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PRSM I > Lecture 4: Case Studies and Case Selection > Flashcards

Lecture 4: Case Studies and Case Selection Flashcards

1
Q

Classification

A

Uni-dimensional concept (concepts with one attribute)

  • dichotomies (either/or)
  • purpose = systematizing cases, determining core attributes of a concept
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2
Q

Typologies (same level) and Taxonomy (different levels)

A

Two- or multidimensional concept (combination of two or more classifications)

  • purpose = systematizing cases, determining core attributes of a concept, explanation
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3
Q

Important characteristics of both classifications and taxonomies

A
  • mutual exclusiveness: each case belongs to one class or type only
  • exhaustiveness: each case must belong to one class or type
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4
Q

Systematied concepts

A

Have a structure that determines how attributes are linked to each other

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5
Q

Necessary conditions concept

A

Case must exhibit ALL attributes in order to be subsumed under the concept

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6
Q

Family resemblance concept

A

Case must exhibit ONE attribute in order to be subsumed under the concept

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7
Q

Population

A

Universe of cases, studied and unstudied

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8
Q

Sample

A

Studied cases

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9
Q

Case-centered case studies (ideographic)

A

Aim is to describe, explain, interpret and/or understand a single case as an end in itself rather than as a vehicle for developing broader theoretical generalizations

  • should still be theory-guided and explicitly structured by a well-developed conceptual framework
  • interrogates mainly within-case evidence
  • usually Y-centered (explanation for outcome)
  • leans towards a deterministic way of understanding causal relations
  • often focusses on rare events
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10
Q

Theory-centered case studies (nomothetic)

A

A case study is theory centered when it contributes to the advancement of general theory

  • exploratory / hypothesis generating or modifying case study
  • confirmatory / hypothesis testing case studies
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11
Q

Different research goals of case studies

A
  • case-centered case studies (ideographic)
  • theory-centered case studies (nomothetic)
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12
Q

Selection on the dependent variable

A
  • often levied as a carnal sin by quantitative scholars
  • can lead to jumping to conclusions that any characteristic that the selected cases share is a cause
  • useful for the development of new theories or the identification of plausible causal variables
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13
Q

General objectives of case selection

A
  • useful variation on the dimensions of theoretical interest ( X and Y )
  • representativeness (external validity)
  • puzzle (theoretical / empirical)
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14
Q

Strategies of case selection

A
  • Theory based (cross-case vs. within-case) (theoretical prominence of a case)
  • Distribution-based = statistical techniques (frequentist or causal inference)
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15
Q

Theory based case selection strategies

A
  • most similar (different outcome) case study design
  • most different (same outcome) case study design
  • crucial case study design –> most likely / least likely
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16
Q

Distribution based case selection stategies

A
  • typical case study design
  • diverse case study design
  • extreme case study design
  • deviant case study design (partly theory-based as well)
  • influential case study design
17
Q

Most similar (different outcome) case studies

A

The chosen pair of cases is similar on all the measured independent variables, EXCEPT the independent variable of interest

  • objective for case selection = variation
  • selection of at least 2 cases
  • used to identify and test causal effects between X and Y
  • identification of most similar cases:
    Small-N = cross-tabulation, Large-N = matching
    strategies vs. control variable approach
18
Q

Most different (similar outcome) case studies

A

Reverse image of the most similar (different outcome) –> The chosen pair of cases is different no all the measured independent variables, EXCEPT the independent variable of interest.

  • objective for case selection = variation
  • selection of a set of cases, at least 2
  • used to identify and test causal effects between X and Y
  • identification of most similar cases:
    Small-N = cross-tabulation, Large-N = matching
    strategies vs. control variable approach
19
Q

Crucial case studies

A

Crucial case studies, based on most-likely or least-likely designs, can be useful for the purpose of testing certain types of theoretical arguments.

  • objective for case selection = (un)representativeness
  • useful for confirmatory research designs (theory testing)
  • based on the assumptions that some cases are more important for testing a theory than others
  • best to test hypotheses of the necessary/sufficient condition type
  • most-likely = to confirm a theory
  • least likely = to disconfirm a theory
20
Q

Identifying most-likely / least-likely cases

A
  • based on prior theoretical expectations as how X and Y should relate
  • based on assumptions and scope conditions the original theory states
21
Q

Typical case study

A

The typical case study focuses on a case that exemplifies a stable, cross-case relationship

  • objective for case selection = representativeness
  • puzzle of interest lies on the within-case level (causal mechanism - identification, validation, disconfirmation)
  • Small-N = case needs to display the theoretically expected score on X and Y have a high representativeness of other cases in the population
  • Large-N = selection of cases based on smallest possible residual
22
Q

Diverse case study

A

The diverse case method has as its primary objective the achievement of maximum variance along relevant dimensions

  • objective for case selection = variation (cases represent the full range of values characterizing X, Y, or the X/Y relationship
  • selection of a set of cases (at least 2)
  • can be used for both exploratory and confirmatory research goals
  • for categorical variables: choose one case from each category
  • for continuous variables: chose both extreme values and the mean/median as well
  • for vector variables: use cross-tabulation to choose diverse cases
  • for causal paths: select cases which exemplify different causal mechanisms linking X to Y
23
Q

Extreme case study

A

The extreme case method selects a scase because of its extreme value on the independent or dependent variable of interest

  • objective for case selection = rareness of the value on X or Y
  • aim = maximizing variance between case and population
  • used for exploratory research aims (generating hypotheses)
  • Large-N = look at the standard devotions from the sample mean
24
Q

Deviant case study

A

The deviant case methods selects that case that demonstrates a surprising value.

  • objective for case selection = atypicality (not representative)
  • goal = identify factors that pull back the deviant case
  • useful for investigations of theoretical anomalies
  • identification of new or modified hypotheses
  • disconfirming deterministic propositions
  • identification: by reference to some general cross-case relationship
  • Large-N = logically the opposite of typical case selection, now we are looking for outlier cases that deviate from the regression line
25
Q

Influential case study

A

These studies look at cases that do
influence overall findings of a model

  • objective for case selection = checking theoretical assumptions
  • if these cases would be excluded from an analysis, the conclusions of the analysis would change
  • used to address concerns that the results of a study are driven by one or a few influential cases
  • Large-N: techniques to identify cases with high leverage

PRSM I (6 decks)

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