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Case Studies and Cases in Point

The Institute's case studies utilize the rich resources of local archival collections to provide an in-depth historical analysis of key individuals, pivotal events, and important public policies, whereas cases in point offer a snapshot in time of a particular event that had a direct impact on policy in the region. A full listing of the Institute's case studies and cases in point can be found below.

Case Studies

• Talia Hullum and Briana Mihok, Integration of Human Services among Counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania: Five Case Studies (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2013)
• PVAAS and Data Management Case Studies  (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2009)
• Jenny Wolsk Bain, Pink Slip: Southwestern Pennsylvania's Response to Workforce Reductions at US Airways, 2001-05  (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2006)
• Clarke Thomas,  Hurricane Katrina: A Community's Response to a National Disaster   (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2006)
• Pamela Tokar-Ickes, Flight 93: Policy Considerations for Emergency Preparedness in Pennsylvania   (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2005)

The Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident: A series by Louise Comfort and Carrie Miller

• The Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident: Continuing Policy Issues, Dilemmas, and Strategies   (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2003)
• Decision-Making Under Uncertainty: The Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident from Multiple Perspectives  (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2004)
• Safety vs. Technology in High Risk Environments: Trade-offs in Public Policy Decision-Making  (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2004)
• Intergovernmental Communication and Cooperation: Networks vs. Hierarchy in Dynamic Environments  (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2004)
• The Media's Role in High Risk Conditions: Community "Right to Know" vs. Public Information Management   (University of Pittsburgh Institute of Politics, 2004)

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• > Journals
• > American Political Science Review
• > Volume 98 Issue 2
• > What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?

Article contents

What is a case study and what is it good for.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 June 2004

This paper aims to clarify the meaning, and explain the utility, of the case study method, a method often practiced but little understood. A “case study,” I argue, is best defined as an intensive study of a single unit with an aim to generalize across a larger set of units. Case studies rely on the same sort of covariational evidence utilized in non-case study research. Thus, the case study method is correctly understood as a particular way of defining cases, not a way of analyzing cases or a way of modeling causal relations. I show that this understanding of the subject illuminates some of the persistent ambiguities of case study work, ambiguities that are, to some extent, intrinsic to the enterprise. The travails of the case study within the discipline of political science are also rooted in an insufficient appreciation of the methodological tradeoffs that this method calls forth. This paper presents the familiar contrast between case study and non-case study work as a series of characteristic strengths and weaknesses— affinities —rather than as antagonistic approaches to the empirical world. In the end, the perceived hostility between case study and non-case study research is largely unjustified and, perhaps, deserves to be regarded as a misconception. Indeed, the strongest conclusion to arise from this methodological examination concerns the complementarity of single-unit and cross-unit research designs.

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• Volume 98, Issue 2
• JOHN GERRING (a1)
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055404001182

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• Government Ethics Cases
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Find ethics case studies on government ethics topics including open meetings, campaigns, bribes, civility, and conflicts of interest. (For permission to reprint articles, submit requests to [email protected] .)

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Can a campaign use government databases?

Student volunteers remove an opponent's yard signs.

A candidate poses with the seal of the office she hopes to hold

A candidate must decide whether to use information about his opponent's marriage.

• More pages:

John Pelissero, director, government ethics quoted by the Coachella Valley Independent.

The perspective of “Housing as an economic good” is deeply embedded in American housing laws and policies. Many Indigenous understandings of home emphasize cultural and spiritual meanings of home and the people one is amongst. When Indigenous homelessness specifically occurs, there is also a spiritual and cultural loss where individuals are not just separated from traditional lands, but also family networks and their own personal identities.

John Pelissero, director, government ethics, quoted by The Mercury News.