Many studies of Social Problems have used the case study as the instrument of the research method and have described the social phenomena and explained the relations among the phenomena. The case study methodology has the very flexible and contingent ...
Many studies of Social Problems have used the case study as the instrument of the research method and have described the social phenomena and explained the relations among the phenomena. The case study methodology has the very flexible and contingent characters in the survey goals, the survey processes and survey methods. But there are possibilities that many subjective factors intervene in the survey processes of case study.
Thus case study can not sufficiently suggest the scientific proofs th preserve the validity and reliability of research methodology in the respect to the behavioral methodology.
Recently case study is used in many social researchs in the view of being relevant to the hermanautic and critical methodology. Also there are the claims that the case study methodology as "Stories Managers Tell" has the characteristics of the independent scientific research.
In these conditions, this article analyzes several questions in case study research.
First, which implications and typologies does case study have? Which differences does case study have with the other surveys? Second, which criticism does the methodology of case study receive on the bases of the behavioral methodology? Third, in which proofs can the case study methodology maintain the scientific characters against the criticism of the behavioral methodology. Forth, how is the case study methodology reconstructured for the scientific analysis of social phenomena. For these questions, this article reviews the implication and patterns of case study and the difference of the other surveys, and examines the criteria of the scientific research in the bases of the methodology of the scientific research. I analyze the methological characteristics of case stuy for replying appropriately to the blames of case study and supplementing the deficient parts methodologically.
Also I reconstruct the subdivided fields of the case study methodology relevantly in accordance with the criteria of the scientific research.
Analyzing the methodology of case study, I can find several new facts that the established research methodology has missed. The contents are the analytical genelization, the critical roles of surveyer. the multidimentional usages and interpretaions of evidences, and the interactive data survey.
And I suggest several alternatives to supplement the imperfection of the case study methodology by utilizing the pre - studies. The alternatives are the establishment of survey process, the concretness of the survey design, the clearness of survey protocol, and the suggestion of the data- analysis methods.