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Case study has attracted a lot of attention, both positive and negative. This chapter examines in detail the key debates, which have been going on for decades, around and about case study.

We start by considering alternative perspectives on what case study is and what it isn’t. Is it a research method, an approach, a style, a strategy or a design, or perhaps all of these things? Case study is then considered in a comparative perspective in the light of other possible (and popular) forms of research, such as longitudinal, cross-sectional and experimental research. The position of case study with respect to qualitative and quantitative forms of research is also discussed.

The continuing debates around case study are then reviewed. Starting with the positive, the strengths and desirable qualities of case study research are identified. Taking the opposing perspective, its perceived weaknesses – particularly regarding the issues of generalisability, reliability and validity – and the responses that have been made to these, are discussed.

Finally, the criticism that case studies are so endemic and ill-defined that any and every piece of research could be termed a case study (or perhaps a multiple case study) is discussed.