Case Study Research: Writing Guidelines

What is a case study research? Many students would find a case study research design and methods to be quite ambiguous and too technical. When trying to carry out any type of case study research, one can readily testify that it requires lots of effort and time. However, it is not particularly impossible. Although there are many examples of case study research, many are still clueless about achieving such an excellent case study research paper.

So what exactly defines case study research? A case study is a research method where a group, community, individuals, or units are investigated in a systematically brilliant way to discover in-depth core data relating to multiple variables. Alternatively, the simple answer to the question “what is a case study in research” would be an exploratory and descriptive analysis of individuals, groups, or events. A research case study is carried out mainly to uncover the phenomenon which justifies some behavioral pattern. It could also be for seeking answers to some pre case study research questions.

Type Of Case Study Research

Before writing any case study research, it is fundamental to visualize and underlay a background to your work. It would come as an advantage to know the pre-existing types of case study research and use them as a guide to what kind of case study qualitative research to explore.

In being dynamic in documenting one’s discoveries, one must pay attention to the kind of research case study being carried out! Here are some readily available types of case research examples:

• Illustrative Case Studies

  These case studies type is merely descriptive analyses. They consider typical examples of an event to show what the situation portrays. These case studies are referred to as illustrative because they make concise clarity and provide a common language about the topic in question to readers.

• Critical Instance Case Studies

  These types of case studies examine several sites for reviewing a situation of spectacular interest with no readily available interest in generalization. It could also be to call into questioning or to analyze a high profiled generalization or universal assertion critically. This method is useful for answering questions on cause and effect.

• Exploratory Case Studies

  These kinds are perceived as sample studies performed on a case study research question examples before a thorough or extensive investigation is carried out. They are carried out to identify questions and aid the appropriate selection of measurement types before the first study. The pitfall to this kind of research is that the initial discoveries might seem convincing, and hence, it may be built on premature conclusions.

• Cumulative Case Studies

  These serve the purpose of collating information across various sites at differing times. The ideology which backs this collation is that past studies will enhance generalization without additional cost or time dedicated to new research.

Case Study Research Methodology

Now that you know the fundamentals of a case study research, you can create a mouth-gapping case study research. Now, what case study research method would you employ? Knowing the available case study research questions and case study research designs don’t do enough justice to your case research. However, here is how to go about a case study research methodology. Before you consider how to use a method, you should know what these methods are.

A case study research could be carried out with a myriad of methods to achieve a full picture of the participant. Some simple techniques include field studies, interviews, and protocol analysis.

After sufficiently considering different sections of the case study and identifying all theoretical perspectives, researchers can make an excellent design for their study. Research design is the string link of data collected and inferences drawn to the initial case study research question examples. Research designs deal with at least four problems:

• What questions to study?
• What data are relevant?
• What data to collect?
• How to analyze that data?

How To Do A Case Study Research

Select a case

After developing a case study research question and statement, you must readily decide specifically on a case to which you would dedicate all focus. The following are potentials every good case study should have:

• Challenge existing assumptions or theory
• Propose a practical course of action to resolving problems
• Open new directions for future research
• Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject

Unlike most quantitative and experimental research, a strong case does not involve any random or representative sample. Case studies often focus on uncommon, neglected, or outlying cases, which may provide a new perspective on the research problem.

Build a theoretical framework

Although case studies give much preference to concrete evidence than general theories, they should always show a connection with the field theory. This is one way to ensure that the case study is not an isolated description but is rather integrated into existing knowledge about the topic.
It could also aim at:

• Challenging a theory by exploring a case that doesn’t fit into established assumptions
• Expanding on an approach by discovering fresh concepts and ideas that needs be incorporated
• Exemplifying approaches by showing how they define the case under investigation

To certify that your analysis of a case has substantial academic backing, you could carry out a literature review of sources relating to the topic and develop a theoretical framework.

Collect your data

There are various research methods you could apply in collecting data on your subject. The primary focus of a case study is on qualitative data, where methods such as observations, interviews, primary and secondary sources e.g., newspaper articles, etc., are used. Case studies sometimes also collect and use quantitative data.

Describe and analyze the case

Giving a description is an inevitable characteristic of the case study. In writing the case study, you need to harmonize all the relevant aspects to provide a complete picture of the subject.

Reporting your findings solely depends on the kind of research being carried out. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific case study research paper or thesis, with particular sections or chapters for each method, inferences, and discussion.

Other case study research can be written using a narrative style. These types of case study research aims to explore the case from all possible angles, analyzing its implications. Examples include case studies that use discourse analysis or textual analysis. However, ensure you provide contextual details about the case, contain links back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into the broader patterns or debates.

A case study research will be significantly easier if you make use of the guide we have provided you with! So are you ready for your case study research? Let’s do it together with our best writers!