Assumptions
A User's Guide to Case Studies: Examination and Critique of an Approach to Research
What are Assumptions?
described as factors in the study that are beyond control but are essential to the relevancy of the study, it is also important to consider paradigmatic assumptions.
Why are Assumptions Important?
It is important to define the philosophical assumptions to address challenges/barriers to any philosophical approach and avoid any misunderstanding of the research. The strength of case study research is regarded as its ability to study a phenomenon in depth, and therefore suggests that case study research should be informed by a qualitative approach/assumption.
It is of great importance to have a strong understanding of the philosophical assumption of the study positivist or non positivist to deal with any issues that arise with conflicting beliefs of the different research approaches.
Philosophical Assumptions are regarded as a vital component of case study research as they may affect how the study is conducted and the application of the research . According to Bhatta (2018), “philosophical assumptions shape the nature of any research including the case study research” (p.73).
There are two philosophical orientations/assumptions that influence case study research, positivism or quantitative methodology and non positivism or constructivist/interpretive paradigms.
Positivist assumptions are essential to theory testing while interpretivists are for theory building.
Positivist paradigm "believes on independent single reality" (Bhatta, 2018, p.73)
Non-Positivist and constructivist/interpretivist paradigm is that the "truth is relative and that it is dependent on ones perspective" (Baxter & Jack, 2008, p. 545)
In a case study research, a qualitative approach may be useful in explaining in-depth social phenomena and a quantitative approach may be useful to study a simple phenomenon.
Philosophical Assumptions:
In the case study, the researchers' philosophical assumptions have positivist roots, they describe that they use a quantitative approach for this study. This indicates that they believe there is a single reality and the study aims to test this singular theory that COVID 19 impacts the mental health of the students.
Other assumptions being made by the researchers in this case study include:
The survey is in fact being truthfully completed by their target population, University students in BS Economics
The responses received were a product of the effects of the implications of COVID 19 alone
The data collected from this target sample size is representative and able to be generalized to a broader population