Why the filling of gaps in the research literature is similar to replication and probably better than its reputation.

Most multi-method research (MMR) studies with which I am familiar start with regression analysis (or, in recent years, QCA) and perform the case studies afterward. This is the order recommended by Lieberman in his nested analysis article which, in turn, most probably reflects the widely held view that case studies are only worth doing in MMR when something is going on at the cross-case level.

The choice of cases for empirical analysis is a central topic in the methods literature. The argument that quantitative and qualitative research studies different templates, which is probably most forcefully described in A Tale of Two Cultures , does not come as a surprise. What I want to focus on here are the arguments on case selection in qualitative research.