走出案例研究的迷思:两种视角与两种能力

Walk Out the Myth of Case Study: Two Perspectives and Two Abilities

既有关于案例研究方法的文章大多基于科研逻辑展开,主要介绍案例研究的前沿方法,或通过深刻的学术讨论来提供新知,但对于案例研究基础知识和底层逻辑缺乏关注和阐释。换言之,既有研究忽视了为那些对案例研究充满热情却缺乏学习机会的群体提供“相应的知识”,无形中阻碍了初学者掌握和应用案例研究方法,不利于案例研究更广泛的传播和发展。文章尝试在抽象与提炼的基础上为前述群体学习科研逻辑的案例研究“搭桥”。文章论述了案例研究与规范研究、量化研究之间的共通与互补,阐述了研究者尽早学习运用案例研究的必要性,并从案例研究的方法、田野、调研与写作入手,归纳了研究者在不同阶段需要警醒的迷思,并提出实施案例研究应该具备的两种视角和两种能力。文章提倡通过实地调研与阅读科研逻辑的案例研究文献来掌握案例研究方法,进而完成高质量的案例研究;同时,文章倡导为了追求共同的学术研究目标,研究者应摒弃研究方法的“门户之见”:研究者在形而下的层面接近甚至寻得真相,在形而上的层面接近甚至发现真理。

Existing articles on case study methods either introduce frontier case study methods with scientific logic or provide new insights through discussion, yet they ignore the audience who are passionate about case study but lack the opportunity to learn it. It is not conducive to the wide dissemination or development of case studies. This article tries to elaborate the case study method in a straightforward way by abstracting and refining, in order to serve as a bridge between the method and the audience. The first part of the article discusses the commonness and complementarity among case study, normative study and quantitative study, and expounds the necessity for researchers to master case research as early as possible. The second part summarizes the myths that researchers need to alert in different stages in terms of methodology, fieldwork, investigation, and writing. The third part introduces two perspectives and two abilities for case study. The article expects readers to master the research design of case study through fieldwork and existing articles to complete high-quality case studies. Above all, this article advises researchers not to have the parochial prejudice on research methods, because diverse academic research shares a same goal: researchers could approach or even find the truth in both physical and metaphysical aspects.