This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by HARDING, D. J. Articles by MEHTA, J. D. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Studying Rare Events Through Qualitative Case Studies

Lessons from a Study of Rampage School Shootings

Harvard University dharding{at}wjh.harvard.edu

CYBELLE FOX

Harvard University fox{at}fas.harvard.edu

JAL D. MEHTA

Harvard University jmehta{at}fas.harvard.edu

This article considers five methodological challenges in studying rare events such as school shootings. Drawing on the literature on causal analysis in macro-historical and other small-N research, it outlines strategies for studying school shootings using qualitative case studies and illustrates these strategies using data from case studies of two rampage school shootings: Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, and Westside Middle School outside Jonesboro, Arkansas. Strengths and limitations are discussed as well as lessons for studying rare events.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				W. D. ROTH and J. D. MEHTA The Rashomon Effect: Combining Positivist and Interpretivist Approaches in the Analysis of Contested Events Sociological Methods Research, November 1, 2002; 31(2): 131 - 173. [Abstract] [PDF]