Further Readings and Resources

Suggested Case Study

Jenkins, K. (2008). Practically professionals? Grassroots women as local experts—a Peruvian case study. Political Geography, 27, 139–159.

This is a good example of a case that was developed from a feminist perspective.

Other Suggested Readings

Merriam, S. B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education: Revised and expanded from case study research in education (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

This book presents the components of case study research as they apply specifically to the field of education; it includes many illustrative examples.

Miles, M. B., & Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This book provides a vast assortment of strategies and tools for data analysis.

Rubin, H. J., & Rubin, I. (2005). Qualitative interviewing: The art of hearing data (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This serves as a good companion for the Seidman (1998) text, presenting various uses of interviews and different perspectives and examples from a husband and wife team.

Schensul, S. L., Schensul, J. J., & LeCompte, M. D. (1999). Essential ethnographic methods: Observations, interviews, and questionnaires. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira.

This includes guiding principles for and practical help with interviewing and observation techniques.

Seidman, I. (1998). Interviewing as qualitative research: A guide for researchers in education and the social sciences (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.

Seidman's book describes a process for in-depth interviewing that involves multiple interviews with the same participant. This text is helpful in understanding all aspects of using interviewing in research and includes many helpful techniques.

Stake, R. E. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This book describes case study as an art, with few restrictions and guidelines. This approach is most appreciated by the experienced qualitative researcher and may appear vague for the novice. Stake uses an example of a case study throughout the text to illuminate each step in the case study research process so the reader can see how each step was applied to an actual case.

Wolcott, H. F. (1990). Writing up qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This book provides helpful insight for when it is time to write the case study report (or any other kind of qualitative research report).

Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This book provides a more prescriptive description of the process of designing and implementing a case study. It may be most helpful for the novice researcher to use this in conjunction with Stake's book (1995).

Yin, R. K. (2004). The case study anthology. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

This book includes examples of case studies from a variety of disciplines.

Organizations and Web Sites

American Educational Research Association—Special Interest Group on Qualitative Research (SIG #82) (www.aera.net/Default.aspx?menu_jd=208&id=772)

This group offers discussions of the philosophy, purposes, and methodological issues surrounding the use of qualitative research in social and educational settings.

Center for Instructional Research and Curriculum Evaluation (www.ed.uiuc.edu/circe/Publications/CIRCE_Publications.html)

Several publications and papers can be found at this useful Web site from those who originated modern evaluation and advanced the status of case study research.