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Article published In: In Search of Round Trips: Travelling concepts in translation studies and beyond
Edited by Cornelia Zwischenberger
[Translation in Society 4:1] 2025
► pp. 21–39

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Reconsidering case study research in translation studies

ORCiD logo with link | University of Oslo
Published online: 3 July 2025
DOI logo with link
https://doi.org/10.1075/tris.24013.but
Abstract
It is common in translation studies (TS) to present research as a case study. Even though the phrase frequently figures in titles, the prominence of the case study label seldom corresponds to an explanation of required characteristics. Concerns regarding the bounding of cases, as well as reflections on the validity of particular interpretations, are often not subjected to explicit methodological reflection. This results in a discipline-internal complication, namely the impossibility of determining what is not a case study, and in a discipline-external lack of communicability: if the case study label is not predictive of an identifiable approach, this diminishes the incentive for researchers from other disciplines to productively engage with insights from TS. The article articulates those issues and concludes with suggestions for an enhanced meta-descriptive apparatus that can support transparent communication about the constitution and circulation of cases within the field and beyond.
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Counting and classifying case studies
    • 2.1Are case studies common?
    • 2.2Are common characteristics lacking?
  • 3.Defining and situating case studies
    • 3.1Definitions and examples
    • 3.2Reproduction, representation, translation, and observation
  • 4.Disciplinary foundations and persistent problems
    • 4.1Prototypical cases
    • 4.2Styles of reasoning
  • 5.Shared codes and evidence hierarchies
  • 6.Why now?
  • References
References (57)
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