What is a Case Study? Definition and Method

Written by

Shanna Peeples

June 27, 2023

6 min read

Many students don’t know how to write a case study and find it a very difficult assignment even before getting started. Of course, it can be quite a challenging task but with the help of various recommendations and case study examples, you will be able to complete the assignment in a blink of an eye!

A case study is a task, which aims to teach the student how to analyze the causes and consequences of an event or activity by creating its role model. Such assignments show how complexities may influence various decisions and that is what makes case studies so important.

In most of the cases, your professor will give the same topic to a whole class and it will become a sort of a discussion, after processing all available data. That is why you need to use all of your thinking skills and knowledge to get a chance to analyze the situation properly.

How to Write a Case Study

Here are some recommendations, which will be helpful in completing a case study:

• Use real-life examples. If you are free to choose a topic on your own, try to take it from real life. However, avoid real names;
• Finish every part of your study with points for discussion. They will engage your reader and help him orient in the study;
• Provide credible information on the topic;
• Make sure the story is believable, i.e. it consists of sequence of time and events, problems and issues to solve, identities and so on.

There are also a few problems you need to avoid to make your case study as interesting and catchy, as possible:

• No limitations. It is very easy to get lost in background information and data, which is not directly related to the subject. Try to distinguish key points of your paper and concentrate on them, instead of including information from different areas;
• No credible sources. Such task has lots of requirements, including trustworthy sources. Every statement you make should be backed with credible data and evidence;
• No conclusions. Every assignment, not depending on a topic and complexity, should end up with conclusions to give the reader an idea of topic relevance. Make sure you spend enough time on analyzing the results and providing useful conclusions.

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Examples & Samples of Case Study

There are multiple ways of making the process of completing the assignment easier, including ordering a task at a writing service or asking other students for help. However, most of the students decide to download a case study template and try to complete the assignment on their own, using an example.

It can be a great option for those, who easily process information and can analyze the template structure to apply it in their own works. Such samples can be of a great help, as they contain a proper formatting style, content and other important elements, which distinguish a first-class paper. With the help of a sample case study you will be able to complete the assignment quicker and with less efforts

Case Study Template and Format

You have already learned what a case study is and how it should look like, so it is time to learn more about the structure of assignment and its content. However, every research greatly differs depending on the topic, so you should carefully note down all the guidelines your professor provides not to miss anything.

Here is a general structure of a study, which can be applied in most of the cases:

• Title page, which contains the title of your work, author’s name and name of the institution. In some cases you may be asked to add key words, which will be used by various searching tools;
• Abstract, which can be of a narrative or a structured type. Narrative abstract is a summary of the whole work to give the reader a chance to understand whether he is interested in reading the whole paper. Structured abstracts are used in scientific studies, when you need to provide a list of information or questions, which will be later studied in the text. You can use sub-headings, which will give the reader an idea of how the structure of your assignment looks like;
• Introduction, which aims to give the audience an idea of what makes your study so interesting. You can include examples of similar cases or get back to historical events to connect them with the problem you are studying;
• Presentation. In this section you need to provide the raw information you have collected. Try to make it narrative and interesting;
• Outcomes, which should give the reader an idea of how the problem or event should be treated. Make sure you provide all of your recommendations in a simple way, using credible sources;
• Conclusions;
• References, which should include only credible sources.

When you complete such assignment, you should never forget about case study format, as it can greatly influence the result. Your professor may ask you to use a certain formatting style, which will be much easier for you and will help to avoid the most common mistakes.

Сase Study topics

The first challenge when writing a case study comes with choosing the best case study topics. As a rule, students are offers to pick the topic themselves. This is how instructors encourage them to express your understating of the subject as well as the entire course. Once you fail to generate the right case study ideas, benefit from our list of classical topics to start with:

1. How are employees getting drug abused at workplaces?
2. The influence of social media in modern business.
3. The Internet of Things: the rise of connected devices.
4. Cyber treats as the main risk for IoT companies.
5. Foodservice aims at Millennials.
6. Generation Z in business and society.
7. How to consider small customers for bigger profits?
8. Real people VS photos.
9. The lost knowledge of employees retiring.
10. How to plan your advertising budget?
11. How ads in social media can help to drive customers?
12. Does a small business need a website?
13. The interaction of web technologies and IoT market.
14. How do employees engage at tough times?
15. David VS Goliath.