Case Study Methods

The use of the case study goes back to the beginnings of social science research and is still one of the most common forms of qualitative research. This book is a handy introduction to understanding, researching, and doing case studies in the social sciences and related fields. In this brief monograph, Jacques Hamel outlines several differing traditions of case study research—the Chicago School of Sociology, the anthropological case studies of Malinowski and others, and the French Le Play school tradition. Hamel shows how each developed, changed, and has been practiced over time. Practical suggestions are included for doing case study research and a comprehensive bibliography on case study methods in social science allows for further exploration.