Both have similarities as far as the methods of data collection are concerned; e.g., observation, interviews, etc. However, i think ethnographic research takes much longer to complete than a case study because the researcher has to immerse him/herself in the subject(s) being studied. both studies aim to understand deeply the situation they are studying.
both the techniques are adopted in sociological and anthropological analysis to study both group and individual analysis. However, ethnography studies the culture of a group of people with a indepth analysis, while case study is the study of an individual, event or a phenomena.
So does it mean case study cannot be used when for example doing a study on the culture of an organization.
By culture, i mean i need to collect data on how the organization's members act, behave, go about their work, capture data on the underlining assumptions that support the beliefs and values of the organization etc.
Basically, i want to work with Edgar H Schein's 3 levels of culture to gather data on the organization's culture
A case study can be done by using ethnography. Ethnography is well suited to study culture when you restrict it to one orgaisation or a group of organisation it becomes a case study or case studies.
Following on from the previous responses, yes you can use case study methodology and compliment this with ethnography. Case study methodology defined by several researchers including R.Stake (1995) and S.Merriam (2008), is the study of a case(s) (person, place, event...), selected for its particularity, and 'bounded' by physical, temporal, social/cultural, and conceptual features. Case study research is not defined by use of a particular set of methods, although your selection of the case should inform your process of inquiry. I.e. if your case is, or exemplifies, a culture then it would sense to also use an ethnographic approach to data collection and analysis
No it is not about the level of participant observation. It can range from particpant observer to observer participant
You may also find this book helpful: 'Qualitative Inquiry in TESOL'. It contains brief and succinct introduction to some of the core traditions in qualitative research including ethnography (p.14) and case study (p. 20) and the methods usually used in these traditions.
Richards, K. 2003. Qualitative Inquiry in TESOL. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan.
Given the above responses, would it be appropriate to refer to this research strategy as an Ethnographic Case Study?
Yifan Xu thanks for your reply. Yet, case studies may also be based on grounded theory? Maybe it's best to refer to ethnography and case studies as separate research strategies.
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