ABSTRACT
The case study sits neatly between the research designs that precede and follow it in this book: qualitative and action research respectively. Most qualitative research is in fact a form of case study, though some Type 4 (multi-site) investigations are exceptions. Indeed, some writers treat ‘qualitative research’ and ‘case study’ as synonyms. However, not all case studies can adequately be described as instances of qualitative research, since they sometimes make substantial use of quantitative research methods. Similarly, most action research is based on case study investigations, so that the case study, which is examined later in this chapter, overlaps with a number of other designs. Indeed, when survey research or structured observation or field experiments are conducted in just one or a very small number of organizations, there is ostensibly little to distinguish the case study from such quantitative investigations.
