Aren case studies unscientific because they cannot be replicated?
• Aren’t case studies unscientific because findings cannot be generalized? Generalizability of findings is a function of the range and diversity of settings in which a theory is tested, not of the testing methodology per se. It is true that randomization of subjects in experimental research and random sampling in quasi-experimental research, along with larger sample sizes, mean that research of this type can more easily lay claim to range and diversity than can case study research projects. Nonetheless, judicious case selection to identify cases illustrating the range of a theory (ex., a theory about causes of divorce) may result in more generalizable research than, say, the attempt to test the same theory based on a random sample of students in one university. Moreover, if case research is replicated (discussed above), generalization of case-based findings can be enhanced further. • How is case study research related to complexity science? Some advocates of case study methodology find
