Using Case Studies in Research Essay

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Use of case studies in research is not a new concept. Many persons have previously used this approach to investigate various aspects within organizations. In the research evaluated, multiple case study approach is used to investigate Information-seeking behavior of arts administrators. It is important to note that there is no way to empirically know, to what extent the organizations studied are similar. Furthermore, the study sample must provide the general information including as many points of view as possible. Basically, there exists no way of determining the probability of the studied data being representative of the larger population.

The issue of causality no doubt emerges later in the research. However, at the stage of formulating hypothesis, there is no implied causal relation with a respect to the study variable which is, information seeking. The author rather leaves this to findings. However, in the latter parts of the research, there is an implied notion that two factors, which are mission and consensus building, play a leading role in determining information seeking (Zach, p. 15). Other than affirming uniformity of these two across the interviewees, no other evidence is provided to affirm their causal effect. Additionally, no clear approach is provided to illustrate the existence of the causal effects, other than the opinion of the interviewees.

However, the author moves further to note the existence of individual factors which are not aligned to the majority. The author runs a further analysis to elaborate the findings disparity. Despite pointing this out, the findings are not adequately presented in the analysis and such variables remain unidentified. Generally, while the author affirms that there are individual factors which contributed to information seeking behavior, no clear discussion is provided for the same. On the other hand, it must be noted that other than lacking an appropriate means of identifying how the two variables highlighted drive information seeking, the research presents a strong case for the two and as such a further empirical exploration could provide more in-depth conclusions.

The findings of the research are straight forward. Information seeking behavior of art administrators is either for mission driven or for consensus building. The author, according to the findings from the interview, argues that in most cases a mission driven consensus is a product of need to find some information to further the organization’s mission while consensus building occurs where the administrators already have the information but are seeking to build consensus (Zach, p. 18). While the results are of substantive importance, there is still some level of insufficiency. At the latter stages, another fundamental research not included earlier but emerging is the question as to what motivates the decision to seek information. The findings affirm that the administrators do not assume any prior obligation to seek information and as such this decision must be motivated by something.

Other than the findings, the author also raises two ethical issues which include the personal credibility of the participants and the tendency to be biased. However, the level of confidentiality of the information sought is not discussed in as much detail as would be appropriate, considering that the information is directly collected from the participants.

Lastly, it is important to mention that while the interviews are well conducted and relatively in-depth, the sample is relatively small to be able to provide a generally acceptable scenario. The credibility of the findings is not guaranteed. While the level of details provided is extensive in terms of explanation, the research does not provide conclusive findings. The findings would be sufficient if the research was aimed at findings the causal factors in order to facilitate further investigation rather than drawing conclusive evidence.

Work cited

Zach, Lisl. Using a MultipleCase Studies Design to Investigate the Information-Seeking Behavior of Arts Administrators. Library trends, 55.1, 2006: 4–21

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