Abstract
It is widely believed that case studies are useful in the study of human affairs because they are down-to-earth and attention-holding but that they are not a suitable basis for generalization. In this paper, I claim that case studies will often be the preferred method of research because they may be epistemologically in harmony with the reader’s experience and thus to that person a natural basis for generalization.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Bacon, Sir Frances. Novum Organum, 1620.
Becker, Howard S. “Problems in the publication field studies.” In: Arthur J. Vidich, Joseph Bensman, and Maurice R. Stein (eds.) Reflections on Community Studies. New York: John Wiley, 1964, p. 273.
Becker, Howard S. “Problems of inference and proof in participant observation.” American Sociological Review, 59 (1958), 652–60.
Blake, William. Annotations to Sir Joshua Reynold’s “Disclosures,” 1808.
Bohm, David. “Science as perception — communication.” In F. Suppe (ed.), The Structure of Scientific Theories. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1974.
Broudy, Harry S. “The life uses of schooling as a field for research.” In: L.G. Thomas (ed.), Philosophical redirection of educational research. 71st Yearbook of NSSE, Part I, Chapter IX, 1972.
Butterfield, Sir Herbert. History and human relations. London: Collins, 1951.
Campbell, Donald T., and Stanley, Julian C. Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for research. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1966.
Dilthey, Wilhelm. “The construction of the historical world of the human studies” (Der Aufbauder Welt in den Geisteswissenschaften. 1910) Gesammelte Schriften I-VII Leipzig: B.G. Teubner, 1914–1927.
Dray, William H. Laws and explanation in history. Oxford University Press, 1957.
Hampel, Carl G. “The function of general laws in history.” Journal of Philosophy, 39 (1942).
Kemmis, Stephen. An ecological perspective on innovation. Urbana: University of Illinois College of Education, 1974. (mimeo).
MacDonald, Barry, and Walker, Rob. “Case study and the social philosophy of educational research.” Cambridge Journal of Education, no. 1, 5 ( 1975).
Ortony, Andrew. Knowledge, language and thinking. Urbana: University of Illinois College of Education, 1975. (mimeo).
Polanyi, Michael. Personal knowledge. New York: Harper & Row, 1958.
Popper, Karl. The poverty of historicism. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1957.
Schön, Donald A. Metaphor and the social conscience. Paper delivered at the Conference on Metaphor and Thought, University of Illinois, September 1977.
Simon, Julian L. Basic research methods in social science: The art of empirical investigation. New York: Random House, 1969.
Smith, Louis. An aesthetic education workshop for administrators: Some implications for a theory of case studies. Paper presented at AERA, Chicago, 1974.
Tolstoy, Leo. War and Peace. 1869.
Von Wright, Georg Henrik. Explanation and understanding. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1971.
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1983 Kluwer-Nijhoff Publishing
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Stake, R.E. (1983). The Case Study Method in Social Inquiry. In: Evaluation Models. Evaluation in Education and Human Services, vol 6. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6669-7_16
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-6669-7_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-94-009-6671-0
Online ISBN: 978-94-009-6669-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive