Rhetoric 8012

Original
“I recall Laura visiting our RHET 8011 last semester and discussing case studies, and I thought she indicated it was a story - it had a beginning and an ending. Her case study about Lotus Marketplace certainly has that. But that seems different than the Stake book, which seemed to indicate a case could be observing a teacher for a week or two. That seems more like a mini-ethnography? So I'll be interested to see how we're using case studies this semester.�

Reflection
Well, I’m clearer now about cases as bounded phenomenon, but I’m still muddled by the ability of a researcher to set those limits when they are not readily visible. There seems much justification is needed for time limits – when those limits might be something like a convenience for getting a dissertation done. I’ve been further challenged by Stake writing that “events and processes fit the definition (of a case study) less well,� since in rhetoric, we seem to love the event for a case study! So I use that quote in my paper and counter with examples of rhetoric using events as case studies. I guess setting the limits of what you will and won’t study helps bound the case.

Also, I understand case studies as a strategy, not a method, like interviews. That was a pretty major step for me, in the beginning.

Original
“Yin's chapter 5 was super for me. I especially like the setup of general analytic strategies, and the techniques were pretty helpful too.�

Reflection
I went back to chapter 5 to see what exactly I felt was so helpful about that chapter. I keyed in on the specific analytic techniques that began on page 116. The one that has been most helpful to me as we write our case narratives is time-series analysis, specifically the chronologies (page 125). Chronologies allow us to “trace events over time� as more than “a descriptive event� (125). Although Yin seems to set it up to create a causal relationship (what comes first, must come first), I’ve found it helps me immensely in setting up the context for my case study.

I was really struck by Mary Schuster’s article, and how helpful the contextualizing of medical vs. midwifery model of childbirth was to understanding the birth center. I’ve found in my case narrative that I can’t simply jump into the EWG report without first explaining why it was so unique. I first need to discuss the CDC’s biomonitoring efforts, and so on. While it is more work to understand and summarize this for the reader without getting bogged down in the particulars, it is really useful in helping to make my case unique and (I hope) worth pursuing.

In all, this class has helped me immensely as I look toward dissertating and getting a defensible method ready for a prospectus. Thanks, Laura!