Synthesising practice-based case study evidence from community interventions: development of a method

Practice-based case studies that describe learning from implementation are a useful source of evidence for policy makers, practitioners and researchers. Despite the value of narratives developed in context as a form of experiential or applied evidence, little is known about appropriate qualitative review and synthesis methods to deal with multiple practice-based case studies. This paper reports on a methodological study to develop and pilot a synthesis method using a sample of community wellbeing case studies focused on interventions to improve community infrastructure. The study was conducted in four interlinked phases: (i) literature review to scope synthesis methods (ii) piloting search and selection methods to identify a sample of relevant practice-based case studies that reported experiential learning (iii) undertaking cross case analysis and qualitative synthesis based on framework analysis methods (iv) review and reflection to produce a summative account of the method and agreed definition. The main output from the study was a staged approach to qualitative synthesis of practice-based case studies based on seven steps, which move from identification of a conceptual framework through to producing a narrative report. The potential transferability of this approach and its application in research and policy are critically discussed. Synthesis of case studies derived from community-based interventions could address knowledge gaps in the formal evidence base. While further methodological development is warranted, it is argued that study results form a credible qualitative framework for synthesising practice-based evidence.