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Punch (2005): ‘approaches to qualitative research design’

 Case studies

 Ethnography

 Grounded theory

 Action research

Burns (2000): ‘qualitative methods’

 Ethnographic research

 Unstructured interviewing

 Action research

 Case studies

 Historical research

Bryman (2004): ‘research designs’

 Experimental design

 Cross-sectional design

 Longitudinal design(s)

 Case study design

 Comparative design

Cohen Manion and Morrison (2007): ‘styles of educational research’

 Naturalistic and ethnographic research

 Historical and documentary research

 Surveys, longitudinal, cross-sectional and trend studies

 Internet-based research and computer usage

 Case studies

 Ex post facto research

 Experiments, quasi-experiments, single-case research and meta-analysis

 Action research

But can we not be clearer about what case study is and isn’t? In a carefully considered assessment, Verschuren (2003) sets out to ‘clarify some ambiguities and misconceptions as to case study as a research methodology, and to define it more clearly as a research strategy’ (p. 122). He notes differences among practitioners with respect to: ‘(a) the empirical object of a case study and the way we look at it; (b) the research methods that are used; and (c) the adequacy of the results to be obtained’ (p. 122, emphasis in original). He argues that ‘the main characteristic of a case study as a way of doing research is that it is a holistic rather than a reductionistic approach’ (p. 128), with implications for both the object of observation and the methods used for generating research material.

We should not be surprised, of course, to find that case study has been interpreted in a variety of ways (see also the discussion of What is a Case Study? in Chapter 2). Similarly, we may readily accept that the terms method, approach, style, strategy and design – as they are used in the discussion of research – share overlapping meanings. Nevertheless, it will be helpful, for the discussion in the remainder of this chapter and throughout the book, to pin things down a little more firmly.

My own perspective, then, is that it is most sensible to view case study as a research design. As such, it represents a way of pursuing a particular research project or projects. Within this research design, as within others, particular methods may then be adopted in order to progress the research.