Qualitative Case Study Research in Africa and Asia: Challenges and Prospects

Abstract

Much of the literature on research design has focused on research conducted in developed, uni-cultural or primarily English .speaking countries. Studies of qualitative case study research, the challenges and prospects, have been embedded in Western/Euro-centric society and social theories. Although there have been some theoretical studies, few empirical studies have been conducted to explore the nature of the challenges of qualitative case study in Africa and Asia. These challenges include: access to the organizations; conducting interviews in developing countries; accessing documents and observation of official meetings; language and cultural challenges in the local context; and gaining consent for the human research ethics committee from participants in different countries. Each of these five issues will be explored in the context of conducting qualitative case study research in Libya and Malaysia in order to make a contribution toward the literature in this area.