HKS Authors

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Abstract

The opening chapter provides a brief outline of the conventional division of labor between qualitative and quantitative methods in the social sciences. It sketches the main standards that govern case study research. It then offers an overview of subsequent chapters, which challenge some of these distinctions or deepen our understanding of what makes qualitative case studies useful for both causal inference and policy practice.

Citation

Widner, Jennifer, Michael Woolcock, and Daniel Ortega Nieto. "Using Case Studies to Enhance the Quality of Explanation and Implementation." The Case for Case Studies: Methods and Applications in International Development. Ed. Jennifer Widner, Michael Woolcock, and Daniel Ortega Nieto. Cambridge University Press, 2022, 1-26.