only experts and scholars can write an encyclopedia. Even though there is an ongoing debate on issues quality, review and evaluation, it is nonethe-less a fact that this peer-based bottom-up approach is a brand new way of knowledge production, which is still far from being understood.
In a case study approach, the investigator cannot be an outside observer.
In such cases, biases are unavoidable. It is however patent that bias should not affect the result of the research significantly.
On the other hand, it is hoped that engagement with literature, ob-servation and different opinions decreased researcher’s bias and increased credibility of the study.
3.5 Case study
The researcher selected to investigate the topic of collaboration among the Humanities community in the Italian context, to discover the possibility of the existence of collaborative digital libraries: therefore, case study was the most obvious choice.
Experimental research, ethnography, action and historical research were suddenly excluded for obvious reasons. Experimental research is rarely used in a study that involves human subjects opinions and insights, and ethnog-raphy demanded prolonged engagement within the context, as well a more sociological approach. Action research is used for investigating “organi-zational functions”and “improving service provision, encouraging reflective practice ans structuring and disseminating experience to the wider com-munity”(Pickard, 2007, p. 134). Historical research was not helpful for exploring contemporary issues that do have little history.
Surveys too were estimated not to fit the objectives of the study: they would aim to “study relationships among specific variables, which are iden-tified at the outset of the research and stated as either an hypothesis or a research question, or to describe certain characteristics of the popula-tion”(Pickard, 2007, p. 95). Surveys also need a probability sampling that was not suitable for the design of the research, because research questions needed members of the Humanities community expert in digital libraries and
54 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY collaborative projects. This was due to the fact that it is very unlikely to gain meaningful data about a specific and advanced topic as “collaborative digital libraries”if participants are not aware of that possibility and have no experience in the field.
Theoretically, Delphi group was a possible choice as a method: nonethe-less, it was considered too structured ans highly complex to organize for a first-time researcher as the author. Furthermore, lack of economic and time resources, as well as the experience of the researcher, did automatically ex-clude a possible application.
On the other hand, case study is a immersive research method that allow researcher to study a whole context and develop an in-depth analysis of a single case. It allows purposive sampling and a very constructivist approach, as well as engagement with participants. Therefore, Case study was the research method chosen for the present research.
Pickard (2007) reports a quote from Yin (2002, p. 23) as a definition of case study:
[case study is] an empirical inquiry that investigates a con-temporary phenomenon within its real-life context; when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly ev-ident; and in which multiple sources of evidence are used —(Yin, 2002, p. 23)
A case study is a well-suited strategy to empirically investigate “contempo-rary phenomena”, such as collaboration among humanists and potentialities of collaborative digital libraries for researchers and scholars.
Case study is a term used for different methods, although is very spe-cific. It should operate in well delimited boundaries: for the present study, the Humanities community in the Italian context was therefore chosen for several reasons. It can be regarded as a broad community of practice (CoP), following definiton by Wenger and Snyder (2000, p. 140)
[CoP] are groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise engineers en-gaged in deep-water drilling, for example, consultants who spe-cialize in strategic marketing, or frontline managers in charge
3.5. CASE STUDY 55 of check processing at a large commercial bank. Some commu-nities of practice meet regularly for lunch on Thursdays, say.
Others are connected primarily by e-mail networks. A commu-nity of practice may or may not have an explicit agenda on a given week, and even if it does, it may not follow the agenda closely. Inevitably, however, people in communities of practice share their experiences and knowledge in free-owing, creative ways that foster new approaches to problems.
And Wenger (2006)
Communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.
As a CoP, the Humanities community in the Italian context:
1. geographically circumscribed 2. naturally defined
3. easily reachable
4. sharing the same mother language 5. sharing the same object of study
Operating in the same context, the community shares the advantage of working with texts that are mainly out od copyright, allowing any sort derivative work or analysis. Avoiding all the legal issues related with intel-lectual property make the community free to operate and work with texts in an open and potentially innovative environment. This reason made it perfectly fit the objectives of the present study: the environment was there-fore suitable for a delimited and in-depth study about collaboration and potentialities of collaboratories.
Case study is an “iterative process: once in the field the researcher will allow the design of the study to develop as he gains into the salient is-sues”(Pickard, 2007, p. 87). The whole research process followed as much as possible phases identified by Lincoln and Guba (1985):
56 CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 1. orientation and overview
2. focused exploration 3. member checking
In the first phase, a research focus had been established, namely “collab-oratories digital libraries”, and “issue subquestions”(Stake, 1995) followed naturally through the process.
The digital humanities community has been chosen to be the unit of analysis.
A personal wiki system has been used during the whole research process, acting also as a case database, storing notes and transcriptions of interviews.
Customized folders archived the audio files of the online interviews.
Second phase, focused exploration, comprehend data collection and it-erative analysis, which means reacting properly to emerging themes. As Pickard (2007) suggests, “one of the greatest case study benefits is the abil-ity to respond as [the researcher’s] knowledge of the case increases”.
Third phase include member checking and verification of analysis: ex-iting the field is then the final stage of the research process, when all data cease to reveal new information.