Research Workshop with Bent Flyvbjerg: Case Study Research

Learn about the most common pitfalls of case-study driven research with VKR Professor and Chair of the Danish Institute of IT Programme Management, Bent Flyvbjerg.

What is a case study? The case-study paradox. Misunderstandings about case study research. Grounded theory and other theory in case study research.

If you're using the case study in your research, or are interested in doing so, this session will be particularly interesting to you.

If you're not doing case study research you're missing out on a particularly powerful methodology and might want to reconsider. The workshop will help you do so.

About the Research Workshops by Bent Flyvbjerg

Bent Flyvbjerg will argue that for good research you need a good idea, good data, strong theory, and robust methodology. If you don't tick these four boxes, not only is your research unlikely to be successful, it's also likely to be painful. Unfortunately, the world is filled with bad ideas, bad data, weak theory, and fragile methodology, or so Flyvbjerg holds. Fortunately, there are ways to avoid the bad stuff and get to good research, which will be a focus of the workshops.

The research workshops by Flyvbjerg are aimed at researchers – Danish or international – who want to improve their skills for carrying out hands-on empirical and theoretical research. Qualitative and quantitative methodology will be covered, as will data collection, choice of theory, and development of methodology. Doctoral students and postdocs are particularly welcome, but researchers at any stage of their career will find value in the workshops.

If possible, please bring problems from your own ongoing research that you are prepared to share and discuss.

The format will be 2 x 1 hour with a 30-minute break (to socialize). Bent Flyvbjerg will kick off each workshop with a 10-to-15-minute introduction to the day's topic based on his own experience, after which the floor will be opened for discussion of participants' research issues. There will also be time for more general Q&A. Participants are encouraged to hang around after 15:30, to socialize further and to ask questions one-on-one.

It would be an advantage, and would facilitate discussion, if participants acquaint themselves with the readings before each workshop.

Women are encouraged to participate. We're tired of male-dominated research.

Readings:

Flyvbjerg, Bent, 2006, "Five Misunderstandings About Case Study Research." Qualitative Inquiry, vol. 12, no. 2, April, pp. 219-245, free pdf: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2230464.

Ansar, Atif and Bent Flyvbjerg, 2022, "How to Solve Big Problems: Bespoke Versus Platform Strategies," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 338–368, free pdf: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4119492.