EDUF4044 Chap.7 Qualitative, Case and Single-Case Inquiry
Qualitative, Case and Single-Case Inquiry
This chapter follows qualitative interpretation from familiarisation and coding to categories, themes and testing against negative cases. It treats reflexivity as a record of how role and assumptions shape inquiry.
A comparison between case study and single-case experimental design shows why close focus does not define the method: one explains a bounded system through context, while the other uses repeated measures across phases to examine intervention-linked change.
What this chapter covers
- 01
Qualitative material and context
- 02
Coding and theme development
- 03
Negative cases and reflexivity
- 04
Bounded case study
- 05
Single-case repeated measures
- 06
Action-oriented inquiry cycles
Worked example · free
Developing and testing a feedback theme
- +1Read complete accounts in context. This weighting is not an official university mark allocation; it separates the analytic moves.
- +1Code timing, action and exposure.
- +1Group a candidate pattern.
- +1Test it against a negative case.
- +1Report the qualified patterned meaning.
Key terms
- Code
- A concise analytic label attached to a meaningful segment of qualitative material.
- Theme
- A tested pattern of shared meaning relevant to the research question.
- Bounded case
- A clearly delimited system defined by place, people, activity and time.
- Single-case design
- A design using repeated measures across phases to examine change within an individual case.
Qualitative, Case and Single-Case Inquiry FAQ
How is a theme different from a topic?
A topic states what the material concerns, such as feedback. A theme makes an interpretive claim about a patterned meaning, such as feedback being usable when opportunity and emotional safety coincide. Themes must be tested across the data.
What makes a study a case study?
The study investigates a bounded system and uses evidence suited to understanding context, process and relationships. Interviews alone do not create a case study unless the case, boundary and explanatory purpose are clear.
Is a pre-test and post-test a single-case experiment?
No. Single-case experimental logic depends on repeated measurement across phases, a stable or interpretable baseline, clear intervention timing and fidelity. Two observations cannot show level, trend, variability or whether change tracks the phase.
Assessment move
Practise moving from excerpt to code, category and theme while preserving context. For each theme, locate a negative or awkward case and revise the boundary rather than ignoring it. Keep a reflexive decision log. When comparing close-focus designs, write the inferential logic: contextual explanation for case study, or repeated phase-linked change for single-case work.
Begin qualitative practice with a short excerpt and write descriptive codes before interpretive ones. Compare what is explicitly said with the explanation you are adding. Group related codes provisionally, then return to complete accounts so that fragments do not lose their situational meaning. Draft candidate themes as full claims rather than single nouns.
Under each theme, list supporting cases, variations and evidence that does not fit. Revise the theme boundary until the negative case is explained or acknowledged. Use quotations selectively: introduce the analytic point, present the excerpt and explain how its wording supports or complicates the claim. Keep a separate reflexive memo about your practitioner role, prior expectations and changes in attention.
For case study planning, write the boundary in one sentence using place, people, activity and time. Check that every data source contributes to understanding that system. For single-case work, sketch repeated measurements across baseline and intervention phases, noting expected level, trend and variability. A pre-test and post-test alone should look visibly inadequate on the sketch.
If using action research, record what prompted each adaptation and which evidence will evaluate it. Do not let reflection become a success narrative in which every change confirms the teacher's preferred explanation. Compare your thematic map with an alternative map made from the same short material.
Differences are not automatically errors; discuss which excerpts and assumptions support each interpretation and which account better answers the question. For case study, create an evidence map showing how interviews, observations and documents illuminate different parts of the bounded system. For single-case design, practise identifying level, trend and variability before looking for phase change.
Finish by writing the exact claim each design can support and a stronger claim it cannot support, using that contrast to discipline the final language. Revisit the research question after developing themes or inspecting phase patterns. Do not rewrite the question merely to fit an attractive result, but check whether the analysis has drifted to a different construct.
If drift occurred, return to the data and document the decision. A transparent boundary is preferable to a late claim that the project was designed to answer all along. Close by testing the main interpretation against a contrary case and rewriting the theme or phase claim with a visible boundary.
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