A case study is a documented history and detailed analysis of a situation concerning organisations, industries, and markets.
A case study:
- Focuses on discovering new facts about the situation under observation.
- Includes data collection from multiple sources over time.
Types of Case Study
| Type | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Explanatory | Determines why and how two or more variables are interrelated. Researchers often conduct experiments to see the effect of changes in variables. | A study to identify the impact of a nutritious diet on pregnant women. |
| Exploratory | Conducted to understand the nature of a problem or topic not considered before. It does not aim to find definitive evidence or conclusions. | An investigation of the growing crimes against women in India. |
| Descriptive | Describes real-life situations or programs using surveys and fact-finding methods to report on what is happening. | Study of contaminated diseases in a town area where no trash removal system exists. |
| Intrinsic (Case Study) | Focuses on an in-depth understanding of a specific case because the case itself is of unique interest. | A case study of the academic performance of class 12th students. |
| Instrumental (Case Study) | Uses a specific case to provide a base for understanding a broader issue or problem, acting as an ‘instrument.’ | Challenges of learning a new language in a bilingual school (used to understand the general challenges of second language acquisition). |
When to Use a Case Study?
You can use a case study in your research when:
- The focus of your study is to find answers to how and why questions.
- You don’t have enough time to conduct extensive research; case studies are convenient for completing your project successfully.
- If you want to analyse real-world problems in-depth, then you can use the method of the case study.
You can consider a single case to gain in-depth knowledge about the subject, or you can choose multiple cases to know about various aspects of your research problem.
Aims of the Case Study
- Identify weak areas that can be improved.
- Support idiographic research (focuses on individual cases/events).
Support nomothetic research (aims to discover new theories through data analysis of multiple cases).
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How to Conduct a Case Study?
Following are the steps involved in conducting a case study.
Step 1: Select the Case to Investigate
The first step is to select a case to conduct your investigation. You should remember the following points.
- Make sure that you perform the study in the available timeframe.
- There should not be too much information available about the organisation.
- You should be able to get access to the organisation.
- There should be enough information available about the subject to conduct further research.
Step 2: Formulate the Research Question
It’s necessary to formulate a research question to proceed with your case study. Most of the research questions begin with how, why, what, or what can.
You can also use a research statement instead of a research question to conduct your research, which can be conditional or non-conditional.
| Case Topic | Research Question | Research Statement |
|---|---|---|
| Decision-making of men (25–40 years) | How do men between 25 and 40 decide whether to set up a business or continue their job? What factors influence their decision? | A difference exists in the decision-making of men aged 25–30 regarding career options. |
| Experiences in career choices | How do men aged 25–40 describe their experiences of doing a job and running their own business? Do these experiences influence career decisions? | Men aged 25–30 share varied experiences, which affect their career decisions. |
| Career guidance seminars | How do men aged 25–30 attending career guidance seminars describe their career decision-making? | Men aged 25–30 describe their career decision-making experiences in seminars. |
Step 3: Review of Literature and Choose the Precise Case to Use in Your Study
Once you formulate your research statement or question, you need to extensively review the documentation about the existing discoveries related to your research question or statement.
You need to select a specific case or multiple cases related to your research. It would help if you treated each case individually while using multiple cases. The outcomes of each case can be used as contributors to the overall findings of the study.
You can select the following cases.
- Representing various geographic regions
- Cases with various size parameters
- Explaining the existing theories or assumptions
- Leading to discoveries
- Providing a base for future research.
Step 4: Select Data Collection and Analysis Techniques
You can choose either qualitative or quantitative approaches for collecting the data. You can use interviews, surveys, artifacts, documentation, newspapers, and photographs etc.
To avoid biased observation, you can triangulate your research to provide different views of your case.
Even if you are focusing on a single case, you need to observe various case angles. It would help if you constructed validity, internal and external validity, as well as reliability.
Example:
Identifying the impacts of contaminated water on people’s health and the factors responsible for it.
Following are the techniques that you can use to do analysis of collected data.
| Technique | Focus |
|---|---|
| Construct Validity | Select the most suitable measurement tool (to ensure it accurately measures the intended concept). |
| Internal Validity | Use multiple methods to triangulate the data (to ensure observed effects are due to the independent variable). |
| External Validity | Apply findings beyond the immediate case (to generalize results to other populations or settings). |
| Reliability | Ensure findings can guide future research directions (to ensure consistency and replicability of results). |
Mistakes to avoid
Beware of the following when collecting data:
- Collect data systematically (not randomly).
- Ensure evidence supports your objectives.
- Recheck your research questions regularly.
- Save data in clear, widely used formats.
- Record all changes during data collection.
- Maintain a case diary for opinions and evolving thoughts.
Step 5 Analyse the Data and Prepare a Report.
The research data identifies the relationship between the objects of study and the research questions or statements. You need to reconfirm the collected information and tabulate it correctly for better understanding.
It’s essential to prepare a report for your case study. You can write your case study in the form of a scientific paper or thesis discussing its details with supporting evidence.
A case study can be represented by incorporating quotations, stories, anecdotes, interview transcripts, etc., with empirical data in the results section.
You can also write it in narrative styles using textual analysis or discourse analysis. Your report should also include evidence from published literature, and you can put it in the discussion section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Case study deals with the detailed analysis of real world problems whereas survey and experiment focus more journalisable data.
Yes we can combine case studies with other research methods such as experiments or interviews to strengthen the reliability of our findings.
Factors like construct validity, internal validity and external validity are essential to make academic research more reliable. These factors ensure that our study measures what it intends to.
