Case Study
For a case study, as in ethnography, analysis consists of making a detailed description of the case and its setting-If the case presents a chronology of events, then I recommend analyzing the multiple sources of data to determine evidence for each step or phase in the evolution of the case. Moreover, the setting is particularly important. In our gunman case(Asmussen& Creswell, 1995), we analyzed the information to determine how the incident fit into the setting in our situation, a tranquil, peaceful midwestern community. In addition, Stake(1995) advocates four forms of data analysis and interpretation in case study research. In categorical aggregation, the researcher seeks a collection of instances from the data, hoping that issue-relevant meanings will emerge. In direct interpretation, on the other hand, the case study researcher looks at a single instance and draws meaning from it without looking for multiple instances. It is a process of pulling the data apart and putting them back together in more meaningful ways. Also, the researcher establishes patterns and looks for a correspondence between two or more categories. This correspondence might take the form of a table, possibly a 2x2 table showing the relationship between two categories. Finally, the re searcher develops naturalistic generalizations from analyzing the data generalizations that people can learn from the case either for them selves or for applying it to a population of cases. To these analysis steps I would add description of the case, a detailed view of aspects about the case-the"facts." In our gunman case study(Asmussen& Creswell, 1995), we describe the events following the incident for 2 weeks, highlighting the major players, the sites, and the activities. We then aggregate the data into about 20 categories(categorical aggregation) and collapse them into 5 patterns. In the final section of the study, we develop generalizations about the case in terms of the patterns and how they compare and contrast with published literature on campus violence