I think you research topic requires the mixed method approach. At least, I would use such since I would need to look at the problem from different perspectives: interview the staff, read the documents, statistics, use the observation technique, maybe the questionnaires (it depends on particular situation). Such multi-source perspective would give us useful knowledge about the challenges and opportunities of commissioning culturally competent dementia services for older people.

Thank you both. I have used a mixed method approach but my supervisors are asking me to justify its use as opposed to a case study hence i ask what is the advantage of one over the other?

A case study is a particular method of qualitative research-- either single case or multi-case. This method involves a detailed close analytical investigation of a single subject, be it a place, group, organiaztion, event or instance. In multicase, it would be looking at several of the same type.

I am curious regarding your comment, "...to justify its use as opposed to a case study." Why would they ask about "case stduy" in particular, of all the qualitative methods? So, do you mean you have conducted or propose a mixed method (a design using both qual-qual methods) and they want you to justify it? Or you are proposing /have conducted a case study involving both qual-quant methodoligies in your data collection? (I have done this--multi-case)

Perhaps you can describe a bit more of the research-- what are you doing?

HI Mary and thank you for the further enquiry.

im using mixed methods and used a questionnaire surgery to start with then in-depth questions via an interview process. I am not quite sure why the supervisor wants me to justify the use nor the MM over a case study. My research qustion asks what are the opportunities and challenges of commissioning culturally competent dementia services for older people.

What is the setting and your subjects/study population? I'd like to know if you did / are using some case without realizing it? Thus a case study-- that's the oly reason that would make sense why they asked about that-- and like I said, it's possible to use mixed methods within a case study.

You would always need to justify your research approach . One way is to justify why not the alternatives. If they specifically pointed out to justify your use Of MM design wrt a case study, then what you are proposing must be within the sphere of a case study. This exercise will help to clarify your choice of design that is appropriate to your research question/issue.

The setting is the national health service in the UK. Participants are my colleagues in the health commissioning sector. I have commenced research using a mixed method approach and not mentioned case study at all. The population involved is just 50 of us.

Then it’s more of a case study. Remember that a case study allows a multi method approac. Hence within the case study you can adopt a Quant/Qual methodologies. I suggest to you to read Yin on case studies and Cresswell on Quan/Qual mix

Tiwalola. You did not mention case study, but it's possible your project is/or can be one w/o you knowing it; you did ask what is the difference between.... Since your advisors did mention it, this could be why, after all why mention it, of all the qual methods availalbe? And since you see it as mixed method, it is probably a case study design using qual-quan methods -- your in depth interviews and survey type questionnaire.

Get a hold of Yin's book, Case Study Research- mine is the first one, old and there are newer editions, maybe different titles. Once you have a full understanding of a case study, fyou'll be able to ascertain if your project fits into this design and justify it as a case study. Although we've/I have been talking about mixed method within a case study, this is for description only. If your design is a case study, then that is what it is and NOT a mixed method design.

A mixed methods study that begins with a qualitative survey and then follows that up with qualitative interviews often fits what is known as a sequential explanatory design, or QUANT --> qual. In that design, the goal of the follow-up qualitative study is to help understand the results from the core quantitative study. If this is what you have in mind, then you need to have a large enough quantitative study to produce statistically meaningful results. If you have only a small N, then this would be a problematic design, and some kind of case study might be a better alternative.

"A mixed methods study that begins with a qualitative survey and then follows that up with qualitative interviews"

don't you mean quantitative survey?

Yes, a "quantitative survey" (I edited my response to fix that RG often puts in "qualitative" whenever I mis-spell quantitative).

I started out with a survey that has both quantitative and qualitative questions, then qualitative interviews to understand emerging themes. Following content analysis of the findings i then have a delphi study to gain consensus on some of the suggestions for implementing cultural competence into practice within commissioning. It all seemed like a good idea when i started out. Thanks everyone.

As with many pre-planned designs, yours does indeed sound like a good starting point. Where are you running into trouble?

Case study research is a strategy of design,which you chose your cases deliberately for replication reason, either theoretically or literally. This strategy usually asks about why and how questions, whereas a mixed method in your case is an approach to your type of data (Qual and Quan) not only for answering your research questions but in any research design including case studies.

Your research question, seemingly is a descriptive one. However, before you attempt to describe the challenges and opportunities via your analysis of the data (Qual & Quan) and research findings, you need to explore the phenomenon, then describe and lastly explain them if its asking for by your research questions and objectives.

Could it be, perhaps, The challenges and opportunities of commissioning culturally competent dementia services for older people: a case study of the national health service in the UK. Or a case study of cultural competence within the national health service in the UK: challenges and opportunities of commissioning culturally competent dementia services for older people? I think/it sounds like the steps in your project could fit this design, i.e. the ixed methods you describe would fall within the case study design.

The key feature that makes this a case study is that you are conducting your research with only one setting or place or even one "subject" so to speak; one organization, which is the national health service in the UK , rather than interviewing people in various organizations/various settings. I think that the case study desugn is very appropriate for your research question, "what are the challenges and opportunities of commissioning culturally competent dementia services for older people?" especially using the national health service in the UK.

I would very much like to read your research, as I conducted and participated in studies on cututal competence in the US.

Good luck with our research.

The idea of calling your research a case study of the British National Health Service strikes me as a little strange, because if you were working faculty in the UK, no one would think of the NHS as a "case study." But perhaps you are collecting all your data from a single hospital or other equivalent source?

Still, with qualitative research, our data is almost always a case study of something or somewhere, because we work with small data sets from limited sources. I would prefer to limit the actual label "case study" to research that specifically targets a particular source with the goal of understanding something about that source.

Dear David, The sentences still reads , ..."begins with a qualitative survey" and I mention it because the auto correct is not functioning properely here. I used it several times today and it kept reverting to the incorrect spelling (desigm for design, for eg. among others). I had to type in the correct spelling.

Of course, David. I was not saying it is a "case study of the British National Health Service." I guess mine is an error of assumption: when no caps are used, " national health service in the UK," the meaning is the general sense, such children and family services vs. Chidren and Family Services. I also assumed that it is understood with the use of "case study" that some smaller "sample" will be used to present the results as appplicable to the whole, such as using one McDonalds, for the fast food industry; a small group of 9 adolescent teens for that population. As in quantitaive studies and representative sample, the applicability of findings beyond the case study is in the knowledge and presentation of the researcher.

This part I do not understand: "actual label "case study" [is it really just a 'label'? ] to research that specifically targets a particular source with the goal of understanding something about that source," because case study can be used for an instance or a situation or an event or a process. Here the "case" will usually be a samller unit of a large, very large system or organisation, for instance, discrimination in the police department of ..., where one district is used; or how bullying effects learning-- using one school. I have found the case study very usefull for studying such abstracts in large settings.

In this study (of the question) she is investigating, "'challenges and opportunities of commissioning culturally competent dementia services for older people," and I assumed (again), that she used, 1)"my colleagues in the health commissioning sector" as a "convenience sample" and 2) that this is new (no previous research) and 3) future, larger studies might very will follow using findings from the case study. And of course, the findings will be used ultimately, to provide culturally competent dementia services for older people

I came to the forum because of a comment made by my supervisoprs, even i was a bit confused to have my supervisor refer to the case study approach, i do not believe that is what i am doing. They have asked me to specifically compare and contrast case study research with mixed methods research. I dont believe i am carrying out a case study, I believe i am investigating the opportunities and challenges of commissioning culturally competent dementia services. Indeed my colleagues are my sample, there is no previous research in the area. To my knowledge the case study approach is well suited to the RQ that asks why and how. Can someone correct me if i am wrong?

Why don't you just ask them why they asked about case stufy and asked you to compare? Perhaps thier request " to specifically compare and contrast case study research with mixed methods research is not directly related to the research you have conducted or are planning to conduct. There is no question that you are, "investigating the opportunities and challenges of commissioning culturally competent dementia services."

Other methods are also used for how why questions. You should be able to easeily justify using mixed methonf without ever mentioning case study

The best suited approach usually depends on the specific topic of investigation and other factors, inclding practicallity,s uch as time, money, staff, etc.

If you use your colleagues as your sample, then it sounds like you will be collecting data from one specific site, so that might indeed be considered a case study.

As for comparing case study research and mixed methods, I have to say that this does not make a lot of sense to me. Mixed methods is usually contrasted with the exclusive use of either qualitative or quantitative methods alone, but a case study could be based on qualitative or quantitative or mixed methods.

Tiwalola, I suggest you to be more specific about the purpose, and objectives of your research. Investigating is too broad as every research is about the Investigation anyway. Perhaps you should be more precise about it before making or predicting for any decision or course of actions. Asking, are investigating is about to describe? to explain? to discover? to understand? to develop? to examine or exploring the experience of..

I think her wording, "investigating the opportunities and challenges of commissioning culturally competent dementia services," means to find out, to learn what are the challenges and opportunites... etc. For esample, a challnege might be, language barrier, such that workers do not know the language of the client. This is a common barrier and challenge in providing culturally competent health and socilal servicesi n the US.

When i say my colleagues i mean those individuals who do a similar job to myself in the commissioning arena and not just those who can be called work colleagues in the same location.