S.TRUEMAN PhD THESIS 2016

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4.4.5 Case study design Hartley (2004) described research design as ‘the argument for the logical steps which will be taken to link the research question(s) and issues to data collection, analysis and interpretation in a coherent way’ (p. 326). Case studies can be categorised into three types of study design: exploratory, descriptive and explanatory (Hartley, 2004; Yin, 2003, 2009). Exploratory case studies answer ‘what’ questions, and are used to develop hypotheses and test propositions for further inquiry (Yin, 2003, 2009). Descriptive case studies are used to describe phenomena within their context, and explanatory case studies are used to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions and to understand cause and effect relationships (Fisher & Ziviani, 2004; Gangeness & Yurkovich, 2006; Hancock & Algozzine, 2006; Yin, 2003, 2009). The researcher in this study used an explanatory case study design to describe, explain and understand the case of remote generalist nurses providing mental healthcare. Table 4.3 summarises in the differences between the three design approaches. Table 4.3 Relevant Situations for Different Research Strategies (Source: Yin, 1984)

Explanatory

Exploratory

Descriptive

Study questions

X X X X X

X

X

Propositions

Purpose

X X

X X

Units of analysis

Criteria for interpreting findings

The next decision in case study design concerns whether the study should incorporate single or multiple cases (Baxter, 2003; Yin, 2009). A single case study is an