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Case Study Methodology: Flexibility, Rigour, and Ethical Considerations for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning

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Pearson, Marion L, Albon, Simon P, Hubball, Harry·2015·The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
DOI 10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2015.3.12
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Abstract

Individuals and teams engaging in the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) in multidisciplinary higher education settings must make decisions regarding choice of research methodology and methods. These decisions are guided by the research context and the goals of the inquiry. With reference to our own recent experiences investigating pedagogical and curricular practices in a pharmacy program, we outline case study methodology as one of the many options available for SoTL inquiry. Case study methodology has the benefits of flexibility in terms of the types of research questions that can be addressed and the data collection methods that can be employed. Conducted with proper attention to the context of the case(s) selected, ethical treatment of participants, and data management, case studies also have the necessary rigour to be credible and generalizable. In the matter of generalization, however, we recommend that the readers of a case study draw their own conclusions about the applicability of the findings to other settings. Les particuliers et les groupes qui sont actifs dans le haut savoir en matière d’enseignement et d’apprentissage (ACEA) dans les milieux pluridisciplinaires de l’enseignement supérieur doivent prendre des décisions en ce qui concerne le choix des méthodologies et des méthodes de recherche. Ces décisions sont guidées par le contexte de la recherche et par les objectifs de l’interrogation. En nous basant sur nos propres expériences récentes quand nous avons examiné des pratiques pédagogiques et curriculaires dans un programme de pharmacie, nous décrivons la méthodologie des études de cas comme l’une des nombreuses options disponibles pour les interrogations en ACEA. La méthodologie des études de cas a l’avantage d’être souple en ce qui a trait aux types de questions de recherche qui peuvent être étudiées et aux méthodes de collecte de données qui peuvent être employées. Quand elles sont menées avec l’attention requise pour le contexte des cas choisis, le traitement éthique des participants et la gestion des données, les études de cas présentent également la rigueur nécessaire pour être crédibles et généralisables. Toutefois, en ce qui concerne la généralisation, nous recommandons que les lecteurs d’une étude de cas tirent leurs propres conclusions concernant le caractère applicable des résultats à d’autres situations.

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  • The study employed a longitudinal case study methodology taking the institution as the case.

    “Insofar as the study was intended to develop an in-depth understanding and analysis of individuals' experiences of educational accessibility at one university over time, we employed a longitudinal case study methodology (Pearson, Albon and Hubball 2015), taking the institution as our case.”

    From Charting the Landscape of Accessible Education for Post-secondary Students with Disabilities (2016) · cites this paper as Pearson, Albon and Hubball 2015

    The Abstract describes case study as a way to examine a complex case in depth, and the Conclusion table identifies a program as a possible unit of analysis. In “One Case, Two Case Studies,” the authors use a university program—not an entire institution—as their case. These passages support the general methodological choice, but do not establish a longitudinal approach or specifically discuss taking an institution as the case; those are choices of the citing study. (LLM, conf=0.84)

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3 of the 30 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Mathison, S. (1988). Why triangulate? Educational Researcher, 17(2), 13-17. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/1174583.pdf
  2. Palys, T., & Atchison, C. (2014). Research decisions: Quantitative, qualitative and mixed- methods approaches (5 th ed.). Toronto, ON: Nelson.
  3. Shulman, L. S. (1997). Disciplines of inquiry in education: A new overview. In R. M. Jaeger (Ed.), Complementary methods for research in education (2 nd ed., pp. 3-30). Washington, DC: American Educational Research Association.

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Authors
Pearson, M. L., Albon, S. P., & Hubball, H.
Affiliations
University of British Columbia (CA)
ORCID
Pearson, Marion L
Venue
The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning
Publisher
University of Western Ontario, Western Libraries
Published
2015-12-11
Volume
6
Issue
3
ISSN
1918-2902 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.5206/cjsotl-rcacea.2015.3.12
OpenAlex
W2192797428
Cited by
64
References
30
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 13 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3
FWCI
16.66
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Canadian Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Scholarship@Western (Western University) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Educational Research and Methods
  • Social Sciences › Education › Evaluation of Teaching Practices
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Management of Technology and Innovation › Management and Marketing Education
Keywords
case study method, scholarship of teaching and learning, research methodology selection, scientific rigor, research ethics, generalizability, pharmacy education, teaching practice, curriculum practice, data management

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