There is a heavy reading load for the class meeting on Wednesday, May 14. All students must at least try to read the items that the syllabus indicates for this class meeting. The two theory readings are classics: Robert K. Yin's book, Case Study Research and Kathleen M. Eisenhardt's article, "Building Theories from Case Study Research."

It is the turn of each of the following students to write a paper for this class meeting: Zhongzhi HE, Dominique DORION, Catherine LEROY-BELTRAN, Marcelo DOS SANTOS, Raoul GRAF, and [one additional student to be named].

Although the reading load is heavy, students who must write a paper can make the reading manageable in the following way. First read your question. It will tell you what to look for. Second do the application reading designated in your question. The application reading is either the one by Guy Paré & Joyce J. Elam or the one by S.G. Harris & R.I. Sutton. Third do the theory reading designated in your question. The theory reading is either the one by Yin or the one by Eisenhardt.

The paper is to consist of an answer to the designated question. Remember that you must write your paper as if you were presenting your responses to an audience of other researchers (for instance, other doctoral students, professors, journal readers) who are completely unfamiliar with the topic and who have not read the papers that you have read. This is not a group assignment; each paper is to be completed individually.

When writing your paper, be sure to state the question at the beginning of the paper.

The paper must be submitted no later than Tuesday, May 13, at 10am. Follow the instructions in the syllabus for submitting the paper to AllenLee@Management.McGill.ca. By noon, all of the papers will be forwarded to the entire class via the electronic discussion list, Lee-PhD@Management.McGill.ca. All students must read these papers in preparation for class.

1. (Zhongzhi HE, Raoul GRAF.) Identify, in the book by Yin, what you believe to be five qualities that valid case-study research should possess. (Note: you need not identify all possible qualities that valid case-study research must possess. Identify just five.) Using these criteria, make a judgment on (a) how well Paré & Elam conducted their case-study research and (b) what could be improved in their case-study research. Explain your judgment.

2. (Dominique DORION.) Identify, in the book by Yin, what you believe to be five qualities that valid case-study research should possess. (Note: you need not identify all possible qualities that valid case-study research must possess. Identify just five.) Using these criteria, make a judgment on (a) how well Harris & Sutton conducted their case-study research and (b) what could be improved in their case-study research. Explain your judgment.

3. (Catherine LEROY-BELTRAN.) Identify, in the article by Eisenhardt, what you believe to be five qualities that valid case-study research should possess. (Note: you need not identify all possible qualities that valid case-study research must possess. Identify just five.) Using these criteria, make a judgment on (a) how well Paré & Elam conducted their case-study research and (b) what could be improved in their case-study research. Explain your judgment.

4. (Marcelo DOS SANTOS, [one additional student to be named].) Identify, in the article by Eisenhardt, what you believe to be five qualities that valid case-study research should possess. (Note: you need not identify all possible qualities that valid case-study research must possess. Identify just five.) Using these criteria, make a judgment on (a) how well Harris & Sutton conducted their case-study research and (b) what could be improved in their case-study research. Explain your judgment.