Sharon Crasnow (Norco College)
Within-case counterfactual analysis requires detailed, concrete knowledge in order to determine which potential causal factors can be varied legitimately — i.e., what counterfactuals are possible. The detail-orientation of such research is in tension with the generality and abstraction of population-based methods (large-N observational or experimental). Such tension makes simple aggregation of evidence problematic. However which counterfactual scenarios are possible also depends on theoretical assumptions and empirically supported regularities — claims supported through population-based research designs. Thus an examination of counterfactual analysis in case study research suggests that the strength of mixed methods research requires a holistic understanding of evidence.
