How to Critically Evaluate Case Studies in Social Work

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to develop guidelines to assist practitioners and researchers in evaluating and developing rigorous case studies. The main concern in evaluating a case study is to accurately assess its quality and ultimately to offer clients social work interventions informed by the best available evidence. To assess the quality of a case study, we propose criteria, including transferability/external validity, credibility/internal validity, confirmability/construct validity, and dependability/reliability. Guidelines are presented in a phase-oriented framework: research design, data collection, and data analysis. Finally, several dimensions to enhance the quality at each phase of the guidelines in evaluating the case study are discussed.