When to Use a case Study

1 Type of Combined Case Study

• Cumulative: Brings together findings from many case studies to answer an evaluation question, whether descriptive, normative, or cause and effect.
• THINK SYNTHESIS!

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EXERCISE 1. Is case study appropriate? 2. If yes, what type?

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DESIGNING THE CASE STUDY EVALUATION

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Doing Case Studies

• Design

• Prepare

• Define

• Collect

• Analyze

• Conclude

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• Develop
• design

• Select
• cases

• Write
• data
• collection
• protocol

• Conduct 1st
• Case study

• Conduct 2nd
• case study

• Conduct
• remaining
• case studies

• Write case
• report

• Write case
• report

• Write case
• reports

• Draw cross-case
• conclusions

• Modify theory

• Develop policy
• implications

• Write cross-
• case report

• Case Study Method: Adapted from Yin, 2003. Pg. 50.

• Develop
• theory

• Identify
• Evaluation
• issue

DEFINING THE EVALUATION ISSUE

• Why is this particular program being evaluated at this particular time?
• Who is the main client and what are their major concerns and questions?
• How will they use the evaluation results?
• Who are the major stakeholders and what are their concerns and questions?

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DEVELOP THEORY OF CHANGE

• Conduct a literature review
• Talk with experts
• Engage stakeholders in the process of articulating the program theory
• Develop conceptual model of how program/project/intervention is supposed to work = TOC
• Highlight assumptions and relationships between the key elements
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Develop Design

• Design: the overall strategy for systematically gathering and analyzing data to address the main evaluation purpose or issue.
• Begins with questions identified through stakeholder analysis and TOC/logic model.
• Is case study indicated?
• General approach?
• Depends also on the types of questions posed.

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Questions and Case Study Design

• How does the new village well typically affect the lives of the women in the village?

• What types of outcomes both intended and non-intended are associated with the Rural Roads Expansion Program?

• Illustrative
• Case Study

• Exploratory
• Case Study

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Questions and Case Study Design

• How critically important is the support group to the success of the women’s Microenterprise Program?

• How are women using the food and nutritional supplements provided by the provincial health clinics?

• Critical Instance
• Case Study

• Program
• Implementation
• Case Study

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Questions and Case Study Design

• Did educational services provided by the agriculture extension center result in planting of the new grain seed and increased yields?

• Does the body of evaluation literature indicate that the building of roads increases trade and benefits villages economically?

• Program Effects
• Case Study

• Cumulative
• Case Study

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