Essay Sample on Qualitative Research Case Study: Sample and Instrument

The presented case study focuses on a contemporary phenomenon and as such, research on the matter attempts to answer the "how" and "why" questions. Additionally, the situation does not give the researcher control over the behavioral events. Therefore, of the several forms of social sciences research available, case study research is the most appropriate to use in this case (Yin, 2014). This paper will present specific questions for use in gathering information from participants through interviews. Further, it will discuss the type of sample selected, size, and for the situation, its preference compared to others.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

In-depth interviews in the case where they are used more like guided conversations as opposed to structured queries have proved to be useful tools for providing case study evidence. These case study interviews call for the researcher to satisfy both their inquiry and inspire some level of comfort in the respondents. While the researchers might be tempted to ask the "why" questions, these might as a consequence result in defensiveness on the part of the respondent. Trying to understand why a phenomenon occurs through the "how" question could be more successful. Additionally, case study interviews design is such that they take a short period and therefore, tend to be more focused (Yin, 2014). Sample question to use in a focus group interview include:

• How would you rate your response to follow-up appointments and medication reminders?
• How would you want to respond to notifications from clinics?
• How would you describe the consequences of missing follow-up appointments?
• How do you cope with the resulting poor mental health?
• How do you feel about the resulting added costs for the clinics?

Selecting a sample for use in this situation calls for a replication logic rather than a sampling logic that enumerates the entire pool of would-be-respondents and then statistically selecting the subset to interview (Flyvbjerg, 2006). Replication logic would be more feasible because trying to represent all the mental health patients since statistical approach would result in a large number of variables significant to the study that would consequently require equally large samples. The number of cases would, therefore, be discretionary rather formulaic, which would also depend on the level of certainty desired in the research (Yin, 2014)

In conclusion, the research case study is usually a focus on a contemporary phenomenon for which common statistical sampling logic would result in an impossible to study a number of samples. The replication logic though used in research science yields the best sample whose size can be determined depending on the level of certainty desired.

References

Yin, K., R. (2014). Case Study Research: Design and Methods. [VitalSource]. Retrieved from https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781483322247/

Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research. Qualitative Inquiry, 12(2), 219-245. doi: 10.1177/1077800405284363