If one reads about science, writes about science, or teaches science, one should know about the whats, hows, whens, and whys of science. What is science? How is it done? When is science needed? Science seeks to understand and systematize the natural world. It does so experimentally, using test tubes, computers, and animals (including humans), among other things. Curiosity and necessity drive science. Since ancient times, people have wanted to understand and then manipulate their world. For example, science has provided the means to painlessly and noninvasively look into the human body through the development of X-rays, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography, and scintigraphy (radioisotopes). Electronics and materials science have enabled creation of cell phones. Chemistry has given us therapeutic drugs, Teflon, and Velcro. Physics and engineering have taken us to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This broad scope of science makes it difficult, but not impossible, to define. This chapter provides a holistic view of science.

The final chapter in this book discusses some methodological considerations and debates surrounding case study research and its quality. In particular, we revisit the topic of research paradigms (i.e. positivism and interpretivism). Relatedly, we discuss different quality criteria as proposed by prior researchers from both paradigmatic camps. In particular, we focus on the rigor versus trustworthiness discussion and the internal versus external validity debate. Afterwards, we briefly discuss the iterative cycles of data collection and analysis one would encounter during a qualitative case study research process. We end the chapter (and subsequently the book) with a guiding framework which will help researchers in sequencing case study designs by acknowledging the weaknesses of individual designs and leveraging their strengths. The framework can be adopted and adapted to suit the specific research objectives of the study in hand.