Single and multiple case study: Stake tradition
Understand the particular case in context
Stake's interpretive tradition emphasises the particularity and complexity of a bounded case. Intrinsic enquiry seeks understanding of a case for its own interest; instrumental enquiry uses a case to illuminate an issue; collective enquiry studies multiple cases around an issue. Single or multiple cases are therefore chosen by purpose, with attention to lived meanings and contextual interpretation.
Use when the complexity of a particular school, organisation or programme matters and you can develop contextual understanding through sustained, ethically negotiated access and multiple perspectives.
Strengths
- Preserves the particularity of lived settings
- Distinguishes intrinsic interest from issue-driven case selection
Limitations
- Depth and case access are time-intensive
- Cross-case summaries can flatten local meanings
Know the boundary
Stake's collective design should not simply be relabelled Yin-style replication without explaining the change in logic.