Some comments on single case studies

1991 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geert Aufdemkampe
Keyword(s):  
Author(s):  
Cheng Chen

The studies of post-communist Russia and China have traditionally been dominated by single-case studies and within-region comparisons. This chapter explores why the CAS of post-communist Russia and China is difficult, why it is rare, and how it could yield significant and unique intellectual payoffs. The cross-regional comparative study of anti-corruption campaigns in contemporary Russia and China is used as an example in this chapter to argue that a well-matched and context-sensitive comparison could reveal significant divergence in the elite politics and institutional capacities of these regimes that would otherwise likely be obscured by single-case studies or studies restricted to one single geographical area such as “Eastern Europe” or “East Asia.” By breaking Russia and China out of their respective “regions,” the CAS perspective thus enables us to better capture the full range of existing diversity of post-communist authoritarianism.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 152-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul F. Steinberg

This article considers the role of generalization in comparative case studies, using as exemplars the contributions to this special issue on climate change politics. As a research practice, generalization is a logical argument for extending one’s claims beyond the data, positing a connection between events that were studied and those that were not. No methodological tradition is exempt from the requirement to demonstrate a compelling logic of generalization. The article presents a taxonomy of the logics of generalization underlying diverse research methodologies, which often go unstated and unexamined. I introduce the concept of resonance groups, which provide a causeway for cross-system generalization from single case studies. Overall the results suggest that in the comparative study of complex political systems, case study research is, ceteris paribus, on par with large-N research with respect to generalizability.


2021 ◽  

This book addresses the controversies surrounding smallholders’ opportunities for economic and social upgrading by joining global agricultural value chains (AVC). While international organizations encourage small farmers to become part of AVC, critics point out its risks. Unlike previous single case studies, researchers from three continents compared the influence of the characteristics of the crop (coffee, mango, rice), the end markets, and the national political economic contexts on the social and economic conditions for smallholders and agricultural workers. Their findings highlight the importance of collective action by smallholders and of a supportive state for economic and social upgrading. With contributions by Angela Dziedzim Akorsu, Do Quynh Chi; Francis Enu Kwesi, Daniel James Hawkins, Jakir Hossain, Khiddir Iddris, Clesio Marcelino de Jesus, Manish Kumar, Michele Lindner, Mubashir Mehdi, Rosa Maria Vieira Medeiros, Antonio Cesar Ortega, Thales Augusto Medeiros Penha, Bruno Perosa, Sérgio Schneider and Santosh Verma.


Author(s):  
Julie Q. Morrison ◽  
Anna L. Harms

This chapter consists of three case studies that illustrate how the evaluation approaches, methods, techniques, and tools presented in Chapters 1 to 5 can be translated into practice. The first case study describes an evaluation of the Dyslexia Pilot Project, a statewide multi-tier system of supports (MTSS) initiative targeting early literacy. In this evaluation, special attention was paid to the evaluating the cost-effectiveness of serving students in kindergarten to grade 2 proactively. The second case study features the use of single-case designs and corresponding summary statistics to evaluate the collective impact of more than 500 academic and behavioral interventions provided within an MTSS framework as part of the annual statewide evaluation of the Ohio Internship Program in School Psychology. The third case study focuses on efforts to evaluate the fidelity of implementation for teacher teams’ use of a five-step process for data-based decision making and instructional planning.


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