Prof Gurak visited class on Nov 1 to discuss case studies and Internet research. She characterized CS more as an approach or strategy rather than a method. Summary of her comments:

Rhetoric and CS work well together. “Bounded cases of things that are happening.” Rhetoricians are interested. She referenced MacNealy Chapter 10; Yin, “social-sciency”; Stake, education-focused.
When to do CS per Stake: “intrinsic” and “instrumental”. Intrinsic CS is when you are interested in the case itself; instrumental when the CS is designed to help answer a bigger research question.
Yin: CS is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in its real-life context. Gurak: The most obvious examples have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
CS might include various methods, including possibility ethnography, surveys, textual analysis, etc.
Gurak provided great discussion of how the Lotus MarketPlace case became her dissertation and how she then expanded to make it the book.