European Educational Research Journal, Volume 4, Number 3, 2005
Book Review
Embedded Case Study Methods: integrating quantitative and qualitative knowledge ROLAND W. SCHOLZ & OLAF TIETJE, 2002 Thousand Oaks: Sage There is a broad consensus on the demand for teaching methods that allow self-regulated learning. Many different kinds of competences must be tought in a world characterised by a turbulent environment and increasing change in most facets of daily life. It is not enough to indoctrinate passive students with factual knowledge in different fields. In order to enable learners to cope with ill-defined problems in the real world they need to develop strategies themselves which allow them to integrate a broad range of knowledge, skills and abilities from different sources and to distinguish between more and less relevant data. Learning needs to be focused on a broad spectrum of thinking activity, from analysis and synthesis to the drawing of conclusions. Critical thinking also needs to be encouraged. Moreover, at university level, the integration of teaching and research, and their relevance for current social issues are seen to be key issues in higher education. Transdisciplinary case studies seem to provide an appropriate framework for learning, teaching, and doing research on complex real-world-problems. Although case studies have been applied for teaching and research in many different disciplines for decades, the case study approach is still often viewed with scepticism. This often results from inadequate case study design or unsystematic selection of case study methods, obviously leading to weak results and frustrated case study participants. Roland W. Scholz & Olaf Tietje have developed a comprehensive methodology for integrating diverse types of knowledge within a case study. In their monograph Embedded Case Study Methods: integrating quantitative and qualitative knowledge the authors not only provide a good overview of case study typology and design, they also present 11 methods of knowledge integration, applicable for case respresentation and modelling, case evaluation, case development and transition, and case study team work. As the authors state, ‘the case study methodology is suitable for ill-defined problems’ (p. 26), i.e. problems where the initial state cannot be precisely described, the target is not sufficiently known, and the types of barriers which need to be overcome are unknown. In fact, in an embedded case study, ‘the starting and ending points are the comprehension of the case as a whole in its real-world context’ (p. 2). The methodology for conducting case studies presented in this book enables the integration of various kinds of knowledge from different sources by bridging the gap between quantitative and qualitative approaches to complex problems. The book is organised in four parts: After a brief introduction to the methods of knowledge integration and the concept of embedded case studies (chapter 1), part I provides compact information about case study design and synthesis. To aid orientation, case studies are here classified according to different dimensions, e.g. their design, epistemological status, format, or purpose (chapter 2). It thus becomes clear to which type of case study the case study methods subsequently introduced should be applied. Then in chapter 3, the use of case studies in different disciplines (neuropsychology, educational sciences, law, business, and environmental sciences) is described and the specific peculiarities and relationships between the approaches are discussed. In chapter 4, the architecture of knowledge integration in embedded case studies is explained, so that readers become capable of organising case studies in several different ways depending on the specific application needed. The authors distinguish between three different levels of knowledge and corresponding epistemics: case understanding including empathy, conceptualizing and the application of methods of knowledge integration, and finally, casual explaining of scattered data and results from disciplinary subprojects. Special emphasis is put on the choice of a strategy for knowledge integration. After a brief introduction to four types of synthesis, the authors use the Bruswikian Lens model as a prototypical conceptionalisation of synthesis work in order to explain 321
Book Review how a satisfactory synthesis can be achieved. Moreover, they distinguish between the following different types of knowledge integration: the systematic integration of knowledge from different disciplines, organised in a natural and social science interface that allows for interrelationships between quantitative and qualitative research issues; the integration of systems and subsystems of a case, such as different environmental media, and their relation to soft factors, like case history or biography; the integration and mediation of diverse interests of different stakeholders or groups of stakeholders in the case; and finally the integration of intuitive and analytic modes of thought (‘right brain and left brain thinking’). In chapter 5, the ‘ETH-UNS Case Study Zurich North’, an urban planning case study of the Department of Environmental Sciences of the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) is introduced in order to illustrate the given conceptual statements about case study design and methodology. The case study is drawn on throughout the rest of the book and provides evidence of the extensive experience of Roland W. Scholz and Olaf Tietje in transdisciplinary case study work, gained over a period of more than 10 years. Part II of the book, consisting of three short chapters (chapter 6 to 8), gives a brief overview of the 11 methods of knowledge integration that are described in detail in the next part of the book. Here, short descriptions of each method and the key questions posed when applying a certain method are presented. Moreover, the methods are analysed in respect to their potential and appropriateness for integrating various types of knowledge. The authors’ suggestions on how to choose the right method (chapter 8) are likely to be of outstanding importance for most readers of this book. A road map of the methods of embedded case studies is presented as a heuristic to illustrate the relationships between the different methods. Part III of the book consists of 11 chapters (chapters 9 to 19), each of them describing one case study method in detail. All of the chapters are divided into two sub-chapters, the first explaining the rationale behind the specific method described and the second explaining the method in detail in a way that will enable readers of the book to apply the method in practice. On page 72 of the book the methods and their respective key questions are listed (see Table I).
Chapter 9 10 Method Key Questions Case Representation and Modeling Methods Formative Scenario What are the variables crucial to the state of a system and its change? Analysis What can be? What ought to be? What can happen? System Dynamics What variables are the most decisive in temporal dynamics? Which (counterintuitive) outcomes result from the dynamic interactions of the variables? a Material Flux Analysis What ware critical fluxes in materials for the case? What are the sources and sinks of the system/case? Case Evaluation Methods Multi-Attribute Utility How can different evaluation criteria be integrated? Theory Which misperceptions are inherent in an integral evaluation? Integrated Risk In a set of different alternatives, which are the least risky ones? Management Which alternative is the best according to my evaluation? How can/shall I cope with uncertainty? a Life Cycle Assessment How can the main environmental impacts (on a global) level be evaluated? How can the bio-ecological quality of a case site be evaluated? Bio-Ecological a Potential Analysis Case Development and Transition Methods Mediation: Area What causes the conflicts between the principal agents/key players of the case? Development What misperceptions do the case agents have? Negotiations How can we attain Pareto-optimal solutions? Future Workshops Which ideas may guide the question of ‘What can be?’ and ‘What ought to be?’ Case Study Team Methods Experiential Case What does the case look like from the case member’s perspective? Encounter Synthesis Moderation How can I optimize teamwork to improve the synthesis process? How can I find the right method of synthesis?
17
11 12
18 19
13
14 15 16
a
These methods are specific environmental science methods.
Table I.
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Book Review In part IV of the book, i.e. chapter 20, the validation of embedded case studies is discussed. The rationale and theoretical issues of case study validation are discussed briefly, again with reference to the Brunswikian Lens model. In keeping with the approach adopted throughout the whole book, qualitative as well as quantitative criteria for assessing the validity of case studies are suggested. Finally, six practical evaluation criteria are discussed. All in all, the book fulfils its purpose of making embedded case study methodology applicable in a very efficient manner. The structure of the book is very clear and the integration of the methods introduced in the overall design of embedded case studies works well. Although urban planning is a very specialised task, the use of the ETH-UNS case study to illustrate conceptual and theoretical content makes the book more exciting to read and easier to understand. I recommend this book to all scholars working on complex problems, regardless of their disciplines, since the case study methodology is quite independent of scientific field. Perhaps environmental science methods are slightly overrepresented, but given the scientific background of the authors this is no surprise. Nevertheless, the book will be a valuable source for all scholars who are planning or who are already involved in case research in whatever area of application. For case study teaching in particular, I expect this book to become an outstanding handbook for teachers/trainers as well as a very helpful textbook for students. I used this book for the first time in a large-scale transdisciplinary case study at the University of Graz, where research and teaching activities in the field of regional sustainable development were successfully integrated within an embedded case study. For planning, designing and coordinating the case study activities, this book served as an indispensable guide, and facilitated the management of the case study at all stages of progress. The numerous students and members of staff involved in the inter- and transdisciplinary case study also found the book to be an important guide in conducting their case study work. Roland W. Scholz has since founded the International Transdisciplinarity Net on Case Studies for Sustainable Development (ITdNet), bringing together leading scholars from different universities. This group is based on a common methodological understanding and uses the wellestablished research and training model of embedded case studies. This network of excellence aims to substantially intensify contacts between the network members in order to encourage mutual exchange experiences, to initiate mutual learning processes, and thus to contribute to further methodological developments in embedded case studies. Hence, it can only be hoped that similar additional publications will follow so that network members may share their experience of case study work with the wider scientific community. Alfred Posch University of Graz, Austria
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