个案的力量:论个案研究的方法论意义及其应用

The Power of Cases:On the Methodological Significance of Case Studies and Their Application

个案研究具有“聚焦于一点”、采用多种方法收集不同来源的资料等基本特征。在(1)对人们暂时无知的现象获得最初了解和认识,(2)为理解某一类型现象提供一般性理论解释以供后续研究检验,以及(3)通过对多个不同类型个案的了解和比较分析来反映某一类现象的一般状况这样三个方面,个案研究能为研究者提供帮助。个案研究的运用要以适合回答研究问题为标准,并要特别注意个案的选择。推广性并不是所有个案研究追求的目标,也不能用定量研究的标准来衡量和要求个案研究。个案研究的推广性只能通过从资料中进行抽象、形成概念和命题以达到对一类现象的理解而在一定程度上获得。

Case studies are characterized by“one-point focus”and multiple methods to collect information from different sources.Case studies can help researchers in three ways:(1)gaining initial knowledge and understanding of a phenomenon of which people are temporarily ignorant;(2)providing general theoretical explanations for understanding a type of phenomenon to be tested in subsequent studies;and(3)reflecting the general situation of a type of phenomenon through the understanding and comparative analysis of several different types of cases.Case studies should be used in such a way that they are appropriate for answering the research questions,and special attention should be paid to the selection of cases.Generalizability is not the goal of all case studies,nor can case studies be measured and required by the standards of quantitative research.Generalizability of case studies can only be obtained to a certain extent by abstracting from the data,forming concepts and propositions to reach an understanding of a class of phenomena.