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This article reviews case study methods, also called 'small- n ', 'comparative,' or 'qualitative' methods. It outlines within-case methods of analysis, including process tracing and congruence testing, and cross-case methods of comparison, including John Stuart Mill's methods of agreement and difference, Alexander George's method of 'structured, focused comparison,' and Charles Ragin's method of 'qualitative comparative analysis.' It argues that case studies can help develop typological theories, or contingent generalizations on the different causal patterns leading to a particular outcome (related notions include configurational analysis and fuzzy logic). This article notes philosophies of science relevant to case study methods, including scientific realism, Bayesian confirmation theory, and Imre Lakatos' methodology of scientific research programs. Finally, it summarizes the comparative advantages of case study methods, including conceptual validity, identification of new variables, and modeling of complex interactions effects, as well as their comparative limitations, including the potential for indeterminacy and the dangers of selection bias. The central conclusion is that the comparative advantages of case study methods, statistical methods, and formal modeling are different and complementary, and that research proceeds more effectively through the combination of these methods than through the use of any one method alone.

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URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080430767007518

Analytic Induction; Archival Methods; Case Study: Methods and Analysis; Case-oriented Research; Causal Counterfactuals in Social Science Research; Causation (Theories and Models): Conceptions in the Social Sciences; Classification: Conceptions in the Social Sciences; Comparative Studies: Method and Design; Content Analysis; Explanation: Conceptions in the Social Sciences; Generalization: Conceptions in the Social Sciences; Grounded Theory: Methodology and Theory Construction; Ideal Type: Conceptions in the Social Sciences; Idealization, Abstraction, and Ideal Types; Interpretive Methods: Micromethods; Narrative, Sociology of; Weber, Max (1864-1920)

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7 Summary

This brief overview has examined central features of the participant observation methodology. In doing so, it de-emphasized both the strategies of analysis (the extended case study method, grounded theory) used by practitioners and the modes of presentation (realist tales, impressionist tales). No method of data collection can exist without related techniques by which data are analyzed and presented.

Throughout the twentieth century, participant observation proved to be a powerful technique through which researchers understood a diverse set of social worlds in a way that did justice to the complexity of the activities of group members and to their own perspectives and understandings. While this methodology benefits by the triangulation with other styles of research to create adequate theoretical understanding, participant observation provides the basis by which researchers can understand the richness of the social settings that they-and others-inhabit.

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URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B0080430767007713

Case Studies

Case studies are associated with the development of detailed information relating to a specific business phenomenon, with phenomena across similar organizations or settings, or with one specific case (person, organization, or setting). Case study method may draw on a number of methods to gather data, such as observation, experiments, structured interviews, questionnaires, and/or documentary analysis. Case study within a positivistic paradigm is subsequently guided by the tenets of a quantitative methodology. Advantages of case studies associated with case-specific detail is the obtainment of objective and use of multiple methods to gain detailed data on the case. Disadvantages are associated with resource allocation and (with field case studies) the inability to control all variables systematically.

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URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B012369398500270X

3 Research methodology

3.1 Scope of research

This paper focusses on evaluating competitive intelligence process performance whilst utilising big data sources and analytics. The evaluation will be conducted within a local real estate developer, in the UAE, Abu Dhabi, hereafter referred as 'EK04'. The organisation has recently adopted Oracle to implement BDA, and this paper will carry out the first evaluation of competitive intelligence process and performance after the first implementation of BDA.

The research plans to fulfil the gap in the literature, by providing a comprehensive model which combines both big data and competitive intelligence together, as an operational tool to support decision-making.

3.2 Research philosophy and approach

The project adopted the philosophy of constructivism, whereby the researcher assumes that reality is constructed intersubjectively through meanings and understandings, developed socially and experimentally (Merriam, 2009). The paper seeks to address complexity and meanings of the variables within a particular situation (Black, 2006), making a detailed explanation and interpretations of collected data that have a myriad meaning (Byrne, 2001, p. 372).

Following a philosophical epistemological approach of interpretivism, the paper will look for subjective and in-depth information, founded in individual intentionality (Husserl, 2012). The knowledge can be generated endogenously and not only exogenously (Packard, 2017). This epistemological philosophy will guide in collecting unique experiences in life from managers and decision-makers and will accordingly provide an eminent picture of reality by which our mental small world representation or model of reality is constructed (Maitland and Sammartino, 2015).

The research rationale is motivated by the research objectives which are exploratory in nature and seeks to gain an in-depth understanding of a certain behaviour. This exploratory type of research often seeks to find out what is happening in a given situation, clarifying and developing better understanding of how things happen (Mansour, 2017, p. 8). It contains a type of questions that are flexible towards a phenomenon to understand the relationship between variables, which means, it will help the authors to clarify how BDA can affect the decision-making within an organisation's competitive intelligence system. Subsequently and once the relationships are demonstrated, a large scale of performance evaluation could be done to determine which components or events are most likely to cause best practices of effective decision-making within the competitive intelligence system.

Through an inductive reasoning the evaluation will begin with a detailed observation of the big data implementation connections with the competitive intelligence system, aiming to move forward an abstract generalisation and statements. In addition, as this research aims to understand the experience of managers, the data intensity is expected to be very high. Therefore the generated knowledge and findings shall be capable to construct a rigid relationship of dynamics and resilience between the variables' components. Whilst the inductive approach can reveal insights about relationships, it is also possible that it will identify other cognitive activities and discover a new phenomenon. Tenenbaum et al. (2007) claim that there are other set regularities associated with an inductive approach which would help in other activities, including categorisation, probability judgement, and decision-making. Moreover, similarity can be a main currency of the inductive approach (Heit and Hayes, 2005).

Given the exploratory nature of the research work, a case study method is selected to reflect the elements of CI and BDA as the central emphasise of the research design and to "stress on developmental factors in relation to environment" ( Merriam, 2009, p. 103). Having a bounded system (Merriam, 2009; Stake, 2006) will help the paper to identify how the decision-making fed by BDA will impact the competitive intelligence process. The paper also seeks to investigate relationships between research variables, aiming to provide evidences about reasons for success or failure (Mann, 2006).

3.3 Data collection

The research was carried out based on qualitative approach by using semistructured interviews for data collection to secure rich descriptions supporting the purposes of the research. Interviews will help the research to gain an in-depth understanding of the complexity of the phenomena (Creswell, 2014), and it will establish the meaning of experiences from the perspective of those involved (Merriam, 2009). The questionnaire consists of two areas: the first area used a set of 20 predetermined questions, composed of primary questions, such as "Tell me about the history of the organization", "how usually you propose a new plan to the top management?", and "what materials do you think is best for you to be prepared with? How top management prioritize plans". The second area was the open-ended subquestions or 'probes', which aim to understand the implication of BDA on competitive intelligence; instances include "Can you think of another organization that did this differently than your organization? Why? How?"

The data collection (i.e. the interviews) was conducted in a cautious manner, for example, to pause or prompt appropriately (Ritchie and Lewis, 2003, p. 141), considering the interview guide approach (Patton, 1980) and using an interview schedule prior to conducting the interviews. A pilot study was carried out to test the questionnaire. There were no changes to the data-collection instrument as a result of the pilot study; however, an additional literature review was conducted to include a broader range of theoretical perspectives on big data implementation and competitive intelligence.

A total of seven interviews were conducted at the site of EK04 to fit the research focus, assuring participants are comfortable in their natural setting (Creswell, 2014). Interview duration was between 50 and 60 min and was audiotaped along with important notes taken on a paper. All interviews were conducted by the lead researcher, to limit variation in interview technique. Interviewees were in senior management from five major departments (marketing, sales, operations, finance, and customer service). They all have been nominated by the organisation's CEO who is a key player of decision-making along with the vice chairman (VC).

The experience of participating respondents related to their years of experience and field of work is presented in Table 1.

Ensuring concerns around reliability and validity, full institutional ethics policy was strictly adhered to; the participant information sheets along with the informed consent forms, which have been filled and signed by each interviewee, were gathered prior conducting the interviews. The study was longitudinal in respect that interviewees had insights for the competitive intelligence process before and after the adoption of BDA, and they were able to make comparisons and provide information about the decision-making experience.

3.4 Data analysis

The data analysis process was systematic and iterative, considering Miles et al. (2014), in which we were looking for emerging themes, and comparisons supported by existing literature. After each interview, data were analysed separately and compared with previous interview responses in attempt to identify themes. This was done using a comparative method in which it compared new data with preliminary findings that have been analysed previously. In addition, back and forth actions between interview results and the extant literature were conducted to enable research answering the research questions. The interviews provided patterns and variance in descriptions of how the implementation of BDA supports the process of competitive intelligence; they attempted to also examine the underlying mechanism which links the new implementation to the CI process agility. 'Concept cards' (Glaser and Strauss, 1965) have been used to organise the data and to generate themes. Based on the interview conclusions, grouped and regrouped themes and codes were generated.

For deeper understanding and to improve generalisability (Miles et al., 2014), a comparison between themes and codes across all interviews was made, aiming to find significant information about the CI process and decision-making amongst different departments. The initial conclusions were next shared with respondents and the CEO-who did not participate in the interviews-to assess rationality of results and visualise links of CI's decision-making between the departments. Contrastive explanation theory (Tsang and Ellsaesser, 2011) had guided this meeting, providing suitable contrastive scenarios of why certain process is more important for a certain department.

Finally, emergent themes and group subjects were connected with the extant literature review to explore for possible explanation of the data analysis and enable justification for the proposed process.

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URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128214428000033

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This article reviews case study methods, also called 'small- n ', 'comparative,' or 'qualitative' methods. It outlines within-case methods of analysis, including process tracing and congruence testing, and cross-case methods of comparison, including John Stuart Mill's methods of agreement and difference, Alexander George's method of 'structured, focused comparison,' and Charles Ragin's method of 'qualitative comparative analysis.'

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How can you work with this task and what should you do:

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How can you work with this task and what should you do:

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1) Read the situational task
2) Look at the picture below
3) Make a diagnosis (write it please)
4) Think, what additional research is needed? (also write your opinion)
5) Think and write about treatment.

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Patient D., 25 y.o, has been treated for conjunctivites for a long time. Now she is concerned about pain in her right eye? redness? lacrimation. Objectively- Visual acuity of the riht eye = 0.3 (not corr). Moderate edema and hyperemia of the upper eyelid. Mixed conjunctival injection? no discharge. The cornea is transparent? on its back surface small dots of gray color? located in the form of triangle with the apex towards the center. The iris pattern is smoothed. The pupil is moderatery dilated? tightened for 6 hours. In transmitted light? the grey reflex. The fundus is normal. Eyeball palpation sharply painful. Left eye visual acuity- 1.0. The eye is calm. Anterior segment without pathology. Ophthalmoscopy is normal.

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Can you make provisional diagnosis?

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Please, can you tell which research we can do in this situation? Which one is needed

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What do you think about treatment?