A Quality Framework for Case Study Research: “Convincingness”

Abstract

Case studies are empirical investigations where the area of study is circumscribed to a small number of units, enabling the researcher to look in depth at a topic of interest or phenomenon. Case study research generates knowledge that is context dependent with a rich and nuanced view of reality (Flyvebjerg, 2006). Adherents (for example, Eisenhardt, 1989; Yin, 2009) extol its value in answering questions that start with “how”, “who” and “why". Concerns about the quality of case study research nonetheless are well entrenched and the purpose of this paper is twofold, firstly to evaluate existing approaches for the quality of case study research, and, secondly to propose a framework to strengthen arguments for quality and hence contribution. The structure of this paper is as follows: first, an overview of case study research, then a discussion of positivist and interpretivist approaches to quality in case study research, concluding with a proposed framework for convincingness as a means of demonstrating overall quality in case study research.