The Case for Case Studies by Jennifer Widner

The Case for Case Studies by Jennifer Widner

This volume demonstrates how to conduct case study research that is both methodologically rigorous and useful to development policy. It will interest scholars and students across the social sciences using case studies, and provide constructive guidance to practitioners in development and public administration.

'This exceptional volume brings together a set of renowned experts from the worlds of social science methods and policy evaluation to assess the state-of-the-art for case studies in international development practiceCase studies methods have for too long been viewed as being second-best by many methodologists and practitioners. This volume rectifies this, with several chapters convincingly arguing that case study methods have relative strengths in figuring out how development interventions work and under what complex, real-world conditions they can succeed. Other chapters provide practical guidance for how to use different case study methods for studying development interventions, providing many useful suggestions for researchers and evaluators.' Derek Beach, Professor, Aarhus University, and Author of Process Tracing Methods: Foundations and Guidelines
'At last evaluators and practitioners are offered methodologies that match international development realities – where contexts differ, policy mixes vary and nothing remains static. The translation of new-generation, 'case-based' approaches into development settings, can only strengthen the evaluation enterprise. We might even look forward to credible generalisations and lessons worth learning!' Elliot Stern, Emeritus Professor of Evaluation Research, Lancaster University, and Editor, Evaluation: International Journal of Theory, Research and Practice
'In the face of rapid, unpredictable change and diverse implementation contexts, we need more and better case studies to understand complex phenomena and to use that understanding for better policies, programs and initiatives in other places and times. Evidence about 'what works' on average in randomised controlled trials cannot be simply generalised to other contexts. But too often case studies are not done systematically or carefully. This important volume provides practical, well-informed guidance from leading writers and researchers on how to plan, implement and communicate case studies which can effectively answer questions about those cases and what these mean for planning initiatives in other places in the future. This book should become an essential guide and reference for everyone serious about quality evidence to inform public policy and practice.' Patricia Rogers, founder of BetterEvaluation

Matt Andrews, Senior Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School, Lant Pritchett, Professor of the Practice of International Development, Harvard Kennedy School, Michael Woolcock, Lead Social Development Specialist, Development Research Group, World Bank

Matt Andrews is Associate Professor of Public Policy. His research focuses on public sector reform, particularly budgeting and financial management reform, and participatory governance in developing and transitional governments. Recent articles focus on forging a theoretical understanding of the
nontechnical factors influencing success in reform processes. Specific emphasis lies on the informal institutional context of reform, as well as leadership structures within government-wide networks. This research developed out of his work in the provincial government of Kwa-Zulu Natal in South
Africa and more recently from his tenure as a Public Sector Specialist working in the Europe and Central Asia Region of the World Bank. He brings this experience to courses on public management and development. He holds a BCom (Hons) degree from the University of Natal, Durban (South Africa), an MSc
from the University of London, and a PhD in Public Administration from the Maxwell School, Syracuse University.

Lant Pritchett is Professor of the Practice of International Development at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In addition, he is a Senior Fellow of the Center for Global Development. He was co-editor of the Journal of Development Economics and worked as a consultant to
Google.org. He has held a number of positions at the World Bank and has been part of the team who produce many World Bank reports, including: World Development Report 1994; Assessing Aid: What Works, What Doesn't and Why (1998); Better Health Systems for India's Poor (2003); World Development Report
2004; and Economic Growth in the 1990s (2005). In addition he has authored and co-authored over 50 papers that have been published in refereed journals and edited volumes. In 2006 he published his first single-authored book, Let Their People Come, and in 2013 his second, The Rebirth of Education:
Schooling Ain't Learning.

Michael Woolcock is Lead Social Development Specialist in the World Bank's Development Research Group. He is also a (part-time) Lecturer in Public Policy at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. His current research focuses on strategies for enhancing state capability for
implementation, on crafting more effective interaction between informal and formal justice systems, and on using mixed methods to assess 'complex' development interventions. In addition to more than 50 journal articles and book chapters, he is the co-author or co-editor of seven books, including
Contesting Development: Participatory Projects and Local Conflict Dynamics in Indonesia (with P. Barron and R. Diprose; Yale University Press 2011), which was a co-recipient of the best book prize by the American Sociological Association's section on international development. He has served for many
years on the World Bank's Social Development Board and co-founded the Justice for the Poor program.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781108427272
ISBN 10	1108427278
Title	The Case for Case Studies
Author	Jennifer Widner
Series	Strategies For Social Inquiry
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Cambridge University Press
Year published	2022-05-26
Number of pages	320
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.