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Table 4.2 compares and contrasts research designs that had potential for this study, including experimental, historical and case study designs. A dearth of literature relating to remote nurses caring for mental health patients makes experiments unsuitable. A historical approach is also unsuitable, as contemporary events are vital to understanding the research questions. Case study is the most appropriate method to answer ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions concerning remote nurses delivering mental healthcare (Siggelkow, 2007). In summary the researcher`s goal in choosing a case study method was to explore and describe and understand how remote nurses deliver mental healthcare. The aim of the study favoured a qualitative methodology to explore the phenomenon of deliveringremote mental healthcare within the context of nursing which made it a strong fit with the chosen design (Gerrish & Lacey, 2006). 4.4.3 Identifying the case The identification of the case is critical to the nature of case study research. According to Stake (1995), there are three types of case study, each facilitating a different type of understanding: intrinsic, instrumental and collective. An intrinsic case study involves a researcher having an inherent interest in an entity or event. The need to understand it arises out of its distinct yet ordinary features, rather than a need to understand how it relates to other entities or to a problem more broadly; the aim is to learn about the particular case itself (Adelman, Jenkins & Kemmis, 1980; Patterson, 2000; Stake, 1995). In such instances, there may very well be no choice about which case to study, as the case is already determined. In other circumstances, a problem or predicament is of interest, for which instrumental case study may provide greater insight. An instrumental case study facilitates