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Stake (2005) distinguishes between three types of case study: ‘intrinsic’,

‘instrumental’ and ‘collective’. Using these categories, my studies are

‘instrumental’. My concern is not, first and foremost, the uses and forms of writing in one specific business but to gain an understanding of how writing is used in businesses of a particular kind. Together the four form a ‘collective’

case study. Yin (2014) argues that in collective case studies the selection of the cases needs to be based on replication logic as opposed to sampling logic. Swain describes replication logic as:

... analogous to the logic underlying multiple experiments. Using replication logic, cases are selected on the basis of similarity (literal replication), predicting similar results, or of contrast drawing on theory (theoretical replication), anticipating difference in findings or aspects of findings. (Swain, 2017, p. 230)

My cases were, in the first instance, selected on the basis of similarity. I set the following criteria for their selection.

The businesses should:

1. be independent businesses, not franchises 2. be located in the Eastmarket ward

3. have fewer than 10 employees

4. not require employees to hold qualifications higher than NVQ level three

5. be one in which writing was not a product of the business 6. serve local customers

The third criterion reflects the way the term microbusiness is used by the European Union. It is used as a category of business by the Office for

National Statistics (ONS), although the term ‘microbusiness’ is not used, and has been adopted in parliamentary reports (Rhodes, 2017). I chose to look at businesses of this size for a number of reasons:

1. Businesses of this type have been shown to differ in many respects from larger businesses, particularly in their structure and

management, and encounter issues that are related to their size as discussed in chapter three section 5.

2. ONS figures for 2010 showed that 88.7% of businesses in Great Britain matched this definition.

https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/reports/lmp/gor/2092957698/subrepo rts/gor_idbr_time_series/report.aspx?

3. At the time of selection, businesses of this size had a particular significance. Jobs were being lost in the public sector as a result of the economic recession and the government was looking to the private sector to provide employment.

4. As the literature review indicates, very few studies of literacy in the workplace have focused on businesses of this size.

The category of microbusinesses includes a wide range of enterprises from high-tech online businesses to local, part-time dog walkers. The fourth and fifth criteria were intended to restrict the selection of cases to businesses in which writing served to support the work activity rather than those that were writing intensive and where written texts constitute a product: for example consultancies, solicitors and web designers. Writing in workplaces of this type was likely to have greater relevance to the teaching of adult literacy, the education sector in which I hoped my study would be of value. The last criterion was added to exclude businesses which worked chiefly or wholly on-line. Two businesses in my scoping study were of this type but I made the decision not to include these on the grounds that the nature of their activity and their uses of writing were very different to those in other businesses and would be better as part of a separate study.

Prior to the selection of the four cases, I undertook a scoping study of 15 micro-businesses in Eastmarket. These met most but not all of the criteria.

The selection of the 15 was based on local employment statistics and a local directory as well as personal knowledge of the town. I attempted to include a range of businesses that were roughly representative of the microbusinesses within the town at the time, restricting these to businesses that were located in the Eastmarket ward. (A list of these businesses and the number of employees is included as appendix 1.) A semi-structured interview was undertaken with the owner of each of the businesses. Most were undertaken face to face but four were undertaken by phone. This exercise provided a valuable introduction to businesses of this type, providing new insights but

also raising a number of questions. It proved valuable in informing the design of fieldwork tools for the main study.

Some owners were asked whether they would be happy for the business to be the subject of a more intensive study. A number were not, some citing the nature of the work environment and others pressures in terms of workload.

Some were not asked because, for varying reasons, they were not suitable.

Of seven possible sites I initially chose five to be the subject of the case studies. These included: a manufacturer of fencing, a hairdressing salon, a builder, a florist’s shop and a small independent garage. Of these, one, the fencing manufacturer, subsequently dropped out leaving me with four cases in total. This selection was, to a large degree, opportunistic and pragmatic. I chose businesses that I felt would be comfortable giving me access to their premises, employees and texts. At a time of economic uncertainty I also chose businesses that I judged would be unlikely to disappear before the study was completed. The four represented traditional, well established local businesses, all delivering services rather than manufacturing goods and all dealing with customers face to face rather than online. They differed, however, in the number and the gender of the people involved. Table 4.1 provides some basic information on the four businesses.

Although my cases were, in the first instance, selected on the basis of similarity, they were in many respects quite diverse. Covering four quite different trades ensured that their work activity would differ significantly. I expected therefore that their uses of writing would be shaped by the nature of their work and that differences between them might be illuminating.

Table 4.1 Essential information on the four businesses

Business Services Size Gender

balance

Time established

Garage Repairs, MOT testing, car sales, retail: sweets and

Builder Wide range of building services from extensions

Also, the arguments made by Martin (2014) for restricting the term microbusiness to very small businesses of no more than four employees alerted me to the possibility that, even within the category of

microbusinesses, size could be a factor in the uses of writing across the four cases and particularly in the case of the builder who worked alone.

Differences in gender balance provided a further possible focus for

comparison. Despite these differences, I was keen to discover whether there were features in common.