The case for case studies : methods and applications in international development / edited by Jennifer Widner, Michael Woolcock, Daniel Ortega Nieto.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Widner, Jennifer A., editor.

Woolcock, Michael J. V., 1964- editor.

Ortega Nieto, Daniel, editor.

Series:

Strategies for social inquiry.

Strategies for social inquiry

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Social sciences--Methodology.

Social sciences.

Social sciences--Case studies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xv, 312 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2022.

Summary:

This book seeks to narrow two gaps: first, between the widespread use of case studies and their frequently 'loose' methodological moorings; and second, between the scholarly community advancing methodological frontiers in case study research and the users of case studies in development policy and practice. It draws on the contributors' collective experience at this nexus, but the underlying issues are more broadly relevant to case study researchers and practitioners in all fields. How does one prepare a rigorous case study? When can causal inferences reasonably be drawn from a single case? When and how can policy-makers reasonably presume that a demonstrably successful intervention in one context might generate similarly impressive outcomes elsewhere, or if massively 'scaled up'? No matter their different starting points - disciplinary base, epistemological orientation, sectoral specialization, or practical concerns - readers will find issues of significance for their own field, and others across the social sciences. This title is also available Open Access.

Contents:

Cover

Half-title page

Series page

Title page

Copyright page

Contents

List of Figures

List of Tables

List of Boxes

List of Contributors

Preface and Acknowledgments

1 Using Case Studies to Enhance the Quality of Explanation and Implementation: Integrating Scholarship and Development Practice

Part I Internal and External Validity Issues in Case Study Research

2 How to Learn about Causes in the Single Case

3 RCTs versus Observational Research: Assessing the Trade-Offs

4 Drawing Contingent Generalizations from Case Studies

5 Will It Work Here? Using Case Studies to Generate 'Key Facts' About Complex Development Programs

Part II Ensuring High-Quality Case Studies

6 Descriptive Accuracy in Interview-Based Case Studies

7 Selecting Cases for Comparative Sequential Analysis: Novel Uses for Old Methods

8 The Transparency Revolution in Qualitative Social Science: Implications for Policy Analysis

Part III Putting Case Studies to Work: Applications to Development Practice

9 Process Tracing for Program Evaluation

10 Positive Deviance Cases: Their Value for Development Research, Policy, and Practice

11 Analytic Narratives and Case Studies

12 Using Case Studies for Organizational Learning in Development Agencies

13 Connecting Case Studies to Policy and Practice: Practical Lessons from Operational Experience

Index.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 07 Apr 2022).

ISBN:

9781108612586

110861258X

9781108671750

1108671756

9781108688253

110868825X

OCLC:

1291582159

Access Restriction:

Open Access. Unrestricted online access