This paper seeks to initiate a conversation about methodology in public and community archaeology through an examination of the use of case studies. Case studies enable the exploration of situations that are, by their nature, not easily reduced to statistical data. The challenge is that unless they are carefully structured, case studies may contribute little beyond anecdote to the field. Other disciplines that rely on case studies have addressed the methodological challenges aggressively. This paper explores these issues in four sections: First, the rationale for methodology in public archaeology is examined. Second, actual practice—through analysis of papers published in Public Archaeology and, to a limited degree, in the ‘grey literature’—is reviewed. Third, alternative case study methods, gleaned from diverse disciplines, are presented. Finally, the potential for method-based case study research is illustrated through an example of the use of one such method.

中文翻译：

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案例分析：公共和社区考古学中的方法

本文旨在通过对案例研究的使用进行检查，发起关于公共和社区考古学方法论的对话。案例研究能够探索就其性质而言不易归结为统计数据的情况。挑战在于，除非精心构建案例研究，否则除了轶事之外，对该领域的贡献可能微乎其微。其他依赖案例研究的学科已经积极应对方法论挑战。本文分四个部分探讨了这些问题：首先，审查了公共考古学方法论的基本原理。其次，通过分析发表在公共考古学上的论文，以及在有限程度上，在“灰色文献”中发表的论文，审查了实际实践。第三，介绍了从不同学科收集的替代案例研究方法。最后，