Case Study

Izabela Sobczak

A b s t r a c t

The article discusses case study with a focus on the history of the term and its transdisciplinary application, from medicine and sociology, through law, psychiatry, psychology, sexology, and literary studies. The author discusses the differences between case study as a genre (Brigit Lang, Joy Damousi, Alison Lewis, Yiannis Gabriel) and case study as a research strategy (Bent Flyvbjerg, Gerring John, Ryszard Nycz), which has been recently also employed in literary studies. Determining the scope and features of case study is accompanied by an analysis of description as a key tool in formulating “the story of the case.”