Case Studies

Applying Surveys in studying Cyberbullying?

Minor, M., Smith, G., and Brashen, H. M. (2019) ‘Cyberbullying in higher education: To survey or not to survey, that is the question i ask of thee,’ SAGE Research Methods Cases. doi: 10.4135/9781526490278

This case study discusses and demonstrates the decision to study an issue related to the Internet with a mixed methods survey tool and also addresses some limits of this approach to the target group and issue.

  1. What other types of methods would have been suitable for this study?
  2. Which are the limits of the approach presented here?
     

The role of a conceptual framework for your research

Walsh, L. (2017) ‘The challenges and benefits of developing a rigorous conceptual framework in your research,’ SAGE Research Methods Cases. doi:10.4135/9781473975026

The strength of this case study is how the author discusses the role of conceptualisation in designing a research project. What you will analyse and find out about youth transitions (as in this case) depends on how you define concepts of youth, of transition and of soft skills for example. The author does not only discuss the challenges of such definitions but gives also advice for how to manage these challenges in a fruitful way.

  1. What are the assumptions that you bring to your research (e.g., normative, deficit, and positive assumptions about your area of inquiry) and how do they impact your concrete research planning?
  2. Which kinds of data does the author use in his research and which are their limits for answering his research questions?
     

Integration of survey and qualitative data

Edwards, K., and Dardis, C. (2014) ‘Conducting mixed-methodological dating violence research: Integrating quantitative survey and qualitative data,’ SAGE Research Methods Cases. doi:10.4135/978144627305013516582

This case study starts from a relevant problem and takes a mix methods approach for analysing it. The integration of open-ended question answers, content analysis and quantitative analysis is discussed and demonstrated.

  1. Is this already a mixed methods approach or only a questionnaire study including open-ended questions?
  2. What was the benefit of integrating these methodological approaches?