Design-based case studies address research questions that involve instructional innovations within a bounded system. This blend of case study and design-based research provides a systematic approach to examining instructional innovations that are bounded by perspective, context, and time. Design-based case studies provide a framework for engaging in iterative cycles of data collection and analysis that are used to determine how, why, and whether the goals of an instructional innovation have been met. The authors note common concerns surrounding case study and design-based research and how design-based case studies address these concerns by building on the strengths of both approaches.