Introduction : the nature of the case study / Anthony M. Orum, Joe R. Feagin, and Gideon Sjoberg -- The case study approach in social research : basic methodological issues / Gideon Sjoberg ... [et al.] -- Middletown as an urban case study / Howard M. Bahr and Theodore Caplow -- A tale of two cases / Anthony M. Orum and Joe R. Feagin -- Researching the homeless : the characteristic features and virtues of the case study / David A. Snow and Leon Anderson -- Oenology : the making of New wine / R. Stephen Warner -- The case study method in sociological criminology / Gilbert Geis -- Case studies and the sociology of gender / Christine L. Williams -- Case study in family research / Gerald Handel -- Conclusion : The present crisis in U.S. sociology / Joe R. Feagin, Anthony M. Orum and Gideon Sjoberg