Content

• To step
• Method 1 of 3: Planning an academic case study
• Method 2 of 3: Conduct research for an academic case study
• Method 3 of 3: Write a case study for marketing purposes
• Tips

Many fields of study require their own form of case studies, but they are most common within an academic and business context. An academic case study focuses on an individual or a small group, resulting in a detailed but not generalized report based on months of research. In the business world, marketing case studies describe a success story presented to promote a business.

To step

Method 1 of 3: Planning an academic case study

1. Determine the subject of study. A case study focuses on a single individual, a small group of people, or the occasional single event. You will conduct qualitative research to search for specific details and descriptions of how your topic is affected.
   • For example, a medical case study can examine how an injury affects a patient. A case study in psychology can study a small group of people during an experimental form of therapy.
   • Case studies are not intended for large groups or statistical analyzes.
2. Decide between prospective and retrospective research. Prospective case studies are completely new studies in themselves, involving individuals or small groups. Retrospective case studies examine a small number of previous cases related to the subject of study, and do not require new involvement with the subject matter of these cases.
   • A case study may or may not include both types of research.
3. Focus your research goal. This may have been given to you in advance by a professor or the employer, or you can develop your own case. Here are the main forms of case studies, organized by purpose:
   • Illustrative case studies describe an unfamiliar situation for people to understand. For example, a case study of a person with depression designed to explain the subjective experience of depression to trainee therapists.
   • Exploratory case studies are preliminary projects to help drive a future, larger project. They aim to identify research questions and possible approaches to research. For example, a case study of three school aid programs describe the pros and cons of each approach, and provide preliminary recommendations on how to organize a new counseling program.
   • Case studies about critical cases focus on unique cases, without a generalized purpose. Examples include a descriptive study of a patient with a rare condition or a study of a specific case to determine whether a widely applied "universal" theory may actually be applicable or useful in all cases.
4. Apply for an ethical approval. Nearly all case studies are required by law to receive ethical approval before they can be started. Contact your institution or department and present your case study to an ethics committee. You may be asked to prove that the case study is safe for the participants.
   • Even if you're doing a retrospective case study, follow this step. In some cases, publishing a new interpretation may harm the participants of the original study.
5. Plan for a long-term study. Most academic case studies last at least 3-6 months, and many of them for years. You may be limited by the funding of your research or the length of your university studies, but you should at least allow a few weeks for the research.
6. Develop your research strategy in detail. Make an overview describing how you will collect data and answer your research questions. The exact approach is up to you, but these tips can help:
   • If possible, draw up four or five points that you want to be able to answer by the study. Consider perspectives on how to approach the question and its related points.
   • Choose at least two and preferably multiple data sources: collect reports, conduct internet research, library research, interviews with participants, interviews with experts, other fieldwork and concept mapping or typologies.
   • Design interview questions that lead to in-depth answers and further conversations related to your research goals.
7. Recruit participants if necessary. You may have a specific individual in mind, or you may need to recruit people from a broader group who meet the criteria of your research. Make your research methods and timeframe very clear to potential participants. Unclear communication can violate ethics or cause a participant to drop out halfway through the study, which will waste a lot of time.
   • Since you are not performing a statistical analysis, you do not need to recruit a cross-section of the population. You should be aware of any bias in your small sample and state this clearly in your report, but they will not invalidate your research.

Method 2 of 3: Conduct research for an academic case study

1. Do background research. When researching people, look for information from their past that may be relevant, including medical, family, or organizational history. A good background knowledge of research topics and similar case studies can also help guide your own research, especially if you are writing a case study on specific cases.
   • A case study, but especially the case studies with a retrospective component, will benefit from standard academic research strategies.
2. Learn how to apply visible observation methods. In a case study with human participants, ethical guidelines usually do not allow "spying" on participants. You should obtrusive apply observation, where the participants are aware of your presence. Unlike a quantitative survey, you are allowed to talk to the participants, put them at ease, and participate in activities yourself. Some researchers try to keep their distance, but be aware that your presence will affect the behavior of the participants, regardless of the relationship you form with them.
   • Building a relationship of trust with participants can result in less inhibited behavior. Observing people in their home, workplace, or other "natural" environment may be more effective than in a lab or doctor's office.
   • Having participants complete a questionnaire is a well-known example of visible research. The participants know that they are being studied and so their behavior will change, but this is a quick, and sometimes the only, way to obtain certain information.
3. Make notes. Extensive notes during the observation are essential for compiling your final report. In some case studies, it may be appropriate to ask the participant to record experiences in a journal.
4. Conduct interviews. Depending on the overall scope of your case study, you can interview weekly, every one or two months, or just once or twice a year. Start with the interview questions you prepared in the planning phase and repeat to dig deeper into the topic:
   • Describe experiences - Ask the participant what it is like to go through the experience you are studying, or be part of the system you are studying.
   • Describe meanings - Ask the participants what the experience has meant to them, or what "life lessons" they have learned from it. Ask what mental and emotional associations they have with the topic of your study, be it a medical condition, an event, or some other topic.
   • Focus - in later interviews, you ask questions that fill gaps in your knowledge, or are particularly relevant to the development of your research questions and theories in the course of the study.
5. Stay strict. A case study may appear less data dependent than a medical study or a scientific experiment, but it remains essential to pay attention to rigor and valid methodology. If you find that you tend to study a participant at an extreme end of the spectrum, also set aside time to observe a more "typical" participant. As you go through your notes, ask questions about your logic and possible conclusions that are not yet supported by detailed observation. All sources you cite must be thoroughly checked for reliability.
6. Collect and analyze all your data. After reading and referring back to your original points, you may notice that data behaves in a surprising way. You need to combine and focus your data before writing the case studies, and especially if your research was conducted at intervals over a number of months or years.
   • If you are working with more than one researcher, it is important to distribute work to ensure that the case study remains unified. For example, a person may be tasked with graphing the data you have collected, while other researchers each write an analysis of one of the points you are trying to answer.
7. Write your latest case report. Based on the research questions you have designed and the type of case study you have conducted, this could be a descriptive report, an analytical argument based on a specific case, or a suggested direction for further research or projects. In the case study, include your most relevant observations and interviews, and consider attachments with additional data (such as full interviews) for readers to refer to.
   • If you are writing a case study for a general audience, consider a narrative format, with a chronological description of the events that occurred during the case study. Use as little jargon as possible.

Method 3 of 3: Write a case study for marketing purposes

1. Ask permission from a customer. A marketing case study describes a "success story" of a company and its customer. Ideally, the customer has recently interacted with your company and is enthusiastic about communicating a positive message. Choose a customer close to your target audience, if possible.
   • Ask for high-level involvement on the part of the client for the best results. Even if the customer just wants to test the materials you send them, make sure that the person involved is high up in the organization and has knowledge of the company-customer relationship.
2. Schedule the story. A typical marketing case study begins with a description of the customer's problems and background. Then it quickly turns into a description of how your company approaches these problems strategically, and manages to solve them to a high quality standard. Round it off by describing how you can apply similar solutions across the industry. The whole case study should be divided into about three to five sections.
   • Collaboration with the customer is particularly helpful here, so be sure to include the points that left the most impact and impression.
   • If your target audience cannot immediately identify with your customer's issues, start with a more general introduction describing these types of issues within the industry.
3. Make sure the case study is legible and powerful. Use bold text and headings to divide the case study into easy-to-read sections. Each section starts with short action sentences and strong verbs.
4. Name actual numbers. Use numerical examples that show how effective your solutions were. Make this as clear as possible, using actual numbers instead of (or in addition to) percentages. For example, an HR department can show impressive retention numbers after a process change, while a marketing team can show better sales as a result of its services.
   • Charts and diagrams make great visual aids, but label them with large letters that convey the positive meaning to people who are not used to reading raw data.
5. Ask for user experiences or write them yourself. You will certainly like to mention positive recommendations from your client. Often, however, the customer will not have a marketing background. Ask the customer if you can write the responses for them, which of course requires the customer to give their consent before publishing.
   • These are usually short comments only one or two sentences long, putting your service in a positive light.
6. Add footage. Add photos and other images to your case study to make it more engaging. One tactic that can work well is asking for photos of the customer. A non-professional digital photo of the smiling customer team can make the reaction seem more straightforward.
7. Promote. Make sure your marketing case study is widely available. Consider using Amazon Web Services, Microsoft's Business Hub, or Drupal. Also send copies of the study to the clients you worked with, along with a certificate thanking them for their commitment.

Tips

• Remember that a case study is not intended to provide a definitive answer to the research question. The goal is to develop one or more hypotheses about the answer.
• Other disciplines use the term "case study" for a shorter, less intense process. Within the legal world and the IT sector in particular, a case study is a real or hypothetical situation (lawsuit or programming problem), accompanied by an oral or written discussion of possible conclusions or solutions.