Case Studies

Using interviews and focus groups in a complex triangulation design

In this case study, the author uses two forms of collecting interview data in her PhD research, when she triangulated semi-structured interviews (10 with young people who had been in the formal criminal justice system but were in a process of desistance and 10 with practitioners) and focus groups with some of the interviewed practitioners.

Cross, Z. L. (2020). An exploration of desistance from youth offending using qualitative methods: Interviews and focus groups. In SAGE Research Methods Cases.

Question 1: Is the explanation given by the author, why she did not use both methods to all the participants in her study, plausible?

Question 2: What makes this study a case study and is the author’s choice of methods adequate for her case study?