36 2. Revisión de la Literatura
5. Conclusiones e Implicancias
Several kinds of case study were investigated before the methodology for this study was finalised. This section examines types of case study, including a specific focus on examples of journalism case studies. Yin is widely acknowledged to be one of the leading authorities on case study methodology. He has explored three strategies of case study - exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory studies (2003). It is worth noting that Yin also created two further categories - multiple-case studies and collective - yet these can be examined within the context of the initial three definitions. According to Yin, exploratory case studies develop hypotheses and propositions which may need further investigation e.g. a pilot study.
Descriptive case studies examine strategies used by people within the case studies and
describe national phenomena within the data e.g. describing the data as it occurs. Explanatory case studies examine information at two levels e.g. on the surface and then at a deeper level in a bid to develop theory. Yin argues that it is possible to employ either one or more of these strategies within a research project, particularly as they all overlap (2003:2). Stake is another
authority on case study and defines three case work strategies – intrinsic, instrumental and collective, which can be regarded as building on Yin’s strategies. Intrinsic case studies are very specific and employed where a particular case is being examined rather than a more general problem (1995). It involves studying a case for its own sake rather than with any expectation of implications for other cases. Instrumental case studies aim for generalisation by examining a specific case in order to try and understand something external. Collective case studies use multiple instrumental case studies usually with the specific aim of making comparisons in a particular area. Stake believes that balance and variety in collective studies improve such projects - dissimilarity can help bring clarity. This is similar in some ways to Yin’s multiple case study design which involves a number of instrumental case studies.
Academics also regularly highlight the importance of studying the right cases. Soy gives three reasons for selection – because cases are unique, typical or represent a variety of parameters (1997). One particular interesting case study was presented by Deuze et al. who examined the extent of replication in four newspapers (2007). Such comparative studies must select cases which identify areas of both differences and similarities, and due to the nature of newspaper ownership and circulation contain a range of variables. All good case study
research follows a rigorous process when building theory. Eisenhardt highlights the following stages: Define research question; select cases; craft instruments and protocols; collect data;
analyse data (within-case analysis), shape hypotheses (replication logic across cases);
compare with enfolding literature; and reach closure (theoretical saturation when possible) (1989:533). Soy also defines six steps for case study research: Determine and define the research questions; select the cases and determine data gathering and analysis techniques;
prepare to collect the data; collect data in the field; evaluate and analyze the data; prepare the report (1997).
The relative naissance of mobile news and the lack of research in this field had to be taken into account when designing the case study method for this project. Yet it was also important to place the findings within the existing international framework in a bid to recognise
emerging patterns. All case study research varies as the methodology must alter to fit individual circumstances. There is no exact template for researchers to follow. Miles and Huberman describe it as relying on “researchers to bend the methodology to the peculiarities of the setting” (1994:5).
The initial part of this research focused on daily and weekly newspapers owned by different organisations. This was followed by interviews at one company, Johnston Press, “to explore”
the emerging findings, themes and phenomenon in greater depth (Arksey and Knight, 1999:17). The initial round of content analysis and platform comparisons examined nine newspapers in a bid to establish the emerging themes and patterns. This was later more specifically focused on one company to allow more in-depth analysis. Just as interviews can be used to elaborate on initial findings, triangulation with platform and content analysis can be used for what Arksey and Knight describe as confirmation and completeness. It ensures weaknesses in one method are balanced by strengths in others. In fact, far from differences in data weakening results, they can potentially enrich both the analysis and explanation.
Case studies can employ an embedded design, that is, multiple levels of analysis within a single study to strengthen findings (Eisenhardt, 1989:541). This method allows one study to address different but complementary questions and produce more subtle findings.
Triangulation is also important as it helps to make sure the right evidence has been obtained.
As Stake explained, it either confirms what the findings mean, or leads to ideas about how they could be interpreted differently by different people (2006). It is a process of repetitious data gathering and critical review. Johansson describes it as combining different methods
(2003). The different perspectives are taken from what Denzin labels ‘triangulation protocols’
(1994). Investigator triangulation is where other researchers verify meaning, theoretical triangulation is where different theoretical perspectives are given to data, or, as in this study, methodological triangulation where a range of data collection methods are used.
There are a range of journalism case studies including some previously mentioned and others which offer differing perspectives on online news. These studies examine a wide range of research questions, angles and theories. Recently much academic focus has been on online newspapers, in particular audience participation and interactivity. Research projects range from focusing on just one newspaper, for example, The Case of Online Newspapers and the Web (Riley et al., 2006), to 16 newspapers in Participatory Journalism Practices in Media and Beyond (Domingo et al., 2008). The focus ranges from the words used to build stories to hyperlinks or interviews at all levels within the newspaper structure. For single and multiple journalistic case studies, data collection is most commonly done using a mixture of interview, content analysis, observation and data management (Stake, 1995).
Garrison and Dupagne's single case study exploration of Media General’s converged Tampa News Center in Florida cross checked interviews with document analysis (2003). Erdal used the triangulated approach of textual analysis, interviews and observation in the study of a converged Norwegian public broadcaster (2009). Aviles and Carvajal combined observation and interview when researching multimedia news rooms in Spain (2008). A study by
Elizabeth Smith used content analysis to focus on the differences between five US
newspapers and their online versions, looking particularly at hyperlinks and the contextual features unique to websites. It found that story content was the same across both platforms 96 per cent of the time (Smith, 2005: iv). Weiss (2009) used similar methods to analyse 20 newspaper websites, focusing on contextual features uploaded with stories online and concluding that 65 per cent had none at all. Early studies such as these Singer and Martin
used content analysis to compare digital and print platforms regularly concluded that most stories were not altered when uploaded to the internet, or had only slight modifications such as new headlines or photographs which had been cropped differently (Singer, 2001; Martin, 1998). Such studies are useful in establishing how newspapers are differentiating between their print and online products. This thesis takes that further by examining mobile.