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ABSTRACT
This article presents the fundamentals of case study methodology. After a brief history, the presentation is based on a critical analysis to understand the role and the place of case study methodology in scientific research. Thus, both the advantages and the limits of this research method are discussed and the step-by- step procedure is presented and then exemplified in a clinical context.
KEYWORDS: case study research.
I. INTRODUCTION
1. A Brief History
The history of case study methodology as a scientific research procedure is marked by periods of ups and downs. The earliest use of this form of research can be related to psychophysics and medicine. In the United States, this methodology was most closely associated with the University of Chicago. In 1935, there was a public dispute between Columbia University professionals, who were championing the "scientific methods" (i.e., experiment), and the "Chicago School" (Tellis, 1997). The outcome seemed to be in favor of Columbia University and consequently the use of case study methodology as a scientific research method declined (Tellis, 1997).
However, in the 1960s, researchers were becoming concerned with the limitations of quantitative methods. Hence there was a renewed interest in case study, although the case study methodology is not a pure qualitative or quantitative method (Tellis, 1997).
Indeed, a quick PsycInfo based scientometric analysis confirms this history. From 1806 to 1969 about 1319 articles dealing with "case study" and about 11171 articles dealing with "experiment" were published; the ratio is about 1 to 9. From 1960 to present, about 23151 articles dealing with "case study" and about 46069 articles dealing with "experiment" have been published; the ratio is about 1 to 2, which proves an increased interest in this methodology in the psychological field.
The case study research method is defined as "an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident, and in which multiple sources of evidence are used" (Yin, 1984, p. 23). Thus, case study methodology uses in-depth examination of single and/or multiple case studies, which provides a systematic way of approaching the problem, collecting and analyzing the data, and reporting the results.
Many proponents of case study methodology argue that it is a...