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7.11 Informal case studies 181

and willing to try out new ideas often make the best participants in informal case
studies. It is not uncommon to rely upon such individuals for repeated sessions at
different stages in a project: in such cases, these individuals become informants (see
Chapters 8 and 9), providing a detailed understanding of the problem and regular
feedback that (ideally) helps keep your project on track.
Although informal case studies may appear to be somewhat simpler than fully
realized studies, you should still strive to be as rigorous as possible. An informal
study conducted during an hour-long session can still involve multiple methods of
data collection, a theoretical basis, and careful definition of the units of analysis.
Although your data collection procedures might be relatively simple, you still want
to keep careful notes and document your analysis appropriately.
Informal case studies trade scientific rigor for ease of data collection. By forego-
ing the use of multiple data sources, triangulation, and analytic techniques that give
full-blown case studies scientific rigor, informal studies provide for the possibility
of “quick-and-dirty” study and insights. Effective use of this approach and appro-
priate communication of results requires a clear understanding of the limits of this
approach.
The example of Sara's use of technology provides a clear picture of the differ-
ence between formal and informal case studies. In studying Sara, the research team
made multiple visits to Sara's home, using several techniques to examine technolo-
gies from differing perspectives. Building from a theoretical grounding in theories of
interaction with devices in the home and the importance of failures and workarounds,
the analysis of observations from these sessions led to a number of insights that point
to potentially generalizable insights that might be addressed by designers of tech-
nologies for blind people (Shinohara and Tenenberg, 2007).
Imagine, instead, an informal case study of the same situation, involving a
single, hour-long visit, using only observational techniques, and lacking a theo-
retical basis. This study might yield some interesting observations, but you would
be hard pressed to gather the data that would inform the insights identified in the
full case study. The abbreviated nature of the data collection session might limit
your use of multiple sources, leaving you with less confidence in any particular
result. As trends and themes that might arise during a longer session might not
be apparent in the single visit, generalization of insights would be difficult, if not
impossible. You might be able to use the session to generate some discussion that
would be part of a longer report, but this informal case study would not stand very
well on its own.
Reports of informal case studies should take these limitations into account. If
your investigation is truly informal, you may wish to avoid the term “case study”
altogether. This will help you avoid the possibility of creating a false impression of a
rigorous study. Instead, you might talk about the lessons learned from observations
of one or more individuals. Appropriately cautious statements about the significance
of your observations and candid admission that more study is needed can help you
avoid criticisms that the informality of your procedures does not justify the claims
that you are making.