Writing Analytically, 6th Edition - Rosenwasser, David & Stephen, Jill.original_ [123]
You could also look at a textbook you are using, or seek out a textbook on economics or sociology or anthropology. Try to determine what in a given section of the book might be categorized as anecdotal evidence. Also try to name and categorize the other kinds of evidence the book uses.
Remember that there are more kinds of evidence than we have named and illustrated in this chapter. Start getting into the habit of asking yourself, “What kind of evidence is this, and how is it used?”
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Case Studies: Two Examples
The case study is a cousin of anecdotal evidence in that it relies on in-depth and careful description of a particular case in point. The case study is a common form of what is known as qualitative research, as opposed to quantitative (numerical) research, in the social sciences. Each discipline has its own rules governing the method of conducting a case study.
The first example is a piece of what’s called ethnographic writing wherein the writer uses description to come to terms with and understand some kind of cultural experience. This piece, by Elissa Davidowitz, was written for a course on research methodologies in education. Notice how, in the words of her professor, Pearl Rosenberg, the excerpt combines “ongoing data collection, self-reflexive thinking, and socio-cultural analysis” and captures “her humility in the face of an unfamiliar task in relation to real people.”
I didn’t understand how Kent could give the other students such a hard time for dropping out of school when he did the same thing. Yes, they dropped out of school, but they are here five days a week at 8:30 in the morning to get their GED. Doesn’t that make them somewhat credible? I thought so. After working with Kent I was left with many questions. I knew from my short time with him that he was a man struggling to maintain his self-worth and self-respect. His constant need to “prove” himself made it clear that he thought of me as someone who held power over him. What did it mean for me to take on the role of educator and Kent to be the student? [Writer frames the case—helping to teach a GED class to inner city people]
As Kent felt the need to prove himself to me, I felt the need to prove to Kent that the teaching in that room was going both ways. Anne Ferguson describes in her ethnography, Bad Boys, the need for teachers to classify students as “good” or “bad.” Ferguson goes on to explain that, “Even though we treat it this way, the category ‘child’ does not describe and contain a homogeneous and naturally occurring group of individuals at a certain stage of human development … What it means to be a child varies dramatically by virtue of location in cross-cutting categories of class, gender, and race” (Ferguson, 81). The same can be said for adults. We cannot classify all adults in one way. Yes, it may be easy to say that all of the adult learners attending the GED class dropped out of school because they were lazy kids, but it is never that simple. Each individual is a complex being filled with multiple dimensions living in a world where people are constantly trying to simplify things. As an educator, it is crucial to understand the many aspects that make up a child or person. Coming to terms with the truth of the complexity of people’s lives is the first step towards helping them grow both as an individual and a student. [Writer uses secondary source to contextualize the study and foreground her assumptions about complexity]
Throughout my time volunteering at the GED class, I have learned how motivation varies greatly from individual to individual. I always knew that people were motivated by different factors, internal or external, sometimes both. It became clear to me that Vissilios and Kent were internally motivated.