Stake Case Study Research Questions

Stake, R. (1995). The art of case study research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Chapter 2: Research Questions

• Conceptual Structure
  • Issues can be used as conceptual structure. They "...force attention to complexity and contextuality (p. 16)." Issue questions can be primary research questions.

• Stating Issues
  • "Issue statements will sometimes appear as cause and effect relationships (p. 18)."

• Evolution of Issue Questions
  • "In a qualitative research project, issues emerge, grow, and die. In quantitative research, as an issue becomes more refined or important, a parallel or subsequent study is started; the present one keeps its issues intact (p. 21)."
  • "Each issue can appear to have a life of its own, drawing increasing attention as it becomes more complex and more intriguing (p. 24)."

• Topical Information Questions

• Questions Calling for Coded Data
  • We make the choice about "...how much to rely on coded data and how much to rely on interpretation directly from observation (p. 29)."
  • "Good research questions are especially important for case studies because case and context are infinitely complex and the phenomena are fluid and elusive (p. 33)."