RESEARCH METHODOL OGY
4.3 CASE STUDY
In this study the methodology used is the case study. The next part covers the definition, purpose, characteristics, principles and validity of the case study. Throughout this exposition the relevance to this study is highlighted.
4.3.1 DEFINITION
According to Babbie et al (2002:281) a case study is an intensive investigation of a single unit. The single unit in this case is the eThekwini Health Unit. Most case studies involve examination of multiple variables. A case study takes multiple perspectives into account and influences and attempts to understand the influences of multilevel social systems on a subject's perspectives and behaviours. Sarantakos (1997:191) defines a case study as an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real life context when the boundaries between the phenomenon and context are not
clearly evident and in which multiple sources of evidence are used. The origins of the case study methods are unclear but Babbie et al (200:281) states, "It is only within the past two decades or so, that the case study research has become 'scientifically respectable'".
4.3.2 PURPOSE O F THE CASE STUDY
Babbie (2001:285) states that there are two main purposes of the case study method, and these are:
• Descriptive - for example an anthropologist describes the culture of a preliterate tribe.
• Explanatory insights, if it is an in-depth study.
According to Welman and Kruger (1999:21) the objective of a case study is to investigate the dynamics of some single- bounded system typically of a social nature such as family, group, a community, participants in a project or institution, and in the case of this study, the single-bounded system of the Health Unit within the eThekwini Municipality.
4.3.3 CHARACTERISTICS O F T H E CASE STUDY
The main characteristic of a case study is its emphasis on an individual unit. In the case of this study the individual unit is the Health Unit of the eThekwini Municipality. According to Sarantakos (1997:193), a case study's distinguishing characteristics are:
• It studies whole units in their totality and aspects or variables of these units.
• It employs several methods, primarily to avoid or prevent errors; in this study more than one method of data collection was used.
• It often studies a single unit - one unit is one study.
• It perceives the respondents as experts, not just as sources of data; this was also the case with this study as all the categories of respondents were experts in their own fields.
• It studies a typical case. EThekwini Municipality fits this characteristic as it is a metropolis in the KwaZulu-Natal Province and the researcher has extensive experience of this municipality.
4.3.4. PRINCIPLES IN THE CASE STUDY
Babbie et al (2002:282) proposes four general design principles in case study research, which are:
• Conceptualisation in case study research.
This entails presenting the principles guiding the study research question (which were dealt with in chapter one), sharing the reasoning that led to the questions and carefully defining concepts (also extensively covered in chapter one). This conceptualisation is mainly based on a literature review and research experience. In the case of this study, conceptualization was mainly dealt with in chapters one and two.
• Contextual Detail.
This relates to the environment within which the unit of analysis is embedded. According to Babbie et al (2002:
282) the surrounding ecology or environment, with its nations of multiple, interacting, contextualized systems, helps to contextualise the context in which the unit of analysis is embedded. Contextual detail helps in the identification of contextual variables that influence the unit of analysis.
• Multiple Sources of Data.
This involves using more than one method, multi interviews or observation and a variety of informants when the research question calls for them; an example is in ethnographic studies. The rationale for using multiple sources of evidence is based on convergence. In this study a number of sources of data were used which included semi-structured interviews, observations, document reviews and workshops (focus group discussions).
• Analytical Strategies.
The analytical strategies involve the following:
• How to organize the findings. In this study findings are represented in the format used in the questionnaire.
• Whether generalization is appropriate to case-study data.
• The issue of theory development.
• Babbie's principles (which make the case study a method of choice for this study).
All the four principles as advanced by Babbie are relevant for this case study and have been considered throughout the research project.
VALIDITY O F T H E CASE STUDY
According to Sarantakos (1997:192), case studies are considered to be valid forms of enquiry in the context of descriptive as well as evaluative and causal studies, particularly when the research is too complex for survey studies or experimental strategies and when the research is interested in the structure process and outcomes of a single unit. Case studies are employed indiscriminately in quantitative research, although to a different extent and for different reasons. Sarantakos (1997:192) states that case studies are used mainly for exploration and:
• To gain more information about structure process and complexity of the entire research object when relevant information is not available or sufficient.
• To facilitate conceptualisation.
• To assist with formulating hypotheses.
• To guide the process of operationalisation of the variables.
• To illustrate, explain, offer more detail or expand quantitative findings.
• To test the feasibility of the quantitative study.
According to Sarantakos (1997:193), in qualitative research case studies do not serve as stepping stones for quantitative studies but as research enterprises of their own, aimed at developing hypotheses or theories. They are not second-rank research, but a research model that is as significant and worth pursuing as quantitative research. It is this validity that influenced the
Sarantakos.