Table 8.

Potential pitfalls and mitigating actions when undertaking case study research

Potential pitfall	Mitigating action
Selecting/conceptualising the wrong case(s) resulting in lack of theoretical generalisations	Developing in-depth knowledge of theoretical and empirical literature, justifying choices made
Collecting large volumes of data that are not relevant to the case or too little to be of any value	Focus data collection in line with research questions, whilst being flexible and allowing different paths to be explored
Defining/bounding the case	Focus on related components (either by time and/or space), be clear what is outside the scope of the case
Lack of rigour	Triangulation, respondent validation, the use of theoretical sampling, transparency throughout the research process
Ethical issues	Anonymise appropriately as cases are often easily identifiable to insiders, informed consent of participants
Integration with theoretical framework	Allow for unexpected issues to emerge and do not force fit, test out preliminary explanations, be clear about epistemological positions in advance