Cases under construction

In this chapter, we seek to demonstrate the uses of the case study for sociolegal research on criminal law. The case study, first and foremost, is less a single research method than a research approach. Unlike experimental setups or survey research, case studies are often conducted using a variety of methods and a variety of source materials.
And while survey and experimental research tend to want to cover many cases, the case study, in contrast, tends to concentrate on only one, or a highly limited number of cases. The case study is “an in-depth, multifaceted investigation, using qualitative research methods, of a single social phenomenon. [...]