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Exploring the contribution of case study research to the evidence base for occupational therapy practice: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE
This scoping review will explore the range and characteristics of case study research within the occupational therapy evidence base. It will examine how case study research is defined, the methodologies adopted, and the context in which it is applied. Most importantly, it will consider the viability of case study research for contributing to the evidence base for occupation and health.


INTRODUCTION
Occupational therapists report barriers to conducting research due to the complexities of clinical practice, and lack of knowledge, time, and resources. Case study research is generating interest as a potentially manageable and practical solution to increase research engagement. However, it is not clear how this is being utilized by occupational therapists or how feasible it is to contribute to the evidence base.


INCLUSION CRITERIA
Opinion, text, and empirical studies that explicitly use or discuss case study research methodology within an occupational therapy context will be included. Studies will be excluded where the occupational therapy context cannot be clearly defined, for example, where they are multi-disciplinary focused or where a case study research design is not explicit (eg, a descriptive case report without data collection). All countries and practice settings will be included.


METHODS
A three-step search following JBI methodology will be conducted across databases and websites for English-language, published peer-reviewed and gray literature from 1990. Study selection will be completed by two independent reviewers. A data extraction table developed and piloted by the authors will be used and data charted to align with the research questions.