Conducting Case Study Research

INTRODUCTION As medical laboratory professionals, we compare patient results to reference ranges and determine the clinical significance of the findings. Those numbers indicate whether a patient is healthy or will be diagnosed with a disease process. Even after the diagnosis, the numbers still have meaning as they reflect the outcome of the treatment. The result of the analytical process provides the healthcare team vital information regarding diagnosis and treatment. Because of the nature of our profession, quantitative research may be more readily accepted. We incorporate the results of quantitative research when we consider the likelihood of developing the disease, treatment success/failure rate, and prognosis. However, do we ever consider “how” the patient reacts to the diagnosis or “why” some patients have a better prognosis than others?¹ A quantitative research method would not provide the data needed to respond to those questions. Therefore, we should consider conducting a qualitative research method.

As previously identified, there are five approaches to qualitative research methods: narrative inquiry, phenomenological, grounded theory, ethnographic and case study research.² It is vital that the researcher consider the research questions and research design so the appropriate qualitative research method is selected. Qualitative research methods are used in psychology, sociology, philosophy, political science, medicine, social science, anthropology, government, business and education.^1,3,4,5 Let us explore in more detail the case study research method.

Case study research is an “…intensive study of a single case where the purpose of that study is… to shed light on a larger class of cases.”⁴ Being…