A case study is the study of a particular object, person or situation in an observational way after carefully weighing its pros and cons. It is one of the several ways of doing research in which a particular case, be it pertaining to a single group or community or an incident is being studied intensively. A case study is done in a systematical manner by looking at the events, collecting data, analyzing information, and finally arriving at the results.
A case study basically does not rely exclusively on qualitative research it can be a mixture of both quantitative and qualitative research. They are mostly used in business schools, universities and companies. The importance of these case studies in the field of education is that they make the teaching process interesting and entertaining. They are also used to organize a wide range of information about a case and then analyze the contents by seeking patterns and themes in the data and by further analysis through cross comparison with other cases.
Types of case studies:
- Illustrative Case Studies: in this type of case study, instances are being used to give the reader a clear picture of the topic the case study deals with.
- Exploratory Case Studies: before commencing a large scale investigation the explanatory case studies are used to identify the questions about the investigation and select the measures of implementing them.
- Cumulative Case Studies: in this type of case study information is being collected from different sites about past cases. This is done to avoid repetition, to save the time of the researcher and also to cut down on the cost of the investigation.
- Critical Instance Case Studies: these case studies are carried on to challenge or question a universal declaration. This method is useful for answering cause and effect question.
Steps to be followed while writing a case study:
- All the data required to carry out for a case study should be recorded in a systematic manner.
- The data of the case study should be organized in a chronological manner so as to highlight the focal point of the study.
- A case study narrative should be developed i.e. the whole case should be summarized in form of a narrative so that the reader may have a clear picture of the case.
- The case study should be compared with former cases so that the causes that have lead to the failure of a particular case may not be repeated.
General Information
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