The case study approach;how to design a good interviewguide and make arrangements

for interviews

Arild Holt-JensenProfessor, University of Bergen

Norway

• What is a case study?• Misunderstandings related to case studies

(based on Flyvbjerg 2011)• Quantitative and Qualitative methods• Types of qualitative research• Forms of interviews• Semistructured interviews – interview

guide• Formulate appropriate questions• Interviewing practice; preparation and

afterwork – structure of report

What is a case study?• ’An intensive analysis of an individual unit

stressing environmental factors in relation toenvironment’ (Webster dictionary 2009)

• Today we see case studies as a main approachto social scientific knowledge, but manyscientists think case studies cannot providereliable information about general laws andstructures.

• Case studies are, however, the main focus inwhat Sayer (1984) calls ’intensive concreteresearch’ and recommends as a majorapproach in human geography

Types of research (Sayer 1984)

Place (case study area) links physical, socialrelations and ‘meaning’ (Sack 1997)

Misunderstandings about case studies1. General theoretical knowledge is more valuable

than concrete case knowledge2. One cannot generalize on the basis of case

studies; so useless for scientific development3. Case studies useful for generating hypotheses in

first stages of a total research process, but othermethods needed for theory building

4. The case study contains a bias towardsverification, a tendency to confirm researcherspreconceived ideas

5. Difficult to summarize and develop generaltheories on the basis of specific case studies

Flyvbjerg(2011):the cited notions are wrong

• Case study work needed for students todevelop from booklearning beginners tovirtuose experts! You learn more fromexperienced reality than from books orlectures!

• Deviant cases are main sources of theorydevelopment and prove that ’placematters’ in a world of general globalisation.

• Formal generalisation is overvalued as asource of scientific development, the ’forceof the example’ and transferability areunderestimated

Flyvbjerg (2011) continued• The case study is useful for both

generating and testing of hypotheses, butis not limited to that.

• You may learn more from deviant casesthan the typical or average case: theregion with (deviant) successfuldevelopment – can ideas be transferred?

• Researchers often learn from case studiesthat their preconceived views were wrongand lead to new ideas(AHJ:Rauland 1968)

Conclusion on case studies• The case study approach often lead to

falsification of precoceived notions rather thantheory verification, But there is danger ofsubjectivism (f.ex in selection of informants) .

• There are more discoveries stemming fromintense observations than by statistics froma large group.

• Students can safely be let loose in casestudy reality, which provides a usefultraining ground with insights into real lifepractices which academic teaching oftendoes not provide.

We need both quantitative andqualitative methods

• There iscomplementaritybetween Case studiesand Statistical methodslike there is betweenextensive’generalisation’ andintensive ’concreteresearch’ in Sayer’smodel.

Quantitative and qualitative methods• Questionnaire (many units –extensive)• Structured interview• Semistructured interview (interview guide)• Focus group (round table)• Field talks• Observations (on excursion)• Participant observation (few units-intensive)Few units does not offer general conclusions,but deeper understanding of social phenomena

Main types of qualitative research

• Oral : most used. To get knowledge byspeaking to people (interviews)

• Textual : collect documentaries, fictionand also landscapes used as text (photos,paintings)

• Observational: excursion, get aquainted,can be participant observation if you havetime to live in the area.

ORAL METHODS

• Biography

• Interviews

• Surveys

• Autobiography• Biography• Oral history

• Unstructured• Semi-structured• Focus groups• Structured• Surveys – structured• Questionnaires-structured

Individual

*

General/Structural

Textual sources and observationalmethods

• Textual sources and methods– Documentary sources: newspapers, archives, maps– Creative sources: novels, poems, films, arts and music– Landscape: as text: social differences, building types

• Observational methods– Tourist lookaround: get a feeling of the place– Excursion with guide or with textual background– Participant observation: passive or active? Problem/concern:

influence/affect the study/object-subject relations- to understand semiotics (metaphors,signs)

Which methods should we use?Oral, textual, observational

• We must use the tools most appropriatefor the research questions of the case

• Often we have to use a combination ofmethods in case investigations, but withmain focus on the oral tools

• Interviews gives direct access toinformants. In contrast to questionnairesthey do not intend to be representative;but to understand individuals.

My MA in Rauland mountain farm district• Very simple structured

interviews (questionaire)inall the 350 households.

• Hypotheses: transition tomarket economy withreduction of old farmpractices lead to populationand industrial decline.

• That summer: local festivaltheater on farm. Localtourism!! NEW INDUSTRY

• Hypotheses falsified!

Interviews: direct access to informants• In Rauland I just had one page of factual questions as

in population/agricultural census.• But used 2 summers on the survey,lived in families

and used bicycle. Learned much from observations,social life, informal talks.

• The questionaire approach gave statistical data like acensus, but due to my presence and observations itgave indepth knowledge that was absent in the recentcensus!

• Combination of structured questionnaire andunstructured talks was an asset, but in most casestudies time limit means semi-structured interviewsis the best compromise

Semi-structured interviews• Aim: Not to be representative – but to

understand how individual people(informants) experience the problem youfocus on.

• Interviewing: Face to face conversationwith a purpose

• Critics from positivists: Interviewers biasthe respondents answers by ’leadingquestions’. This is a problem we have todeal with! But: Objectivism; does it exsist?

More about forms of interviews• Structured interviews: Predetermined

/standardised list of questions (‘How manytimes have you crossed the border toRussia the last 3 years?’)

• Semi-structured interviews: Degree ofpredetermined questions, but more like atalk based on an interview guide to secureyou cover questions related to your problemformulation.

• Unstructured interviews: Talks wherequestions are defined by the informantsresponse (Often used: life stories or ’tell usabout what you did last week’)

Strength of interviewing• Filling the gaps of knowledge• Investigate complex behaviour /motivations• Collect diversity of meaning

– Opinions, experiences– Variations by position in society, ethnicity, class,

gender, age / How meaning differ among people– Example: NEHOM cases: 20 in depth interviews in

each urban housing area=ca 5 as’informants’/decision makers, 15 with’respondents’/local inhabitants, which the localinitiatives we had as focus, were aimed at

Interviewing techniques• Interview guide:Used in semi-structured interviews to

remind the researcher on issues to cover – topics andkey concepts to cover – but flexibility in progress sothat it works as a conversation between equals/ createtrust to avoid biased answers.

• Formulate appropriate and good questions:– Language: use neutral, commonly understood concepts –

problems in daily speech with scientific defined concepts– Avoid ambiguity/double meanings / be neutral and non-

offensive– Avoid leading questions!!!!! (Do you agree with the

community elders that inhabitants living in the border regionto Russia should be allowed crossing the border any time?)

Types of questions/ progress in interviews• Descriptive: Roles – ice breaking• Contextual (storytelling): Identify events

/people /places• Opinions: Personal /individual meanings• Structural: Why this meanings – into peoples

ideology• Contrast /comparison: Reflect on contrary

meanings• Controversial questions: confronting more

sensitive issues in end of interview

Interview guide – things to consider• Research questions are usually too broad to

serve as productive interview questions Sofocus on the local context in which the localsare the specialists.

• If you ask a question they will answer it. Butthis means that the ’evidence’ you are gatheringmay not accurately reflect real opinions. Therespondent may not have understood thequestion.

• Therefore: Prepare follow-up questions• Adress topics from ’the side’ (compare with

similar cases)

Interview guide- things to consider• People’s espoused theories (the things they

believe they believe) differ from the theoriesthey use. So to avoid this trap: ask aboutconcrete examples (what they have done ratherthan about general principles)

• Interviews are social occasions. Theinterviewed will want to put his best footforward. Don’t take the first answer as final.– Therefore: Ask for elaboration– Ask for opposing ideas– Ask about Other Influencing Conditions

Interview guide –things to consider• Testimony statement (’this is the truth’)

alone is weak evidence: In general we needmultiple sources of evidence withtriangulation between different sources andmethods.

• If your study is based entirely on interviewsyou need to interview so many in each groupof respondents that you feel you do not needmore interviews to get new opinions or data.

• It may be an idea to ask the same questionwith different phrases or from different angles.

Interviewing practice – preparations• Decide how many you need to

interview, which groups of keyinformants and respondents you need tomeet (considering the time at disposal).

• Agree on formulations in the interviewguide

• Take contact by phone /internet as earlyas possible to arrange time of interviewmeetings with key informants andrespondents

• Decide division of work within group

After the interviews• Write down your notes – immediately: Write

all you remember; behaviour, non-textualresponses, what possibly can have biased theanswers you got

• Transcribe from recording device as soon aspossible.

• Interpretation of the data collected(Hermeneutic approach)- ’reduce your data’

• Write the report – divide the work between youand decide how to present it.

Structure of report (possible)• Problem formulation (aims of study)• Case study areay (based on statistics,

written and internet sources)• Theory that is relevant• Methods used and weaknesses in

fieldwork situation/ interviews done• Results of fieldwork (presentation of your

work• Conclusions (playback to problem

formulation - aims of study)TWO LAST BULLPOINTS ca 50% of report

Fieldwork meansknowledge

victory!GOOD LUCK !

Some references• Flyvbjerg, B.(2011) Case study p. 301-316 in Denzin,N.K. &

Lincoln,Y.S(eds) The Sage Handbook of QualitativeResearch.4th ed. Sage; Thousand Oaks,CAL

• Holt-Jensen, A. (1968) Fjellbygda Rauland. Ad Novas –Norwegian Geographical Studies. Universitetsforlaget, Oslo

• Dunn, K.(2005) Interviewing.Ch.6 p. 79-105 inHay,I.(ed):Qualitative Research Methods in HumanGeography.2nd Ed. Oxford University Press; UK

• Sack, R.D. (1997) Homo Geographicus. John Hopkins;Baltimore

• Yin, R.K.(2009) Case Study Research. 4th ed. Sage; London– Thousand Oaks, CAL. Particularly Ch.4: Collecting CaseStudy Evidence