CASE STUDIES FOR POLITICAL SCIENCE

Abstract

There has been much discussion about case studies in the area of
methodology. It is a common thought to conceive case studies unable to produce valid and reliable inferences, as well as to test hypotheses and create generalizable knowledge. Considering case studies as usual examples of a qualitative method, it is worth mentioning that this article criticizes the historic “quarrel” between quantitative and qualitative approaches. Furthermore, it is assumed that the choice of the method must be based on the problems brought up in the research itself, so the wide variety of questions brings up the use of the plurality of methodological approaches. Thus, it is argued that the perspective of case studies as a weak method is simplistic. In defense of this point of view, a non-exhaustive synthesis of the potentialities, as well as the characteristic weaknesses of this approach is presented. The introduction briefly situates the discussion of the case study, the second section provides definitions and indicates research situations that leads to choosing this approach, the third one focuses on the methodological rigor, the fourth one comments on three examples of research in Political Science, that used this approach under the light of the previous sections and, finally, the fifth section raises the potential and limitations of the case studies.