Case Study Research

Abstract

This chapter introduces case studies, which are a commonly used methodological approach in media policy research. It describes how case studies can be theoretically informed and very useful for uncovering the complexity typical of policy processes and challenges. Case studies are usually mixed method investigations, so in covering the steps of conducting case studies, this chapter focuses on the selection of cases and of the methods to be combined. Case studies can be messy, revealing a great deal of detail and often an abundance of data. This chapter explains that if researchers rely on conceptually informed structure, they can deal with this challenge and conduct case studies or multi-case investigations that can help us understand complex phenomena in our media and communications environment and lead to both theory building and policy contributions.