Writing a Case Study

Stages of Writing a Case Study

1. When the situation, process, location, and time have been decided upon, you must carefully set out a plan. What will be observed or investigated? By whom? For how long?
2. The language you use in your plan must be clear. The terminology and vocabulary must be identical to those used in the situation to be studied; that is, the factory, the courtroom, the restaurant, or the accounting firm.
3. Write a set of questions that will help you decide which data to collect, which data will be considered relevant to the study, and how to analyze it when it is all collected.
4. The questions set out must take any proposals the study will make into consideration. Decide which units of calculation the study will use (that is, scientific measurements such as metric, digital, analog, and so forth). Decide how the calculations will be linked to the proposals made. Decide on the terms of reference and criteria for how the results will be analyzed or interpreted.
5. Do not forget to write down the goals of the study.
6. When the observations and investigation is taking place, make sure all participants understand the aims, the procedure, and which outcomes you wish to reach.
7. Assemble all records, interview questions, materials, and participants and hold a number of meetings to ensure everyone and everything is ready by the start of the study.
8. Ensure that all records, writing, data, and so forth are generated on compatible systems, software, and language.
9. Identify the person who will carry out any editing or crosschecking necessary, and the person who will do the final writing.
10. Ensure that the writing up of the case study is done under similarly rigorous conditions as the investigation.

Topic Selection

A case study that is not aimed at a certain audience and doesn’t solve issues that people encounter is not valuable. Therefore, before choosing a case study topic, you should determine your target audience and get acquainted with it. Only after you know its needs and the problems it faces can you get a clear idea of what topic might be of interest for your audience. When formulating a topic, identify the main problems that may exist within it, and explain why they are important. This way you will make your case study more focused on solution, and thus more valuable.

Key Points to Consider

• When students need to know how to write a case study, they must address two factors: the process involved, and the method of writing up the findings.
• The case must be chosen or assigned. It might be the operations of a small business, the assessable aspects of a classroom, the procedures of a hospital emergency room, or the tasks undertaken in a bakery or restaurant, to name a few examples.
• All materials must be assembled before starting to observe and take notes. Observations are usually recorded on a grid or spreadsheet after the different tasks or procedures are identified, listed, and named. All grids, sheets, and books must be kept together, and pages of relevant material must be marked according to a scheme. Card systems are great for this—some students prefer a CSV spreadsheet.
• More than in any other scholarly work, facts and figures are more important than ideas and opinions when working on a case study. All facts and figures must adhere to a plan which sets out what the case study will examine, for how long, and under which conditions. The number of people who will participate, the premises or location where it will take place, and all relevant details must be set out before commencement.
• All accompanying text must be supported by properly-formatted referencing, using APA, MLA, or Chicago/Turabian styles.
• A self-devised note-taking system is usually optimal, because it helps to keep all observations and calculations in precise order. Organization is vital, and time management skills must be carefully observed if the case study is to be successful.
• The salient points of an observational or investigative case study must be sought, planned, and reported. Each paragraph of the report must deal with one aspect or procedure, and explain what can be seen in the charts or spreadsheets.
• The writing must be formal, academic, and precise.

Dos and Don’ts

Common Mistakes

• Try not to build a case study on an unbalanced or shaky premise.
• Using old data collected for some other study.
• Material presented in the wrong order is a frequent error—chronological is best. The report on figures and statistics should come last.
• Using material and data from other studies runs the risk of repetition.
• Indecision is an aspect that weakens an otherwise well-researched case study: a frequently-seen flaw is dithering between one stance and another.
• Not researching all the material thoroughly is another area of failure. Make sure the notes you write are clear and cogent, and create paragraphs of well-prepared writing steadily and surely.
• Lack of structure is sometimes found to weaken a student’s work in a case study. It is important to make a plan or outline for a successful piece of work.
• One must exhibit a deep understanding of the entire case. Disorganized work and confusion is not an effective way to persuade an examiner of how well you have covered the material and accounted for your investigation.
• Understand your aims. An effective case study demonstrates that a student or group of students will go out into a working life well-equipped to communicate ideas, research, and concepts without taking short cuts. The ability to conduct an investigation into a procedure or operation is invaluable in a CV.
• Poor language skills, inappropriate or irrelevant vocabulary, the wrong tone, and errors in punctuation, grammar, syntax, and structure demonstrate low aptitude.

Now that you have acquainted yourself with the basic case study writing tips and rules, you can check out our case study samples to link theory with practice.

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