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Reviewed by:
  • Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics
  • Kelleen Toohey
Duff, Patricia A. (2008). Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics. New York: Lawrence Erlbaum. Pp. 248, US$31.95 (paper).

Patricia Duff's recently published Case Study Research in Applied Linguistics is a welcome addition to the methodological literature in applied linguistics. In this relatively short book (248 pages), Duff provides readers (likely graduate students as well as researchers) with a comprehensive introduction to case study's social-science beginnings, its varied philosophical and theoretical backgrounds, case-study examples in our field, and detailed instructions on how such research is conducted and reported. The book begins with a description of a language learner with whom Duff conducted a case study in the 1980s, showing how her theoretical preoccupations at the time led her to frame her study in particular ways. She then shows how other sorts of theoretical perspectives might have led her to different data-collection strategies, analyses, and conclusions. This introduction foreshadows many of the topics addressed later in the book and piques the reader's interest in exploring the complexities of the methodology.

Chapter 2, 'Defining, Describing and Defending Case Study Research,' was particularly interesting to me because of Duff's broad examination of the use of the case study in social science over time. Her explanation of historical competition between schools of American sociology (that is, between those who espoused quantitative methods and those more interested in qualitative research) is brief but intriguing, and the references she provides aid the interested reader in exploring this topic more fully. Indeed, this comprehensive provision of references for follow-up reading is another laudable characteristic of the whole book. Chapter 3 displays this characteristic fully, as Duff synthesizes several decades of case-study research topically in charts, showing many of the questions that have preoccupied applied linguists over time, then briefly reviews a large number of examples of case studies, explaining their theoretical foundations as well as their findings and their importance in the field. This chapter displays well Duff's wide reading of the literature and her care in reviewing studies with disparate theoretical orientations.

Chapters 4–6 'provide . . . guidance . . . about how to conduct, evaluate and write up case studies in applied linguistics' (p. 1). These chapters will be of great use to graduate students and researchers new to the methodology. As a practitioner of case-study research herself, Duff articulates the need to have a good idea of overarching goals for the research but also the ways in which the research itself helps the researcher hone questions and data-gathering strategies. The examples of her own and others' work that she provides in these chapters are [End Page 656] helpful and illustrative. She discusses research issues such as sampling, access to research sites, ethics, and validity in brief, but always gives readers references that would allow more detailed consideration of the issue. She offers guidance on data analysis, providing Gall, Gall, and Borg's (2005) helpful criteria for evaluating case studies. The final chapter of the book addresses the important, but often overlooked, matter of how the case-study researcher writes up a report of her data and findings. I think this chapter will be particularly appreciated by novice researchers who recognize that there is some art to such reports. Duff considers publication venues, organization and content, ethics, and means of representation and provides very helpful suggestions about negotiating this phase of case-study research.

In all, I am very impressed with the readability, accuracy, and comprehensiveness of this introduction to case-study research. I think it provides readers with a thorough overview of the methodology, from its theoretical beginnings to its contemporary enactments. Duff's use of more general educational research discussions of case studies is important background for applied linguists and broadens our understanding of other colleagues' consideration of perennial issues in this research. The references Duff provides show her very wide reading of applied linguistics research and could keep a novice researcher busy for some time in understanding the field. I intend to use the book with doctoral students in a methodology class; I think the students will appreciate its conciseness, comprehensiveness, and readability...

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