Case study approaches in research allow the investigator to study a contemporary phenomenon within its everyday, naturalistic context. The purpose of a case study is to explore, explain or evaluate the phenomenon. It is particularly useful when the boundaries between the phenomenon and its milieu are not clearly defined. This approach is also useful when a traditional qualitative or quantitative study is unlikely to capture the multiple dimensions of a phenomenon and its environment. The findings of a case study are also useful for theory building.  Social scientists from a variety of disciplines, including sociology, political science, education and health services research have used this approach. It is not, however, utilized as widely in nursing research as in these other disciplines. 

            The purpose of this presentation is to discuss how case study approaches can be applied to nursing research and why it is a particularly useful approach for a wide variety of research questions studied by nurses.  The discussion will include an outline of the steps involved in developing a case study project, and methodological concerns including rigor, reliability and validity, generalizability and analysis of the results.

            Examples of two case studies undertaken by the authors will be presented. Each case will highlight how the principles of case study research were applied in the field. The first describes a comparative case study of school based health services within the context of the public school system in the United States.  The second takes place in an international context, examining the process of the development of the nursing profession in Mexico between the years of 1980 and 2005.

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