Life Histories and Case Studies.

Life Histories and Case Studies

Case Studies

A case study is associated with qualitative methods. It is an examination of one particular case or instance of something. It involves a detailed examination of a single example of something, such as a single institution, community or social group. It is a very individual research method, however, they can also be used as one part of a larger piece of research. A rich description, a real story, an individual and their problems, are usually more attractive than bare facts and figures.

A case study is going to be for more appropriate if the researcher has deliberately choose to do one, as the data obtained can be excellent for one purpose and poor for another. Therefore, it is obviously not useful if the only thing you wish to do is estimate numbers in a larger population then the one researched. Case studies make no claims to be representative due to the fact that it involves the detailed examination of an individual example. This can be a community, person group etc. it’s the way of understanding the group under study. It can be used for generating new hypothesis, which can be treated against other data or in later studies.

Advantages of Case Studies

They can disprove or qualify a general statement. For example, Michels’ ‘iron law of oligarchy’ states that no organisation can be democratic – be it a political party, trade union, school or factory. However, a case study of the International Typographical Union, an American trade union, showed that this was not necessarily the case.

They can produce new insights. They may generate ideas, which can be examined later using a larger sample. Or they may help to make a questionnaire or interview relevant and meaningful for respondents. In this case, the case study ...

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Advantages of Case Studies

Paul Willis’s study of a single school has produced a number of hypotheses about the relationship about relationship between education and capitalist societies. Which have proved to be a useful focus for research and development of theories by other sociologist of education.

Disadvantages of Case Studies

It has been criticised as limited and unrepresentative.

It is not possible to generalise on the basis of its findings. It is impossible to determine how far the findings of the study into one example of the social phenomenon can be applied to other examples.

Alan Bryman (1988) suggests that one way to overcome this problem is to carry out or use a number of case studies of the same type of phenomenon.

Life Histories

Life histories are a particular type of case study – the whole study concerns ones individual’s life. They can be carried out using a variety of methods bout most frequently use extended, unstructured interviews. Like case studies, life histories use an untypical sample. ‘Plummer’ suggests that life histories can be used as a ‘sensitising tool’. They can help the researcher develop an understanding of the meaning of those he/she’s studying. It allows the researcher to see the world through the person being studied point of view. This viewpoint may challenge existing assumptions. Like case studies, life histories refute existing theories or inspire new ones. A number of life histories can be used together to develop a theory, test it, refine it, and then test it again. Plummer refers to this theoretical approach as ‘analytic induction’. As the research proceeds, the sociologist develops increasingly useful theories and generalizations. Supporters argue that the criticisms are far outweighed by the valuable information that a good life history can provide.

Advantages of Life Histories

Life histories have illuminated many areas of social life. For example, The Polish Peasant in Europe and America included an extensive life history of a Polish Peasant, which provided many valuable insights into the experience of migration from Poland to the USA (Thomas and Znaniecki, 1958).

The Jack Roller (Shaw, 1930) is a story written in his own words and from his own point of view, of a young American ‘jack roller’, the 1930s equivalent of today’s ‘mugger’. It is this first hand account of people’s experience of their life as they see it which many researchers regard as the main value of the life history. It can provide insights and information, which are not obtainable from any other source. It can give a picture of the process and development of social life over time. It can also serve as a basis for confirming or questioning other interpretations and accounts. And it can direct researchers into new areas and encourage them to ask new questions.

Some female sociologist argue that life-history research is useful for helping women to understand their situation, and, once they have understood, helping them to change it. Maria Mies found that discussing life histories with female victims of violence helped women to understand it ‘was not just their individual bad luck, or even their fault, but there is an objective social basis for this private violence by men against women and children’ (Mies, 1993)

Life history research can help to raise people’s consciousness and awareness of their own exploitation by encouraging them to reflect upon the factors that have shaped their life experiences.

Disadvantages of Life Histories

Life histories is heavily dependent on people’s memory which is inevitably patchy and selective. To some extent it will also reflect their attitudes and opinions.

There is a temptation for researchers to lead as life histories are recounted, particularly when areas of interest to them are touched upon. For example Margot Liberty writes ‘My tendency was at first to press him for stories. I soon found it far better to trust his own instinct, where he did not volunteer material freely he usually had little to say’ (1967).