Business Communication

P
ROGRAM
 I
MPLEMENTATION
 C
ASE
 S
TUDY
This type of case study may prove useful when concern exists about implementation problems.
Extensive, longitudinal reports of what has happened over time can set a context for interpreting a
finding of implementation variability. In either case, researchers aim for generalization and must
carefully negotiate the evaluation questions with their customer.
P
ROGRAM
 E
FFECTS
 C
ASE
 S
TUDY
Program effects case studies can determine the impact of programs and provide inferences about
reasons for success or failure. As with the program implementation case study, the evaluation questions
usually require generalizability and, for a highly diverse program, it may become difficult to answer
the questions adequately and retain a manageable number of sites. But methodological solutions to this
problem exist. One approach involves first conducting the case study in sites chosen for their
representativeness, then verifying these findings through examination of administrative data, prior
reports, or a survey. Another solution involves using other methods first. After identifying findings of
specific interest, researchers may then implement case studies in selected sites to maximize the
usefulness of the information.
C
UMULATIVE
 C
ASE
 S
TUDY
The cumulative case study aggregates information from several sites collected at different times. The
cumulative case study can have a retrospective focus, collecting information across studies done in the
past, or a prospective outlook, structuring a series of investigations for different times in the future.
Retrospective cumulation allows generalization without cost and time of conducting numerous new
case studies, prospective cumulation also allows generalization without unmanageable large number
of cases in process at any one time.

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