The Columbine school shootings were one of the first and most widely known attacks of violence in history. As a discrete event in time with a fairly clear beginning and end, it might be studied using the case study method.

Would a case study remain the best approach to a search for any long-lasting consequences of that violent episode?

This question could be addressed by the case study method as depending upon the specific question could lead to the method employed.  Perhaps it would be important to focus on the "whom" or "what" when defining "long lasting consequences".  For example, one could investigate how the lives have changed for stakeholders in this community and what factors have contributed to those changes.  I am reluctant to use superlatives such as "best' because it excludes other possibilities and approaches that could address this phenomenon.

 Why or why not?  According to Johansson (2003), a case study has certain elements that include boundaries of space and time.  Case studies approach questions when the incident being investigated is extreme, rare or unique so that the experience is bounded due to shared significance only to certain groups, individuals, or members.  Some of the data that could be collected and analyzed might be archives, documents, interviews, direct observation, participant observation and artifacts depending upon the focus of the study.

According to Zucker (2009), this type of inquiry is systematic that aims to describe the phenomenon of the event with contextual considerations as the boundary between context and the phenomenon may be blurry.  Finally, Gerring (2004) advocates for within unit cases to be considered as "the case study" that offer causal propositions rather than just one single entity such as N=1.  He cautions that this leaves too broad a topic to manage.  By calling upon individual units to create the case study intrinsic limits are set such that the investigator would remain on course investigating the phenomenon within the limits of the case study undertaking while not getting lost in superfluous data.

References

Gerring, J. (2004). What is a case study and what is it good for? The American Political Science Review, 98(2), 341-354. Retrieved from

https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/docview/214412110?accountid=7374

Johansson, R. (2003). Case study methodology. Paper presented at the International Conference "Methodologies in Housing Research" organized by the Royal Institute of Technology in cooperation with the International Association of People-Environment Studies, Stockholm, Sweden. Retrieved from

http://www.psyking.net/HTMLobj-3839/Case_Study_Methodology-_Rolf_Johansson_ver_2.pdf
Zucker, D. M. (2009). How to do case study research. Amherst, MA: School of Nursing Faculty Publication Series. Retrieved from

http://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1001&context=nursing_faculty_pubs

DQ 1

The Columbine school shootings were one of the first and most widely known attacks of violence in history. As a discrete event in time with a fairly clear beginning and end, it might be studied using the case study method. Would a case study remain the best approach to a search for any long-lasting consequences of that violent episode? Why or why not?

There is a lot that can be learned from the Columbine school shootings.  I believe that a case study approach would still be the best one in capturing the long lasting consequences.  As reported by Noor (2008), case studies become particularly useful where one needs to understand some particular problem or situation in great-depth, and where one can identify cases rich in information. 

Since we are looking at the long-lasting consequences a case study would be helpful to understand these consequences.  We also have several cases that could be utilized due to their experience with living through the situation, which could provide the rich information we are a seeking to find. According to Yin (2003) a case study design should be considered when:

(a) the focus of the study is to answer "how" and "why" questions;

(b) you cannot manipulate the behavior of those involved in the study;

(c) you want to cover contextual conditions because you believe they are relevant to the phenomenon under study; or

(d) the boundaries are not clear between the phenomenon and context.  

 Considering that we may be asking how the students involved are doing, how they have overcome the tragedy, and why questions as well, a case study would certainly be the best method to apply to this study.

Noor, K. B. M. (2008). Case study: A strategic research methodology. American Journal of Applied Sciences, 5(11), 1602-1604.

Yin, R. K. (2003). Case study research: Design and methods (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

DQ 2

Consider the following research question: Are business professors, education professors, or psychology professors more popular among doctoral learners at a 4-year university?

To answer the research question, you might observe throughout a semester the attendance rates for a key course in each of the groups; review end-of-course surveys and compare average instructor ratings among the groups; or compare the number of cards, letters, and gifts received by faculty members in each group at the end of a semester.

Which of these methods is most likely to bring about the desired results? Why? What does your consideration of these options tell you about operationalization?

Each method has benefits and limitations to acquiring the knowledge desired.  Attendance rates would certainly seem to be a good method, however, if attendance is tied to scholarships, financial aid, or admittance into a program, those could also be correlative factors that might have a stronger bearing on the attendance of students.  End of year surveys would bring out more of the student's opinions, and a comparison would certainly give a good vision of how professors are being rated. 

However, there are still limitations here, with some students not paying much heed to the survey, some professors who may get bad ratings due to difficult material rather than instruction, or some professors only being liked for ease.  The number of cards, letters, and gifts could be a great comparison, but again, relying on the teacher's self-report could become problematic, especially if some of the gifts given were not saved, appropriate, or even noticed.  If I were designing the research project, I would likely do the end of course surveys, because they are usually ones that are established through the university and would allow for good comparison. 

I read one study that showed that even things like professor age can change the way a student rates a teacher, so I understand that the method I am choosing is not fool proof (Wilson et al, 2014).  I think that this tells me that when you are trying to operationalize a study, there are so many factors to be aware of and to consider.  I think it shows that we really need to examine carefully the research questions we want to ask, and how we can use different methods to best find the answers.

Wilson, J. H., Beyer, D., & Monteiro, H. (2014). Professor Age Affects Student Ratings: Halo Effect for Younger Teachers. College Teaching, 62(1), 20-24. doi:10.1080/87567555.2013.825574