Making a case for case studies

If I had to choose the most valuable piece of text from the readings this week, I would choose to heed the advice on page 143 in Methods and Methodology in Composition Research. The greatest downfall of a single case study is elucidated there when it highlights "the obvious potential problem of creating such a unidimensionally positive picture of the learner that readers will reject it as unrealistic." That has been my experience. I am a fan of case studies. I empathized with Thomas Newkirk when he wrote about his single case study of Anne and his attempts to justify the validity of that single case - that her individual case should somehow translate to what works for the general population. I've felt that way about certain students too! I could write volumes in a case study about a single student I've worked with that would completely justify my theories about what works and doesn't for the general population. But no one will listen. It just isn't logical to think that what works for one can translate into something more global. But sometimes my gut knows it to be accurate. Unfortunately nobody really cares what my gut thinks.

I subscribe to a few professional journals that publish case studies every month. Perhaps they are not as scientifically valid as a quantitative study; however, the narrative is written in such a way that I often become a believer. Then again, I'm beginning to believe that I need to practice a comprehension strategy called "questioning the author" more regularly. First I read the Lauer and Asher chapter on case studies and basically agreed with everything they wrote. Their explanation of how to set up a case study seemed logical and sensible to me. I understood how those steps could help ensure more scientifically valid and reliable results. Then I read Thomas Newkirk who completely bashed their argument.

I completely believe that there is much to learn from observations, surveys, conversations with students, and other tools that hold questionable validity. But I see their shortcomings. A researcher can very easily choose to profile subjects in a "case study" that promote her hypothesis and ignore those subjects who don't. I realize there are safeguards that can be put into place to prevent such bias. What if the researcher chooses not to use them? Then it won't be considered reliable research. But if the purpose of the case study is to showcase "transformative narratives" (Kirsch and Sullivan 134), then wouldn't it make sense to highlight those subjects who do undergo a qualitative change? Doesn't it make sense to showcase that one student who made unbelievable gains (even if the rest of the group was less successful?)

There is much value in case studies - even if they're never published! Without question they provide more "food for thought", more idea generation, and more improved results than test scores can ever provide. I will continue to observe, document, look for patterns, and code and analyze what I can in my own classroom. It's improved my teaching more than it's hurt it. Even the test scores show that!