The curious case of case study research

Abstract

You know my method. It is founded upon the observation of trifles. (Arthur Conan Doyle 1 )The conceptualisation of 'good' medical education research as hypothesis testing so as to identify universal truths that are generalisable across all contexts has long been contested. [2][3][4][5][6] Similarly, in medicine, Montgomery 7 has argued that the work of the clinical encounter is more closely aligned with the detective work of Sherlock Holmes than the scientific approach of Galileo or Newton. Like Sherlock Holmes, physicians are tasked with solving a case: the case of the individual before them. This is not a pure or objective process; it is an act of interpretation. Signs and symptoms, disease and illness come together to make sense of the biological and social complexities of a patient, to identify and pursue the best path for the individual, in their context. Hypothetico-deductive reasoning can play a role in this interpretiveprocess, but it is only a part of it. Despite these conversations, the tendency to value global theories and practices that transcend context over those that embrace and explore contextual effects remains. By this, we refer to positivism and post-positivism, their ontological and epistemological assumptions of objectivity, use of quantitative methods to test hypothesis and focus on replicability and generalisability. Even qualitative studies within health professions education have been 'subject to the pull of this domain's [science] dominant epistemological

How does multisource feedback influence residency training? A qualitative case study

“…22 This approach enabled us to illuminate the contemporary phenomenon of MSF in residency training within the boundaries of a real-world setting. [20][21][22][23] We collected data in focus group discussions 24 and conducted a reflexive thematic analysis. 25 We chose focus groups because participants' discussions can reveal underlying social phenomena when a group of participants is gathered and focuses on a certain phenomenon all of them have experienced.…”

“…21 Out of several possible qualitative approaches, we chose a heuristic case study to understand the phenomenon and discover new meaning. 22 This approach enabled us to illuminate the contemporary phenomenon of MSF in residency training within the boundaries of a real-world setting. [20][21][22][23] We collected data in focus group discussions 24 and conducted a reflexive thematic analysis.…”

“…A constructivist worldview sees meaning not as stable but as negotiated through the interactions among participants and researchers within the specific context, where researchers interpret and influence the findings 21 . Out of several possible qualitative approaches, we chose a heuristic case study to understand the phenomenon and discover new meaning 22 . This approach enabled us to illuminate the contemporary phenomenon of MSF in residency training within the boundaries of a real‐world setting 20–23 …”

Programmatic assessment design choices in nine programs in higher education

“…In this stage, one program was discarded from further data collection and whenever necessary additional participants were asked to participate in the interviews. The unit of analysis (the case) is each program implementing PA (Yazan, 2015;Cleland et al, 2021). The participants are seen as representatives of their particular program (though voicing their own opinion) and all had in-depth knowledge and experience with regard to design and implementation.…”

Won't you stay just a little bit longer? A discrete choice experiment of UK doctors’ preferences for delaying retirement

“…Differences in healthcare systems, doctors' contracts and working conditions across contexts limit the generalizability of any research [70]. However, comparing across localities would give insight into whether the value placed on certain factors varies by, for example, region or type of working environment (e.g., a large tertiary hospital versus a district general hospital).…”