Case studies are research methodologies that are used and analyzed in order to depict principles; they have been usually used in social sciences. They are research strategies and experiential inquiries that seek to examine various phenomena within a real-life context. Case studies seek to explain and give details in the analysis of people and events. There are several pros that back case studies and there are cons too that criticize them. The pros and cons are listed below.
Pros:
1. They show client observations-Since case studies are strategies that are used and analyzed in order to describe principles therefore it seeks to show indeed the client investigated and experienced a particular phenomenon.
2. Makes practical improvements-Case studies present facts that categorically describe particular people or events in order to make some of the necessary improvements. Case studies data is what supports a particular belief.
3. They are an influential way of portraying something-If a researcher wants to prove a particular principle to be true, he or she must back it by case studies in order to make the other people and the naysayers believe.
4. They turn opinions into facts-Case studies present real data on a particular phenomenon. Since facts about various things are presented then it can be verified through this kind of data if the information presented is in the positive or negative development of opinion.
5. It is relevant to all the parties that are involved-Case studies help the researchers in actively focusing on the data collection process and the participants’ knowledge is bettered. At the end of the process, everybody is able to defend his position through facts.
6. A number of different research methodologies can be used in case the studies-Case study method goes beyond the interview and direct observations. Secondary data can be obtained from various historical sources that can be used to back the method.
7. Case studies can be done remotely-It is not essential for a researcher to be present in the specific location of the study in order to effectively use the case study method. Other forms of communication come in to cover that gap for the researcher.
8. It has a very high cost-If you put this research method in comparison to the others, this one seems more expensive because the cost of accessing data is very high.
9. Readers can access data from this method very easily-The The format in which case studies present their data is very useful to the readers and easily note the outcomes of the same.
10. Collects data that cannot be collected by another method- The type of data collected by case studies is much richer and greater in-depth than that of the other experimental methods.
Cons:
1. Data collected cannot be generalized- The data collected by the case study method was collected from a smaller population it cannot be generalized to the wider population.
2. Some of the case studies are not scientific-The weakness of the data collected in some of the case studies that are not scientific is that it cannot be generalized.
3. It is very difficult to draw a definite cause/effect from case studies-The the kind of data that case studies present cannot be used to draw a definite cause-effect relationship.
4. Case studies concentrate on one experiment-The problem associated with concentrating on one experiment or a specific group of people is that the data presented might contain some kind of bias.
5. It takes a lot of time to analyze the data-This process takes longer to analyze the data because there is a very large amount of data that must be collected. Participants might take a lot of time in giving answers or giving inaccurate information.
6. Case studies can be inefficient processes-Sometimes the researchers are not present in the study areas which means they will not be able to notice whether the information provided is accurate or not terming the whole process inefficient.
7. Case study method can only be effective with a small sample size-If a very large sample size is involved in the case study it is likely for it to become inefficient because the method requires a small sample size to get the data and analyze it.
8. The method requires a lot of labor in data collection-The researcher is seriously needed in the data collection of this method. They have to be personally involved in order to be able to identify the quality of the data provided.
9. There are factors that can influence the data- The method of data collection is meant to collect fact-based data but the power to determine what fact is and what is not is the person who is collecting the data.
10. There is no right answer in case studies-Case studies do not present any specific answer that is right, the problem arises in the validation of solutions because there is more than one way of looking at things.
