer selects multiple case
studies to illustrate the issue” (p. 74).
• The intrinsic case study in which case
focuses on itself. (p. 74).

7. 1) Determine if a case study method is suitable
to the research problem.
2) Ascertain suitable case or cases.
3) Collect extensive data relying on numerous
sources of information, such as “observations,
interviews, documents, and audiovisual
materials” (Creswell, 2007, p. 75).
4) Analyse data in either a holistic or embedded
manner.
5) Report on the meaning or implications of the
case or cases.
(Creswell, 2007, p. 74-75)

8.  It can often be
difficult for
researchers to
identify a suitable
case or cases
(Creswell, 2007, p.
75).

9.  Focus groups encompass everyday social
interactions, including group discussions,
conversations, and negotiations within a diversity of
settings (Bakhtin, 1986, as cited in Kamberelis &
Dimitriadis, 2008).
 Focus groups are essentially a community of inquiry in
which pedagogy, politics, and research merge
(Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2008).
 According to Kamberelis and Dimitriadis (2008),
Foucault’s (1984) genealogical approach, which is
used to interpret the various factors that influence
people, social occurrences, and institutions, is useful
in deconstructing focus groups as pedagogical,
political, and research practices.

10.  Paulo Freire - through literacy programs, Freire
encouraged people to reflect on their circumstances
and to make an effort to improve their lives, often
through political action. Freire viewed education as
a tool for collective empowerment. In Freire’s view,
liberation and transformation are never fully
complete (Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2008).
 Jonathan Kozol - drew on Freire’s emancipatory work
in literacy programs and advocated for complex and
rich word use in deconstructing meanings within
social and political contexts. His study circles were
held in unofficial locations and facilitated the
empowerment of the people from within (Kamberelis
& Dimitriadis, 2008).

11.  Consciousness-raising groups (CRGs) served to formulate theory based
on the experiences of women in second and third wave feminism that
could lead to their empowerment (Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2008).
 Esther Madriz (2000) perceived focus groups in feminism as places in
which women could feel safe, share their experiences with one another,
and regain control of their lives within a nurturing environment, enabling
them to speak out against social injustices (as cited in Kamberelis &
Dimitriadis, 2008).
 Abortion, incest, and sexual and physical abuse were some of the issues
that emerged and were recognized as requiring political and legislative
action (Eisenstein, 1984, as cited in Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2008).
 Third wave feminism emphasized the involvement of women of different
ethnicities, classes, ages, background, and sexual identities (Kamberelis
& Dimitriadis, 2008).
 Informal spaces enabled women to freely share their experiences in
third wave feminism, shedding light on social issues and initiating positive
change (Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2008).

12.  Paul Lazarsfeld and Robert Merton – conducted focus
groups in 1941 to assess people’s perceptions of WWII in
order to continue developing propaganda. These focus
groups were conducted within formal, face-to-face
settings with predetermined themes (expressed content)
(Kamberelis & Dimitriadis, 2008).
 Janice Radway – held focus groups to interpret the
dynamics surrounding women’s interest in romance novels
(socially constructed audience analysis) (Kamberelis &
Dimitriadis, 2008).
 According to Kamberelis and Dimitriadis (2008), focus
groups allow the participants more involvement and in the
research process, decentralizing the role of the researcher
and providing a more democratic style of research.

13. “Feminist research approaches center and make
problematic women’s diverse situations and the
institutions that frame those situations” (Creswell 2007, p. 25)
“The aim of feminist research
is to “correct both the
invisibility and distortion of
female experience in
ways relevant to ending
women’s unequal social
position” (Lather as cited in Creswell,
2007, p. 26)

14. “ In feminist research approaches, the goals are to
establish collaborative and nonexploitative
relationships, to place the researcher within the
study so as to avoid objectification and to conduct
research that is transformative” (Creswell 2007, p. 26)

15. “Feminist researchers need to look for
what has been left out in the social
science writing, and to study women’s
lives and issues such as identities, sex
roles, domestic violence, abortion
activism, comparable worth, affirmative
action, and the way in which women
struggle with their social devaluation and
powerlessness within their families” (Creswell, 200,
p. 26)

16. To explore feminism and the complexities
of gender as a social and cultural marker
through a visual medium click on the
website below
http://www.feminist.com/resources/artspeech/vi
deolist.html#his

17. Action research is described as “critical research dealing with
real-life problems, involving collaboration, dialogue, mutual
learning , and producing tangible results” (Denzin and Lincoln
2008, p. 643)
Two main types of action research:
Critical action research – “the goal is
liberating individuals through knowledge
gathering; also known as emancipatory
action research” (Gay, Mills, Airasian, 2009 p. 488).
Practical action research – emphasizes more
of a “how to” approach to the processes of
action research and has a less philosophical
bent (Gay, Mills, Airasian, 2009 p. 488).

18. Characteristics of action
research (Gay, Mills, Airasian, 2009 p. 486).
Persuasive and authoritative – action research is done
by individuals interested in solving every day problems they encounter in their
job, data sources are identified that provide persuasive insights into the
possibility and impact of an intervention.
Relevant – to the participants and researcher in their particular context
because researcher identifies the area of focus based on specific problems
they encounter
Accessible – not tied to the rigorous methods of other research
approaches. Action researchers challenge their own assumptions, and are
willing to reflect on and change their thinking and practice

19. The basic steps in the action research
project (Mills, G, 2000)
Identify an area of
focus
Collect data
Analyze and Interpret
Data
Develop an action
plan

20. References:
Denzin, N.K., & Lincoln Y.S. (Eds.). (2008). Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative
Materials (3rded.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2009). Educational Research: Competencies
for analysis and applications (ninth ed.) Columbia, Ohio: Pearson Education
Ltd.
Mills, G. (2000). Come to my web (site) said the spider to the fly:
reflections on the life of a virtual professor in Loughran, J. & Russell, T.
(Eds.).(2000). Exploring myths and legends of teacher education (pp. 178-
182). East Sussex, UK. Retrieved from
http://resources.educ.queensu.ca/ar/sstep/S-STEP3-2000.pdf#page=186

21. Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches
(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Kamberelis, G. & Dimitriadis, G. (2008). Focus groups: Strategic articulations of pedagogy, politics,
and inquiry. In Denzin, N.K. &Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Collecting and interpreting qualitative
materials (3rd ed., p. 375-402). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Denzin, N.K., & Lincoln Y.S. (Eds.). (2008). Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials (3rded.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications
Gay, L. R., Mills, G. E., & Airasian, P. (2009). Educational Research: Competencies for analysis and
applications (ninth ed.) Columbia, Ohio: Pearson Education Ltd.
Kamberelis, G. & Dimitriadis, G. (2008). Focus groups: Strategic articulations of pedagogy, politics,
and inquiry. In Denzin, N.K. &Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.), Collecting and interpreting qualitative
materials (3rd ed., p. 375-402). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Mills, G. (2000). Come to my web (site) said the spider to the fly:
reflections on the life of a virtual professor in Loughran, J. & Russell, T. (Eds.).(2000). Exploring
myths and legends of teacher education (pp. 178-182). East Sussex, UK. Retrieved from
http://resources.educ.queensu.ca/ar/sstep/S-STEP3-2000.pdf#page=186