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Finding case studies

On this page, introduction, finding cases, sample cases, developing and analysing cases.

"Case studies" can mean examples from organizations provided simply to illustrate a point or descriptions of organizational situations designed to be interpreted and analyzed by a learner. The resources below provide a mix of all types of case studies.

This guide also includes some resources that will be of more use to students (e.g., the tips on finding case studies in databases) and other resources that instructors will find useful (e.g., the links to case clearinghouses).

If you don't find what you need here, don't hesitate to ask for help .

  New!  We've recently added another 600+ new cases to our Sage Business Cases resource! 

Logo of SAGE Business Cases

Try searching the SFU Library catalogue  and include ( case study OR case studies OR cases ) as part of your search. Check out these sample searches:

("case study" OR "case studies" OR cases) AND "organizational behavior"

("case study" OR "case studies" OR cases) AND "strategic management"

("case study" OR "case studies" OR cases) AND "project management"

Also try an Advanced Search  in which you look for case studies in the Subject field, combined with your specific need (entrepreneurship? strategy?) as a Keyword. Add case* in the Title field as well to increase your chance of getting books that contain large numbers of cases. You can also start by  searching for books that have cases in the title AND " case studies" in the subject .

In the SFU Library catalogue, try searching for theses & graduating projects by SFU Business students. Such publications often involve specific case studies. Try searching the catalogue  again, but this time combine the word theses (plural) with your topic. See these sample searches for example theses AND "electronic commerce"  // theses AND "electronic arts" .  Also, try Dissertations and Theses Abstracts and Index  for theses completed elsewhere. See our guide to Finding University Theses and Projects from Simon Fraser and Other Universities for more suggestions.

  • In Business Source Complete enter your search terms, then either check off the Document Type Case study or include the Subject Case studies as part of your search.
  • CBCA Fulltext Business offers similar ways of finding case studies: either choose the Document Type (click on More Search Options) Case study or include the Subject Case studies as part of your search.
  • See the Sample cases area below for some specific journals focusing on business cases.

Websites & databases

Most cases sold by places such as Harvard or the Richard Ivey School of Business are not available via the library. You usually need to pay for the cases if you are not a faculty member, or if you are a faculty member and you want to assign cases in your class. If you are a student and a case has been assigned as a reading in your class, double check with your instructor to see if the case might have been pre-purchased for all members of your class.

Sage Business Cases A global and diverse collection of case studies designed to help students see theoretical business concepts put into practice. This collection is available to all SFU students, instructors, and alumni. See this blog post for further details.

Harvard Business School Cases Harvard's cases are available for direct purchase from the HBR Store .  Qualified and registered instructors  can access Harvard's Educator site to preview cases and access Teaching Notes and other supporting materials. Also see below for a discussion on how to find a small number of HBS cases in the Harvard Business Review.

The Case Centre (formerly the European Case Clearing House) "[T]he largest single source . . . of management case studies in the world. We hold and distribute all cases produced by the world's best-known management teaching establishments, as well as case studies in many languages produced by individual authors from almost every corner of the globe." Search for a case, then click on the link for an "inspection copy" (if available) and follow the links to register as a faculty member.

Richard Ivey School of Business - Cases Faculty can register to preview cases. Note that we have several books in the Ivey Casebook Series .

Cases online via the Harvard Business Review 

Try searching for Harvard Business Review in the Publication Name field in Business Source Complete, then checking the box to limit your search to the Document Type " case study."  Add in other terms to focus your search. 

Note that only a very small subset of all Harvard Business School (HBS) cases are published in the HBR.  The majority of Harvard's business cases are sold only to individuals and classes, not to libraries for use by the entire institution.

Journals that feature case studies

  • Journal of Information Technology Teaching Cases : provides "suitable, contemporary case materials for teaching topics in the organisation and management of information systems and on the social consequences of information technology." Note that this is a spin-off journal from the Journal of Information Technology which used to publish such cases. 
  • International Journal of Case Studies in Management : Cases from 2003-2012 available via our CBCA database.
  • International Journal of Management Cases : The IJMC is the official journal of the CIRCLE Research Centre. CIRCLE (Centre for International Research Consumers, Locations and their Environments) is a virtual research group in over 70 universities.
  • Allied Academies International Conference: Proceedings of the International Academy for Case Studies (IACS)
  • Journal of the International Academy for Case Studies : Presents classroom teaching cases, with instructor's notes, on any subject which might be taught in a Business School.
  • Business Case Journal , Journal of Critical Incidents , and Journal of Case Studies : All from the Society for Case Research
  • Asian Case Research Journal : Cases on Asian companies & MNCs operating in Asia-Pacific. No access to the most recent 12 months.
  • Journal of Case Research in Business & Economics

Other online sources for cases

  • CaseBase & CaseBase2: Case Studies in Global Business : Covers business case studies focused on issues in emerging markets and emerging industries across the globe.
  • Business Ethics Case Studies : A few cases from Business Ethics Canada - St. Mary's University
  • The Case Centre (formerly the European Case Clearinghouse) offers a selection of free cases .
  • Business Gateway : Case studies from Scotland on starting and running a small business.
  • The Times 100 : Free business case studies on real life companies. 
  • Acadia Institute of Case Studies (Acadia University): Most studies are focused on small business and entrepreneurship and include teaching notes. Some of them even include short videos. Permission is granted for educational use. Note that the AICS site appears to be currently inaccessible, so we've linked to the Web Archive version of their site as of late 2019.
  • Company-specific case studies: Intended as examples of how customers have used or could use their products: IBM , Intel , and LANSA .
  • Advertising Educational Foundation: Case histories : "Case histories give you an inside look at the steps advertising agencies and advertisers take to create a campaign and how effective it can be. Case histories show the preceding issue/problem, the response and the outcome. Creative is included."
  • MarketLine cases in Business Source : Mostly strategic analysis cases featuring large, global companies.
  • Open Case Studies : An interdisciplinary collection of cases from UBC that are licensed to allow others to revise and reuse them. Very few of the cases are explicitly categorized as "business," but many of the cases on topics such as Conservation may be useful in a business context.

  An example of case analysis that might give you a sense of what's expected/possible: 

In 1989, the journal Interfaces published an HBS case and asked its readers to submit their analyses. Those analyses were then compiled into two subsequent articles, providing a useful example of the many ways business issues could be viewed and resolved.

Initial case : Porteus, E. L. (1989). The Case Analysis Section: National Cranberry Cooperative . Interfaces, 19 (6), 29–39. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1287/inte.19.6.29 (Note: this case has been revised multiple times. If it is assigned in your class, make sure you are using the most current revision, mostly likely only available via HBS.)

Analyses:  #1: Porteus, E. L. (1993). Case Analysis: Analyses of the National Cranberry Cooperative -- 1. Tactical Options . Interfaces, 23 (4), 21–39. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1287/inte.23.4.21

#2: Porteus, E. L. (1993). Case Analysis: Analyses of the National Cranberry Cooperative -- 2. Environmental Changes and Implementation . Interfaces, 23 (6), 81–92. https://doi-org.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/10.1287/inte.23.6.81

  • Rotterdam School of Management: CDC Case Writing Training Material Valuable advice to aspiring case writers via a 4-part series in our Sage Business Cases database.
  • Why teach with cases? : reflections on philosophy and practice (2022 ebook)
  • The ultimate guide to compact cases : case research, writing, and teaching   (2022 ebook)
  • Writing, Teaching, and Using Cases : A January 2014 presentation by Leyland Pitt and Michael Parent (both of SFU). Michael and Leyland led a full-day workshop with a focus on case teaching.
  • The case writing workbook : a guide for faculty and students : "Designed as an individualized workshop to assist case authors to structure their writing..."
  • Guide for Contributors: Tips for Writing Cases : From the publishers of our SAGE Business Cases (SBC) database. Also see the SBC's  Author Guidelines .
  • Learning Effectively with Case Studies: A Conversation between a Professor and a Former MBA Student
  • The case study companion : teaching, learning and writing business case studies : All angles in one recent (2021) ebook!
  • The Case Writer's Toolkit :  "... to help writers visualise concepts, signpost ideas, break down complex information and apply techniques in a practical manner."
  • A Brief Guide to Case Teaching : A free guide from The Case Centre
  • Teaching with Cases : A Practical Guide : "... focuses on practical advice for instructors that can be easily implemented. It covers how to plan a course, how to teach it, and how to evaluate it."
  • Teaching & Authoring Tools : Part of the Ivey Cases site, this page offers documents and videos to help you create your own cases, as well as lists of additional resources.
  • Application of a Case Study Methodology by Winston Tellis: (The Qualitative Report, Volume 3, Number 3, September, 1997). This academic article covers the social science methodologies involved in designing, conducting and analysing a case study. It also features a detailed bibliography.
  • The Art and Craft of Case Writing (3rd ed. 2012): "[A] practical, comprehensive, and multidisciplinary guide that blends an informal, workshop-style with solid theory and practice." Includes a section on video, multimedia, and Internet cases.
  • Basics of Developing Case Studies : Part of the Free Management Library , this site has some basic information on how to develop a case study, as well as links to some sample cases.
  • A Guide to Case Analysis : Focus is on how to analyse company cases when learning strategic management techniques. (Depending on your browser settings, you may need to right click this link and open it in a new tab or download it.)
  • Case Studies: Overview  (from Cengage): Covers both analysing and writing a case study from the perspective of a business student. From the same publisher: A student's guide to analysing case studies .
  • Case Analysis Guide : Developed by a publisher to support students using a Strategic Management text, but applicable in many other situations.
  • Short videos on how to approach a case study by the author of the Case Study Handbook: A Student's Guide
  • Videos: What is the Case Method? : from The Case Centre

Also, try the subject heading " Case method " in the SFU Library catalogue for books on using the case method in your classes. Suggested sample case method books:

  • Encyclopedia of case study research ( print )
  • Case study research: design and methods (4th edition, 2009; print )
  • Case study research: principles and practices ( online or  print )
  • Case writing for executive education: a survival guide ( print )

You might also want to try checking an index of education articles such as ERIC : start with the subject heading (or Descriptor) Case Method (Teaching Technique) .  Alternatively, try our Education Source database using Case method (Teaching) as your subject search term. 

Hertz CEO Kathryn Marinello with CFO Jamere Jackson and other members of the executive team in 2017

Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2021

Two cases about Hertz claimed top spots in 2021's Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies

Two cases on the uses of debt and equity at Hertz claimed top spots in the CRDT’s (Case Research and Development Team) 2021 top 40 review of cases.

Hertz (A) took the top spot. The case details the financial structure of the rental car company through the end of 2019. Hertz (B), which ranked third in CRDT’s list, describes the company’s struggles during the early part of the COVID pandemic and its eventual need to enter Chapter 11 bankruptcy. 

The success of the Hertz cases was unprecedented for the top 40 list. Usually, cases take a number of years to gain popularity, but the Hertz cases claimed top spots in their first year of release. Hertz (A) also became the first ‘cooked’ case to top the annual review, as all of the other winners had been web-based ‘raw’ cases.

Besides introducing students to the complicated financing required to maintain an enormous fleet of cars, the Hertz cases also expanded the diversity of case protagonists. Kathyrn Marinello was the CEO of Hertz during this period and the CFO, Jamere Jackson is black.

Sandwiched between the two Hertz cases, Coffee 2016, a perennial best seller, finished second. “Glory, Glory, Man United!” a case about an English football team’s IPO made a surprise move to number four.  Cases on search fund boards, the future of malls,  Norway’s Sovereign Wealth fund, Prodigy Finance, the Mayo Clinic, and Cadbury rounded out the top ten.

Other year-end data for 2021 showed:

  • Online “raw” case usage remained steady as compared to 2020 with over 35K users from 170 countries and all 50 U.S. states interacting with 196 cases.
  • Fifty four percent of raw case users came from outside the U.S..
  • The Yale School of Management (SOM) case study directory pages received over 160K page views from 177 countries with approximately a third originating in India followed by the U.S. and the Philippines.
  • Twenty-six of the cases in the list are raw cases.
  • A third of the cases feature a woman protagonist.
  • Orders for Yale SOM case studies increased by almost 50% compared to 2020.
  • The top 40 cases were supervised by 19 different Yale SOM faculty members, several supervising multiple cases.

CRDT compiled the Top 40 list by combining data from its case store, Google Analytics, and other measures of interest and adoption.

All of this year’s Top 40 cases are available for purchase from the Yale Management Media store .

And the Top 40 cases studies of 2021 are:

1.   Hertz Global Holdings (A): Uses of Debt and Equity

2.   Coffee 2016

3.   Hertz Global Holdings (B): Uses of Debt and Equity 2020

4.   Glory, Glory Man United!

5.   Search Fund Company Boards: How CEOs Can Build Boards to Help Them Thrive

6.   The Future of Malls: Was Decline Inevitable?

7.   Strategy for Norway's Pension Fund Global

8.   Prodigy Finance

9.   Design at Mayo

10. Cadbury

11. City Hospital Emergency Room

13. Volkswagen

14. Marina Bay Sands

15. Shake Shack IPO

16. Mastercard

17. Netflix

18. Ant Financial

19. AXA: Creating the New CR Metrics

20. IBM Corporate Service Corps

21. Business Leadership in South Africa's 1994 Reforms

22. Alternative Meat Industry

23. Children's Premier

24. Khalil Tawil and Umi (A)

25. Palm Oil 2016

26. Teach For All: Designing a Global Network

27. What's Next? Search Fund Entrepreneurs Reflect on Life After Exit

28. Searching for a Search Fund Structure: A Student Takes a Tour of Various Options

30. Project Sammaan

31. Commonfund ESG

32. Polaroid

33. Connecticut Green Bank 2018: After the Raid

34. FieldFresh Foods

35. The Alibaba Group

36. 360 State Street: Real Options

37. Herman Miller

38. AgBiome

39. Nathan Cummings Foundation

40. Toyota 2010

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HBS Case Selections

case study sites

Innovation at Moog Inc.

  • Brian J. Hall
  • Ashley V. Whillans
  • Davis Heniford
  • Dominika Randle
  • Caroline Witten

Innovation at Google Ads: The Sales Acceleration and Innovation Labs (SAIL) (A)

  • Linda A. Hill
  • Emily Tedards

Juan Valdez: Innovation in Caffeination

  • Michael I. Norton
  • Jeremy Dann

UGG Steps into the Metaverse

  • Shunyuan Zhang
  • Sharon Joseph
  • Sunil Gupta
  • Julia Kelley

Metaverse Wars

  • David B. Yoffie
  • Matt Higgins

Roblox: Virtual Commerce in the Metaverse

  • Ayelet Israeli
  • Nicole Tempest Keller

Timnit Gebru: "SILENCED No More" on AI Bias and The Harms of Large Language Models

  • Tsedal Neeley
  • Stefani Ruper

Hugging Face: Serving AI on a Platform

  • Shane Greenstein
  • Kerry Herman
  • Sarah Gulick

SmartOne: Building an AI Data Business

  • Karim R. Lakhani
  • Pippa Tubman Armerding
  • Gamze Yucaoglu
  • Fares Khrais

Honeywell and the Great Recession (A)

  • Sandra J. Sucher
  • Susan Winterberg

Target: Responding to the Recession

  • Ranjay Gulati
  • Catherine Ross
  • Richard S. Ruback
  • Royce Yudkoff

Hometown Foods: Changing Price Amid Inflation

  • Julian De Freitas
  • Jeremy Yang
  • Das Narayandas

Elon Musk's Big Bets

  • Eric Baldwin

Elon Musk: Balancing Purpose and Risk

  • Shikhar Ghosh
  • Sarah Mehta

Tesla's CEO Compensation Plan

  • Krishna G. Palepu
  • John R. Wells
  • Gabriel Ellsworth

China Rapid Finance: The Collapse of China's P2P Lending Industry

  • William C. Kirby
  • Bonnie Yining Cao
  • John P. McHugh

Forbidden City: Launching a Craft Beer in China

  • Christopher A. Bartlett
  • Carole Carlson

Booking.com

  • Stefan Thomke
  • Daniela Beyersdorfer

Innovation at Uber: The Launch of Express POOL

  • Chiara Farronato
  • Alan MacCormack

Racial Discrimination on Airbnb (A)

  • Michael Luca
  • Scott Stern
  • Hyunjin Kim

GitLab and the Future of All-Remote Work (A)

  • Prithwiraj Choudhury
  • Emma Salomon

TCS: From Physical Offices to Borderless Work

Creating a virtual internship at goldman sachs.

  • Iavor Bojinov

Unilever's Response to the Future of Work

  • William R. Kerr
  • Emilie Billaud
  • Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej

AT&T, Retraining, and the Workforce of Tomorrow

  • Joseph B. Fuller
  • Carl Kreitzberg

Leading Change in Talent at L'Oreal

  • Lakshmi Ramarajan
  • Vincent Dessain
  • Emer Moloney
  • William W. George
  • Andrew N. McLean

Eve Hall: The African American Investment Fund in Milwaukee

  • Steven S. Rogers
  • Alterrell Mills

United Housing - Otis Gates

  • Mercer Cook

The Home Depot: Leadership in Crisis Management

  • Herman B. Leonard
  • Marc J. Epstein
  • Melissa Tritter

The Great East Japan Earthquake (B): Fast Retailing Group's Response

  • Hirotaka Takeuchi
  • Kenichi Nonomura
  • Dena Neuenschwander
  • Meghan Ricci
  • Kate Schoch
  • Sergey Vartanov

Insurer of Last Resort?: The Federal Financial Response to September 11

  • David A. Moss
  • Sarah Brennan

Under Armour

  • Rory McDonald
  • Clayton M. Christensen
  • Daniel West
  • Jonathan E. Palmer
  • Tonia Junker

Hunley, Inc.: Casting for Growth

  • John A. Quelch
  • James T. Kindley

Bitfury: Blockchain for Government

  • Mitchell B. Weiss
  • Elena Corsi

Deutsche Bank: Pursuing Blockchain Opportunities (A)

  • Lynda M. Applegate
  • Christoph Muller-Bloch

Maersk: Betting on Blockchain

  • Scott Johnson

Yum! Brands

  • Jordan Siegel
  • Christopher Poliquin

Bharti Airtel in Africa

  • Tanya Bijlani

Li & Fung 2012

  • F. Warren McFarlan
  • Michael Shih-ta Chen
  • Keith Chi-ho Wong

Sony and the JK Wedding Dance

  • John Deighton
  • Leora Kornfeld

United Breaks Guitars

David dao on united airlines.

  • Benjamin Edelman
  • Jenny Sanford

Marketing Reading: Digital Marketing

  • Joseph Davin

Social Strategy at Nike

  • Mikolaj Jan Piskorski
  • Ryan Johnson

The Tate's Digital Transformation

Social strategy at american express, mellon financial and the bank of new york.

  • Carliss Y. Baldwin
  • Ryan D. Taliaferro

The Walt Disney Company and Pixar, Inc.: To Acquire or Not to Acquire?

  • Juan Alcacer
  • David J. Collis

Dow's Bid for Rohm and Haas

  • Benjamin C. Esty

Finance Reading: The Mergers and Acquisitions Process

  • John Coates

Apple: Privacy vs. Safety? (A)

  • Henry W. McGee
  • Nien-he Hsieh
  • Sarah McAra

Sidewalk Labs: Privacy in a City Built from the Internet Up

  • Leslie K. John

Data Breach at Equifax

  • Suraj Srinivasan
  • Quinn Pitcher
  • Jonah S. Goldberg

Apple's Core

  • Noam Wasserman

Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple

  • Barbara Feinberg

Apple Inc. in 2012

  • Penelope Rossano

Iz-Lynn Chan at Far East Organization (Abridged)

  • Anthony J. Mayo
  • Dana M. Teppert

Barbara Norris: Leading Change in the General Surgery Unit

  • Boris Groysberg
  • Nitin Nohria
  • Deborah Bell

Adobe Systems: Working Towards a "Suite" Release (A)

  • David A. Thomas
  • Lauren Barley
  • Jan W. Rivkin

Starbucks Coffee Company: Transformation and Renewal

  • Nancy F. Koehn
  • Kelly McNamara
  • Nora N. Khan
  • Elizabeth Legris

JCPenney: Back in Business

  • K. Shelette Stewart
  • Christine Snively

Home Nursing of North Carolina

Castronics, llc, gemini investors, angie's list: ratings pioneer turns 20.

  • Robert J. Dolan

Basecamp: Pricing

  • Frank V. Cespedes
  • Robb Fitzsimmons

J.C. Penney's "Fair and Square" Pricing Strategy

J.c. penney's 'fair and square' strategy (c): back to the future.

  • Jose B. Alvarez

Osaro: Picking the best path

  • James Palano
  • Bastiane Huang

HubSpot and Motion AI: Chatbot-Enabled CRM

  • Thomas Steenburgh

GROW: Using Artificial Intelligence to Screen Human Intelligence

  • Ethan S. Bernstein
  • Paul D. McKinnon
  • Paul Yarabe

case study sites

Arup: Building the Water Cube

  • Robert G. Eccles
  • Amy C. Edmondson
  • Dilyana Karadzhova

(Re)Building a Global Team: Tariq Khan at Tek

Managing a global team: greg james at sun microsystems, inc. (a).

  • Thomas J. DeLong

Organizational Behavior Reading: Leading Global Teams

Ron ventura at mitchell memorial hospital.

  • Heide Abelli

Anthony Starks at InSiL Therapeutics (A)

  • Gary P. Pisano
  • Vicki L. Sato

Wolfgang Keller at Konigsbrau-TAK (A)

  • John J. Gabarro

The 2010 Chilean Mining Rescue (A)

  • Faaiza Rashid

IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design

  • Ryan W. Buell
  • Andrew Otazo
  • Benjamin Jones
  • Alexis Brownell

case study sites

David Neeleman: Flight Path of a Servant Leader (A)

  • Matthew D. Breitfelder

Coach Hurley at St. Anthony High School

  • Scott A. Snook
  • Bradley C. Lawrence

Shapiro Global

  • Michael Brookshire
  • Monica Haugen
  • Michelle Kravetz
  • Sarah Sommer

Kathryn McNeil (A)

  • Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.
  • Jerry Useem

Carol Fishman Cohen: Professional Career Reentry (A)

  • Myra M. Hart
  • Robin J. Ely
  • Susan Wojewoda

Alex Montana at ESH Manufacturing Co.

  • Michael Kernish

Michelle Levene (A)

  • Tiziana Casciaro
  • Victoria W. Winston

John and Andrea Rice: Entrepreneurship and Life

  • Howard H. Stevenson
  • Janet Kraus
  • Shirley M. Spence

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Business Case Studies

Open access cases.

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  • Citing Business Sources

case study sites

A number of universities and organizations provide access to free business case studies.  Below are some of the best known sources.

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  • Last Updated: Nov 17, 2023 12:09 PM
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Many academic and business institutions develop and publish case studies. Some of these organizations provide free access to their case studies:

  • Acadia Institute of Case Studies Focuses on entrepreneurship and small business operations.
  • Business Case Studies by Company
  • Business Ethics Case Analyses
  • Canadian Centre for Occupational Health & Safety: Workplace Health Case Studies
  • Case Centre Available for a fee.
  • Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Case Studies
  • Give to Get Marketing. Marketing and Advertising Case Studies
  • HR Open Source Case Studies
  • MarketingSherpa Choose "Case Studies" as the content type in the filters.
  • MaRS Search for "case study" in the top right search box.
  • MERLOT Business Cases
  • MIT LearningEdge Case Studies Free case studies by MIT Sloan School of Management.
  • Penske. Logistics Case Studies
  • Society of Human Resources Management.
  • Open Case Studies Project by UBC The Open Case Studies project at UBC brings together faculty and students from different disciplines to write, edit, and learn with case studies that are free and open.
  • World's Best Case Studies Short video case studies covering topics including consumer goods, services, and technology.
  • << Previous: Finding Case Studies in the Library
  • Next: Buying Cases >>
  • Last Updated: Jan 17, 2024 11:02 AM
  • URL: https://guides.library.ubc.ca/businesscases

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Methodology

  • What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

What Is a Case Study? | Definition, Examples & Methods

Published on May 8, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on November 20, 2023.

A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research.

A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods , but quantitative methods are sometimes also used. Case studies are good for describing , comparing, evaluating and understanding different aspects of a research problem .

Table of contents

When to do a case study, step 1: select a case, step 2: build a theoretical framework, step 3: collect your data, step 4: describe and analyze the case, other interesting articles.

A case study is an appropriate research design when you want to gain concrete, contextual, in-depth knowledge about a specific real-world subject. It allows you to explore the key characteristics, meanings, and implications of the case.

Case studies are often a good choice in a thesis or dissertation . They keep your project focused and manageable when you don’t have the time or resources to do large-scale research.

You might use just one complex case study where you explore a single subject in depth, or conduct multiple case studies to compare and illuminate different aspects of your research problem.

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Once you have developed your problem statement and research questions , you should be ready to choose the specific case that you want to focus on. A good case study should have the potential to:

  • Provide new or unexpected insights into the subject
  • Challenge or complicate existing assumptions and theories
  • Propose practical courses of action to resolve a problem
  • Open up new directions for future research

TipIf your research is more practical in nature and aims to simultaneously investigate an issue as you solve it, consider conducting action research instead.

Unlike quantitative or experimental research , a strong case study does not require a random or representative sample. In fact, case studies often deliberately focus on unusual, neglected, or outlying cases which may shed new light on the research problem.

Example of an outlying case studyIn the 1960s the town of Roseto, Pennsylvania was discovered to have extremely low rates of heart disease compared to the US average. It became an important case study for understanding previously neglected causes of heart disease.

However, you can also choose a more common or representative case to exemplify a particular category, experience or phenomenon.

Example of a representative case studyIn the 1920s, two sociologists used Muncie, Indiana as a case study of a typical American city that supposedly exemplified the changing culture of the US at the time.

While case studies focus more on concrete details than general theories, they should usually have some connection with theory in the field. This way the case study is not just an isolated description, but is integrated into existing knowledge about the topic. It might aim to:

  • Exemplify a theory by showing how it explains the case under investigation
  • Expand on a theory by uncovering new concepts and ideas that need to be incorporated
  • Challenge a theory by exploring an outlier case that doesn’t fit with established assumptions

To ensure that your analysis of the case has a solid academic grounding, you should conduct a literature review of sources related to the topic and develop a theoretical framework . This means identifying key concepts and theories to guide your analysis and interpretation.

There are many different research methods you can use to collect data on your subject. Case studies tend to focus on qualitative data using methods such as interviews , observations , and analysis of primary and secondary sources (e.g., newspaper articles, photographs, official records). Sometimes a case study will also collect quantitative data.

Example of a mixed methods case studyFor a case study of a wind farm development in a rural area, you could collect quantitative data on employment rates and business revenue, collect qualitative data on local people’s perceptions and experiences, and analyze local and national media coverage of the development.

The aim is to gain as thorough an understanding as possible of the case and its context.

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In writing up the case study, you need to bring together all the relevant aspects to give as complete a picture as possible of the subject.

How you report your findings depends on the type of research you are doing. Some case studies are structured like a standard scientific paper or thesis , with separate sections or chapters for the methods , results and discussion .

Others are written in a more narrative style, aiming to explore the case from various angles and analyze its meanings and implications (for example, by using textual analysis or discourse analysis ).

In all cases, though, make sure to give contextual details about the case, connect it back to the literature and theory, and discuss how it fits into wider patterns or debates.

If you want to know more about statistics , methodology , or research bias , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

  • Normal distribution
  • Degrees of freedom
  • Null hypothesis
  • Discourse analysis
  • Control groups
  • Mixed methods research
  • Non-probability sampling
  • Quantitative research
  • Ecological validity

Research bias

  • Rosenthal effect
  • Implicit bias
  • Cognitive bias
  • Selection bias
  • Negativity bias
  • Status quo bias

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Where Can I find Harvard Business School Case Studies?

How do i find articles with case studies, where can i find free case studies, subject specialists.

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Harvard Business Publishing makes a great deal of money selling these for business school course packs and will not make them available to libraries. You can, however, order them directly from HBS, around $8.95 each How to find them:

  • Harvard Business Review publishes one case study per issue. These generally deal with fictitious companies but are very good studies of current problems faced by companies.
  • Harvard Business School Publishing Search by company name or topic. Abstracts are usually included. Harvard also sells cases from Babson College and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, among others.

Use keyword searches in article databases . For example: "case studies and airlines" or "case  studies and management". Full-text articles and abstracts are available, depending on the journal.

Tip: Use the subject heading "case studies" in ABI/INFORM and Business Source Complete

Article database that indexes academic journals, trade publications, newspapers and magazines in business and economics. Full text is often available. Use the FindIt links to locate full text of articles that are not included in the database.

  • Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window & more less... Article database that includes trade publications, academic journals, industry profiles, country information and company profiles, which include SWOT analyses. Full text is often available. Use the FindIt links to locate full text of articles that are not included in the database.
  • EconLit with Full Text This link opens in a new window & more less... EconLit indexes articles from economics journals, books, book chapters, dissertations and working papers. It is a very good source for empirical studies on economics and finance. Use the FindIt links to locate full text of articles that are not included in the database.

Most cases published for teaching in business schools are not free to use. These are a few resources that do offer free cases, but only LearningEdge offers their entire catalog for free.

  • LearningEdge Cases developed at the MIT Sloan School of Management.
  • Free cases from Stanford Graduate School of Business More are available for purchase through Harvard Business School Publishing
  • Free cases from the Case Centre A selection of cases. Many more available for purchase
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Case Depositories

Can't find case studies in the business library resources.

Try these websites. Note, not all case studies are free. Access to case studies may require purchase, creation of an account, or direct contact with the publisher.

Search these journals online:

  • International Journal of Case Studies in Management
  • Journal of Case Research in Business and Economics
  • Journal of Business Case Studies
  • InterLibrary Loan (ILL) request Can't access the full-text? Try requesting the title of a case study using Interlibrary Loan.

Search these case depositories:

  • Asian Business Case Centre
  • The Case Centre A diverse collection of management cases, articles, book chapters and teaching materials. For a complete list of case suppliers (may require payment): https://www.thecasecentre.org/students/ordering/whatsavailable/cases
  • Chief Marketer Serves marketing professionals at consumer and business-to-business brands, as well as their agencies, with information on measurable marketing strategies, tactics and techniques
  • Darden Business Publishing (Univ. of Virginia)
  • Harvard Business Review Cases Harvard's case studies are available for ~$9 each.
  • International City Managers' Association Choose document type of "case study" on left; then search within results on right.
  • Ivey case studies Ivey Publishing provides over 8,000 business case studies with a global perspective.
  • Marketing Sherpa
  • MERLOT II The MERLOT collection consists of discipline-specific learning materials, including case studies.
  • MIT SLoan Management The teaching business case studies available on LearningEdge, which fall under the headings of entrepreneurship, leadership/ethics, operations management, strategy, sustainability, and system dynamics, are narratives that facilitate class discussion about a particular business or management issue.
  • Society for Case Research SCR, founded in 1978, facilitates the exchange of ideas leading to the improvement of case research, writing, and teaching; assists in the publication of written cases or case research and other scholarly work; and provides recognition for excellence in case research, writing and teaching. more... less... SCR publishes three scholarly journals, the Business Case Journal (BCJ), Journal of Case Studies (JCS), and the Journal of Critical Incidents (JCI). Use the Library's JOURNAL FINDER (on the homepage) to connect to the full-text of these journals.
  • Society for Human Resource Management To access case studies on the SHRM site you must become a member. SHRM offers a discounted student membership. Come in and speak to a librarian about additional options available to GGU students.
  • Stanford Graduate School of Business
  • The Times 100 Free case studies written by the Financial Times.
  • Vanderbilt Center for Ethics Case Resources Offers a list of links to other sites that have subject specific case studies.
  • WARC Search for advertising effectiveness case studies
  • WDI Publishing Publishes "cases covering all core business disciplines, including a special collection of cases which address issues relevant to social impact and market-based solutions in emerging economies."
  • The Case Center Good source for finding free cases also providing training
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  • Last Updated: Mar 25, 2024 3:29 PM
  • URL: https://ggu.libguides.com/casestudies

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Assignments

  • Annotated Bibliography
  • Analyzing a Scholarly Journal Article
  • Group Presentations
  • Dealing with Nervousness
  • Using Visual Aids
  • Grading Someone Else's Paper
  • Types of Structured Group Activities
  • Group Project Survival Skills
  • Leading a Class Discussion
  • Multiple Book Review Essay
  • Reviewing Collected Works
  • Writing a Case Analysis Paper
  • Writing a Case Study
  • About Informed Consent
  • Writing Field Notes
  • Writing a Policy Memo
  • Writing a Reflective Paper
  • Writing a Research Proposal
  • Generative AI and Writing
  • Acknowledgments

A case study research paper examines a person, place, event, condition, phenomenon, or other type of subject of analysis in order to extrapolate  key themes and results that help predict future trends, illuminate previously hidden issues that can be applied to practice, and/or provide a means for understanding an important research problem with greater clarity. A case study research paper usually examines a single subject of analysis, but case study papers can also be designed as a comparative investigation that shows relationships between two or more subjects. The methods used to study a case can rest within a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-method investigative paradigm.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010 ; “What is a Case Study?” In Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London: SAGE, 2010.

How to Approach Writing a Case Study Research Paper

General information about how to choose a topic to investigate can be found under the " Choosing a Research Problem " tab in the Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper writing guide. Review this page because it may help you identify a subject of analysis that can be investigated using a case study design.

However, identifying a case to investigate involves more than choosing the research problem . A case study encompasses a problem contextualized around the application of in-depth analysis, interpretation, and discussion, often resulting in specific recommendations for action or for improving existing conditions. As Seawright and Gerring note, practical considerations such as time and access to information can influence case selection, but these issues should not be the sole factors used in describing the methodological justification for identifying a particular case to study. Given this, selecting a case includes considering the following:

  • The case represents an unusual or atypical example of a research problem that requires more in-depth analysis? Cases often represent a topic that rests on the fringes of prior investigations because the case may provide new ways of understanding the research problem. For example, if the research problem is to identify strategies to improve policies that support girl's access to secondary education in predominantly Muslim nations, you could consider using Azerbaijan as a case study rather than selecting a more obvious nation in the Middle East. Doing so may reveal important new insights into recommending how governments in other predominantly Muslim nations can formulate policies that support improved access to education for girls.
  • The case provides important insight or illuminate a previously hidden problem? In-depth analysis of a case can be based on the hypothesis that the case study will reveal trends or issues that have not been exposed in prior research or will reveal new and important implications for practice. For example, anecdotal evidence may suggest drug use among homeless veterans is related to their patterns of travel throughout the day. Assuming prior studies have not looked at individual travel choices as a way to study access to illicit drug use, a case study that observes a homeless veteran could reveal how issues of personal mobility choices facilitate regular access to illicit drugs. Note that it is important to conduct a thorough literature review to ensure that your assumption about the need to reveal new insights or previously hidden problems is valid and evidence-based.
  • The case challenges and offers a counter-point to prevailing assumptions? Over time, research on any given topic can fall into a trap of developing assumptions based on outdated studies that are still applied to new or changing conditions or the idea that something should simply be accepted as "common sense," even though the issue has not been thoroughly tested in current practice. A case study analysis may offer an opportunity to gather evidence that challenges prevailing assumptions about a research problem and provide a new set of recommendations applied to practice that have not been tested previously. For example, perhaps there has been a long practice among scholars to apply a particular theory in explaining the relationship between two subjects of analysis. Your case could challenge this assumption by applying an innovative theoretical framework [perhaps borrowed from another discipline] to explore whether this approach offers new ways of understanding the research problem. Taking a contrarian stance is one of the most important ways that new knowledge and understanding develops from existing literature.
  • The case provides an opportunity to pursue action leading to the resolution of a problem? Another way to think about choosing a case to study is to consider how the results from investigating a particular case may result in findings that reveal ways in which to resolve an existing or emerging problem. For example, studying the case of an unforeseen incident, such as a fatal accident at a railroad crossing, can reveal hidden issues that could be applied to preventative measures that contribute to reducing the chance of accidents in the future. In this example, a case study investigating the accident could lead to a better understanding of where to strategically locate additional signals at other railroad crossings so as to better warn drivers of an approaching train, particularly when visibility is hindered by heavy rain, fog, or at night.
  • The case offers a new direction in future research? A case study can be used as a tool for an exploratory investigation that highlights the need for further research about the problem. A case can be used when there are few studies that help predict an outcome or that establish a clear understanding about how best to proceed in addressing a problem. For example, after conducting a thorough literature review [very important!], you discover that little research exists showing the ways in which women contribute to promoting water conservation in rural communities of east central Africa. A case study of how women contribute to saving water in a rural village of Uganda can lay the foundation for understanding the need for more thorough research that documents how women in their roles as cooks and family caregivers think about water as a valuable resource within their community. This example of a case study could also point to the need for scholars to build new theoretical frameworks around the topic [e.g., applying feminist theories of work and family to the issue of water conservation].

Eisenhardt, Kathleen M. “Building Theories from Case Study Research.” Academy of Management Review 14 (October 1989): 532-550; Emmel, Nick. Sampling and Choosing Cases in Qualitative Research: A Realist Approach . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2013; Gerring, John. “What Is a Case Study and What Is It Good for?” American Political Science Review 98 (May 2004): 341-354; Mills, Albert J. , Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Seawright, Jason and John Gerring. "Case Selection Techniques in Case Study Research." Political Research Quarterly 61 (June 2008): 294-308.

Structure and Writing Style

The purpose of a paper in the social sciences designed around a case study is to thoroughly investigate a subject of analysis in order to reveal a new understanding about the research problem and, in so doing, contributing new knowledge to what is already known from previous studies. In applied social sciences disciplines [e.g., education, social work, public administration, etc.], case studies may also be used to reveal best practices, highlight key programs, or investigate interesting aspects of professional work.

In general, the structure of a case study research paper is not all that different from a standard college-level research paper. However, there are subtle differences you should be aware of. Here are the key elements to organizing and writing a case study research paper.

I.  Introduction

As with any research paper, your introduction should serve as a roadmap for your readers to ascertain the scope and purpose of your study . The introduction to a case study research paper, however, should not only describe the research problem and its significance, but you should also succinctly describe why the case is being used and how it relates to addressing the problem. The two elements should be linked. With this in mind, a good introduction answers these four questions:

  • What is being studied? Describe the research problem and describe the subject of analysis [the case] you have chosen to address the problem. Explain how they are linked and what elements of the case will help to expand knowledge and understanding about the problem.
  • Why is this topic important to investigate? Describe the significance of the research problem and state why a case study design and the subject of analysis that the paper is designed around is appropriate in addressing the problem.
  • What did we know about this topic before I did this study? Provide background that helps lead the reader into the more in-depth literature review to follow. If applicable, summarize prior case study research applied to the research problem and why it fails to adequately address the problem. Describe why your case will be useful. If no prior case studies have been used to address the research problem, explain why you have selected this subject of analysis.
  • How will this study advance new knowledge or new ways of understanding? Explain why your case study will be suitable in helping to expand knowledge and understanding about the research problem.

Each of these questions should be addressed in no more than a few paragraphs. Exceptions to this can be when you are addressing a complex research problem or subject of analysis that requires more in-depth background information.

II.  Literature Review

The literature review for a case study research paper is generally structured the same as it is for any college-level research paper. The difference, however, is that the literature review is focused on providing background information and  enabling historical interpretation of the subject of analysis in relation to the research problem the case is intended to address . This includes synthesizing studies that help to:

  • Place relevant works in the context of their contribution to understanding the case study being investigated . This would involve summarizing studies that have used a similar subject of analysis to investigate the research problem. If there is literature using the same or a very similar case to study, you need to explain why duplicating past research is important [e.g., conditions have changed; prior studies were conducted long ago, etc.].
  • Describe the relationship each work has to the others under consideration that informs the reader why this case is applicable . Your literature review should include a description of any works that support using the case to investigate the research problem and the underlying research questions.
  • Identify new ways to interpret prior research using the case study . If applicable, review any research that has examined the research problem using a different research design. Explain how your use of a case study design may reveal new knowledge or a new perspective or that can redirect research in an important new direction.
  • Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies . This refers to synthesizing any literature that points to unresolved issues of concern about the research problem and describing how the subject of analysis that forms the case study can help resolve these existing contradictions.
  • Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research . Your review should examine any literature that lays a foundation for understanding why your case study design and the subject of analysis around which you have designed your study may reveal a new way of approaching the research problem or offer a perspective that points to the need for additional research.
  • Expose any gaps that exist in the literature that the case study could help to fill . Summarize any literature that not only shows how your subject of analysis contributes to understanding the research problem, but how your case contributes to a new way of understanding the problem that prior research has failed to do.
  • Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important!] . Collectively, your literature review should always place your case study within the larger domain of prior research about the problem. The overarching purpose of reviewing pertinent literature in a case study paper is to demonstrate that you have thoroughly identified and synthesized prior studies in relation to explaining the relevance of the case in addressing the research problem.

III.  Method

In this section, you explain why you selected a particular case [i.e., subject of analysis] and the strategy you used to identify and ultimately decide that your case was appropriate in addressing the research problem. The way you describe the methods used varies depending on the type of subject of analysis that constitutes your case study.

If your subject of analysis is an incident or event . In the social and behavioral sciences, the event or incident that represents the case to be studied is usually bounded by time and place, with a clear beginning and end and with an identifiable location or position relative to its surroundings. The subject of analysis can be a rare or critical event or it can focus on a typical or regular event. The purpose of studying a rare event is to illuminate new ways of thinking about the broader research problem or to test a hypothesis. Critical incident case studies must describe the method by which you identified the event and explain the process by which you determined the validity of this case to inform broader perspectives about the research problem or to reveal new findings. However, the event does not have to be a rare or uniquely significant to support new thinking about the research problem or to challenge an existing hypothesis. For example, Walo, Bull, and Breen conducted a case study to identify and evaluate the direct and indirect economic benefits and costs of a local sports event in the City of Lismore, New South Wales, Australia. The purpose of their study was to provide new insights from measuring the impact of a typical local sports event that prior studies could not measure well because they focused on large "mega-events." Whether the event is rare or not, the methods section should include an explanation of the following characteristics of the event: a) when did it take place; b) what were the underlying circumstances leading to the event; and, c) what were the consequences of the event in relation to the research problem.

If your subject of analysis is a person. Explain why you selected this particular individual to be studied and describe what experiences they have had that provide an opportunity to advance new understandings about the research problem. Mention any background about this person which might help the reader understand the significance of their experiences that make them worthy of study. This includes describing the relationships this person has had with other people, institutions, and/or events that support using them as the subject for a case study research paper. It is particularly important to differentiate the person as the subject of analysis from others and to succinctly explain how the person relates to examining the research problem [e.g., why is one politician in a particular local election used to show an increase in voter turnout from any other candidate running in the election]. Note that these issues apply to a specific group of people used as a case study unit of analysis [e.g., a classroom of students].

If your subject of analysis is a place. In general, a case study that investigates a place suggests a subject of analysis that is unique or special in some way and that this uniqueness can be used to build new understanding or knowledge about the research problem. A case study of a place must not only describe its various attributes relevant to the research problem [e.g., physical, social, historical, cultural, economic, political], but you must state the method by which you determined that this place will illuminate new understandings about the research problem. It is also important to articulate why a particular place as the case for study is being used if similar places also exist [i.e., if you are studying patterns of homeless encampments of veterans in open spaces, explain why you are studying Echo Park in Los Angeles rather than Griffith Park?]. If applicable, describe what type of human activity involving this place makes it a good choice to study [e.g., prior research suggests Echo Park has more homeless veterans].

If your subject of analysis is a phenomenon. A phenomenon refers to a fact, occurrence, or circumstance that can be studied or observed but with the cause or explanation to be in question. In this sense, a phenomenon that forms your subject of analysis can encompass anything that can be observed or presumed to exist but is not fully understood. In the social and behavioral sciences, the case usually focuses on human interaction within a complex physical, social, economic, cultural, or political system. For example, the phenomenon could be the observation that many vehicles used by ISIS fighters are small trucks with English language advertisements on them. The research problem could be that ISIS fighters are difficult to combat because they are highly mobile. The research questions could be how and by what means are these vehicles used by ISIS being supplied to the militants and how might supply lines to these vehicles be cut off? How might knowing the suppliers of these trucks reveal larger networks of collaborators and financial support? A case study of a phenomenon most often encompasses an in-depth analysis of a cause and effect that is grounded in an interactive relationship between people and their environment in some way.

NOTE:   The choice of the case or set of cases to study cannot appear random. Evidence that supports the method by which you identified and chose your subject of analysis should clearly support investigation of the research problem and linked to key findings from your literature review. Be sure to cite any studies that helped you determine that the case you chose was appropriate for examining the problem.

IV.  Discussion

The main elements of your discussion section are generally the same as any research paper, but centered around interpreting and drawing conclusions about the key findings from your analysis of the case study. Note that a general social sciences research paper may contain a separate section to report findings. However, in a paper designed around a case study, it is common to combine a description of the results with the discussion about their implications. The objectives of your discussion section should include the following:

Reiterate the Research Problem/State the Major Findings Briefly reiterate the research problem you are investigating and explain why the subject of analysis around which you designed the case study were used. You should then describe the findings revealed from your study of the case using direct, declarative, and succinct proclamation of the study results. Highlight any findings that were unexpected or especially profound.

Explain the Meaning of the Findings and Why They are Important Systematically explain the meaning of your case study findings and why you believe they are important. Begin this part of the section by repeating what you consider to be your most important or surprising finding first, then systematically review each finding. Be sure to thoroughly extrapolate what your analysis of the case can tell the reader about situations or conditions beyond the actual case that was studied while, at the same time, being careful not to misconstrue or conflate a finding that undermines the external validity of your conclusions.

Relate the Findings to Similar Studies No study in the social sciences is so novel or possesses such a restricted focus that it has absolutely no relation to previously published research. The discussion section should relate your case study results to those found in other studies, particularly if questions raised from prior studies served as the motivation for choosing your subject of analysis. This is important because comparing and contrasting the findings of other studies helps support the overall importance of your results and it highlights how and in what ways your case study design and the subject of analysis differs from prior research about the topic.

Consider Alternative Explanations of the Findings Remember that the purpose of social science research is to discover and not to prove. When writing the discussion section, you should carefully consider all possible explanations revealed by the case study results, rather than just those that fit your hypothesis or prior assumptions and biases. Be alert to what the in-depth analysis of the case may reveal about the research problem, including offering a contrarian perspective to what scholars have stated in prior research if that is how the findings can be interpreted from your case.

Acknowledge the Study's Limitations You can state the study's limitations in the conclusion section of your paper but describing the limitations of your subject of analysis in the discussion section provides an opportunity to identify the limitations and explain why they are not significant. This part of the discussion section should also note any unanswered questions or issues your case study could not address. More detailed information about how to document any limitations to your research can be found here .

Suggest Areas for Further Research Although your case study may offer important insights about the research problem, there are likely additional questions related to the problem that remain unanswered or findings that unexpectedly revealed themselves as a result of your in-depth analysis of the case. Be sure that the recommendations for further research are linked to the research problem and that you explain why your recommendations are valid in other contexts and based on the original assumptions of your study.

V.  Conclusion

As with any research paper, you should summarize your conclusion in clear, simple language; emphasize how the findings from your case study differs from or supports prior research and why. Do not simply reiterate the discussion section. Provide a synthesis of key findings presented in the paper to show how these converge to address the research problem. If you haven't already done so in the discussion section, be sure to document the limitations of your case study and any need for further research.

The function of your paper's conclusion is to: 1) reiterate the main argument supported by the findings from your case study; 2) state clearly the context, background, and necessity of pursuing the research problem using a case study design in relation to an issue, controversy, or a gap found from reviewing the literature; and, 3) provide a place to persuasively and succinctly restate the significance of your research problem, given that the reader has now been presented with in-depth information about the topic.

Consider the following points to help ensure your conclusion is appropriate:

  • If the argument or purpose of your paper is complex, you may need to summarize these points for your reader.
  • If prior to your conclusion, you have not yet explained the significance of your findings or if you are proceeding inductively, use the conclusion of your paper to describe your main points and explain their significance.
  • Move from a detailed to a general level of consideration of the case study's findings that returns the topic to the context provided by the introduction or within a new context that emerges from your case study findings.

Note that, depending on the discipline you are writing in or the preferences of your professor, the concluding paragraph may contain your final reflections on the evidence presented as it applies to practice or on the essay's central research problem. However, the nature of being introspective about the subject of analysis you have investigated will depend on whether you are explicitly asked to express your observations in this way.

Problems to Avoid

Overgeneralization One of the goals of a case study is to lay a foundation for understanding broader trends and issues applied to similar circumstances. However, be careful when drawing conclusions from your case study. They must be evidence-based and grounded in the results of the study; otherwise, it is merely speculation. Looking at a prior example, it would be incorrect to state that a factor in improving girls access to education in Azerbaijan and the policy implications this may have for improving access in other Muslim nations is due to girls access to social media if there is no documentary evidence from your case study to indicate this. There may be anecdotal evidence that retention rates were better for girls who were engaged with social media, but this observation would only point to the need for further research and would not be a definitive finding if this was not a part of your original research agenda.

Failure to Document Limitations No case is going to reveal all that needs to be understood about a research problem. Therefore, just as you have to clearly state the limitations of a general research study , you must describe the specific limitations inherent in the subject of analysis. For example, the case of studying how women conceptualize the need for water conservation in a village in Uganda could have limited application in other cultural contexts or in areas where fresh water from rivers or lakes is plentiful and, therefore, conservation is understood more in terms of managing access rather than preserving access to a scarce resource.

Failure to Extrapolate All Possible Implications Just as you don't want to over-generalize from your case study findings, you also have to be thorough in the consideration of all possible outcomes or recommendations derived from your findings. If you do not, your reader may question the validity of your analysis, particularly if you failed to document an obvious outcome from your case study research. For example, in the case of studying the accident at the railroad crossing to evaluate where and what types of warning signals should be located, you failed to take into consideration speed limit signage as well as warning signals. When designing your case study, be sure you have thoroughly addressed all aspects of the problem and do not leave gaps in your analysis that leave the reader questioning the results.

Case Studies. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Gerring, John. Case Study Research: Principles and Practices . New York: Cambridge University Press, 2007; Merriam, Sharan B. Qualitative Research and Case Study Applications in Education . Rev. ed. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1998; Miller, Lisa L. “The Use of Case Studies in Law and Social Science Research.” Annual Review of Law and Social Science 14 (2018): TBD; Mills, Albert J., Gabrielle Durepos, and Eiden Wiebe, editors. Encyclopedia of Case Study Research . Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010; Putney, LeAnn Grogan. "Case Study." In Encyclopedia of Research Design , Neil J. Salkind, editor. (Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, 2010), pp. 116-120; Simons, Helen. Case Study Research in Practice . London: SAGE Publications, 2009;  Kratochwill,  Thomas R. and Joel R. Levin, editors. Single-Case Research Design and Analysis: New Development for Psychology and Education .  Hilldsale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1992; Swanborn, Peter G. Case Study Research: What, Why and How? London : SAGE, 2010; Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research: Design and Methods . 6th edition. Los Angeles, CA, SAGE Publications, 2014; Walo, Maree, Adrian Bull, and Helen Breen. “Achieving Economic Benefits at Local Events: A Case Study of a Local Sports Event.” Festival Management and Event Tourism 4 (1996): 95-106.

Writing Tip

At Least Five Misconceptions about Case Study Research

Social science case studies are often perceived as limited in their ability to create new knowledge because they are not randomly selected and findings cannot be generalized to larger populations. Flyvbjerg examines five misunderstandings about case study research and systematically "corrects" each one. To quote, these are:

Misunderstanding 1 :  General, theoretical [context-independent] knowledge is more valuable than concrete, practical [context-dependent] knowledge. Misunderstanding 2 :  One cannot generalize on the basis of an individual case; therefore, the case study cannot contribute to scientific development. Misunderstanding 3 :  The case study is most useful for generating hypotheses; that is, in the first stage of a total research process, whereas other methods are more suitable for hypotheses testing and theory building. Misunderstanding 4 :  The case study contains a bias toward verification, that is, a tendency to confirm the researcher’s preconceived notions. Misunderstanding 5 :  It is often difficult to summarize and develop general propositions and theories on the basis of specific case studies [p. 221].

While writing your paper, think introspectively about how you addressed these misconceptions because to do so can help you strengthen the validity and reliability of your research by clarifying issues of case selection, the testing and challenging of existing assumptions, the interpretation of key findings, and the summation of case outcomes. Think of a case study research paper as a complete, in-depth narrative about the specific properties and key characteristics of your subject of analysis applied to the research problem.

Flyvbjerg, Bent. “Five Misunderstandings About Case-Study Research.” Qualitative Inquiry 12 (April 2006): 219-245.

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How to write a case study — examples, templates, and tools

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It’s a marketer’s job to communicate the effectiveness of a product or service to potential and current customers to convince them to buy and keep business moving. One of the best methods for doing this is to share success stories that are relatable to prospects and customers based on their pain points, experiences, and overall needs.

That’s where case studies come in. Case studies are an essential part of a content marketing plan. These in-depth stories of customer experiences are some of the most effective at demonstrating the value of a product or service. Yet many marketers don’t use them, whether because of their regimented formats or the process of customer involvement and approval.

A case study is a powerful tool for showcasing your hard work and the success your customer achieved. But writing a great case study can be difficult if you’ve never done it before or if it’s been a while. This guide will show you how to write an effective case study and provide real-world examples and templates that will keep readers engaged and support your business.

In this article, you’ll learn:

What is a case study?

How to write a case study, case study templates, case study examples, case study tools.

A case study is the detailed story of a customer’s experience with a product or service that demonstrates their success and often includes measurable outcomes. Case studies are used in a range of fields and for various reasons, from business to academic research. They’re especially impactful in marketing as brands work to convince and convert consumers with relatable, real-world stories of actual customer experiences.

The best case studies tell the story of a customer’s success, including the steps they took, the results they achieved, and the support they received from a brand along the way. To write a great case study, you need to:

  • Celebrate the customer and make them — not a product or service — the star of the story.
  • Craft the story with specific audiences or target segments in mind so that the story of one customer will be viewed as relatable and actionable for another customer.
  • Write copy that is easy to read and engaging so that readers will gain the insights and messages intended.
  • Follow a standardized format that includes all of the essentials a potential customer would find interesting and useful.
  • Support all of the claims for success made in the story with data in the forms of hard numbers and customer statements.

Case studies are a type of review but more in depth, aiming to show — rather than just tell — the positive experiences that customers have with a brand. Notably, 89% of consumers read reviews before deciding to buy, and 79% view case study content as part of their purchasing process. When it comes to B2B sales, 52% of buyers rank case studies as an important part of their evaluation process.

Telling a brand story through the experience of a tried-and-true customer matters. The story is relatable to potential new customers as they imagine themselves in the shoes of the company or individual featured in the case study. Showcasing previous customers can help new ones see themselves engaging with your brand in the ways that are most meaningful to them.

Besides sharing the perspective of another customer, case studies stand out from other content marketing forms because they are based on evidence. Whether pulling from client testimonials or data-driven results, case studies tend to have more impact on new business because the story contains information that is both objective (data) and subjective (customer experience) — and the brand doesn’t sound too self-promotional.

89% of consumers read reviews before buying, 79% view case studies, and 52% of B2B buyers prioritize case studies in the evaluation process.

Case studies are unique in that there’s a fairly standardized format for telling a customer’s story. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t room for creativity. It’s all about making sure that teams are clear on the goals for the case study — along with strategies for supporting content and channels — and understanding how the story fits within the framework of the company’s overall marketing goals.

Here are the basic steps to writing a good case study.

1. Identify your goal

Start by defining exactly who your case study will be designed to help. Case studies are about specific instances where a company works with a customer to achieve a goal. Identify which customers are likely to have these goals, as well as other needs the story should cover to appeal to them.

The answer is often found in one of the buyer personas that have been constructed as part of your larger marketing strategy. This can include anything from new leads generated by the marketing team to long-term customers that are being pressed for cross-sell opportunities. In all of these cases, demonstrating value through a relatable customer success story can be part of the solution to conversion.

2. Choose your client or subject

Who you highlight matters. Case studies tie brands together that might otherwise not cross paths. A writer will want to ensure that the highlighted customer aligns with their own company’s brand identity and offerings. Look for a customer with positive name recognition who has had great success with a product or service and is willing to be an advocate.

The client should also match up with the identified target audience. Whichever company or individual is selected should be a reflection of other potential customers who can see themselves in similar circumstances, having the same problems and possible solutions.

Some of the most compelling case studies feature customers who:

  • Switch from one product or service to another while naming competitors that missed the mark.
  • Experience measurable results that are relatable to others in a specific industry.
  • Represent well-known brands and recognizable names that are likely to compel action.
  • Advocate for a product or service as a champion and are well-versed in its advantages.

Whoever or whatever customer is selected, marketers must ensure they have the permission of the company involved before getting started. Some brands have strict review and approval procedures for any official marketing or promotional materials that include their name. Acquiring those approvals in advance will prevent any miscommunication or wasted effort if there is an issue with their legal or compliance teams.

3. Conduct research and compile data

Substantiating the claims made in a case study — either by the marketing team or customers themselves — adds validity to the story. To do this, include data and feedback from the client that defines what success looks like. This can be anything from demonstrating return on investment (ROI) to a specific metric the customer was striving to improve. Case studies should prove how an outcome was achieved and show tangible results that indicate to the customer that your solution is the right one.

This step could also include customer interviews. Make sure that the people being interviewed are key stakeholders in the purchase decision or deployment and use of the product or service that is being highlighted. Content writers should work off a set list of questions prepared in advance. It can be helpful to share these with the interviewees beforehand so they have time to consider and craft their responses. One of the best interview tactics to keep in mind is to ask questions where yes and no are not natural answers. This way, your subject will provide more open-ended responses that produce more meaningful content.

4. Choose the right format

There are a number of different ways to format a case study. Depending on what you hope to achieve, one style will be better than another. However, there are some common elements to include, such as:

  • An engaging headline
  • A subject and customer introduction
  • The unique challenge or challenges the customer faced
  • The solution the customer used to solve the problem
  • The results achieved
  • Data and statistics to back up claims of success
  • A strong call to action (CTA) to engage with the vendor

It’s also important to note that while case studies are traditionally written as stories, they don’t have to be in a written format. Some companies choose to get more creative with their case studies and produce multimedia content, depending on their audience and objectives. Case study formats can include traditional print stories, interactive web or social content, data-heavy infographics, professionally shot videos, podcasts, and more.

5. Write your case study

We’ll go into more detail later about how exactly to write a case study, including templates and examples. Generally speaking, though, there are a few things to keep in mind when writing your case study.

  • Be clear and concise. Readers want to get to the point of the story quickly and easily, and they’ll be looking to see themselves reflected in the story right from the start.
  • Provide a big picture. Always make sure to explain who the client is, their goals, and how they achieved success in a short introduction to engage the reader.
  • Construct a clear narrative. Stick to the story from the perspective of the customer and what they needed to solve instead of just listing product features or benefits.
  • Leverage graphics. Incorporating infographics, charts, and sidebars can be a more engaging and eye-catching way to share key statistics and data in readable ways.
  • Offer the right amount of detail. Most case studies are one or two pages with clear sections that a reader can skim to find the information most important to them.
  • Include data to support claims. Show real results — both facts and figures and customer quotes — to demonstrate credibility and prove the solution works.

6. Promote your story

Marketers have a number of options for distribution of a freshly minted case study. Many brands choose to publish case studies on their website and post them on social media. This can help support SEO and organic content strategies while also boosting company credibility and trust as visitors see that other businesses have used the product or service.

Marketers are always looking for quality content they can use for lead generation. Consider offering a case study as gated content behind a form on a landing page or as an offer in an email message. One great way to do this is to summarize the content and tease the full story available for download after the user takes an action.

Sales teams can also leverage case studies, so be sure they are aware that the assets exist once they’re published. Especially when it comes to larger B2B sales, companies often ask for examples of similar customer challenges that have been solved.

Now that you’ve learned a bit about case studies and what they should include, you may be wondering how to start creating great customer story content. Here are a couple of templates you can use to structure your case study.

Template 1 — Challenge-solution-result format

  • Start with an engaging title. This should be fewer than 70 characters long for SEO best practices. One of the best ways to approach the title is to include the customer’s name and a hint at the challenge they overcame in the end.
  • Create an introduction. Lead with an explanation as to who the customer is, the need they had, and the opportunity they found with a specific product or solution. Writers can also suggest the success the customer experienced with the solution they chose.
  • Present the challenge. This should be several paragraphs long and explain the problem the customer faced and the issues they were trying to solve. Details should tie into the company’s products and services naturally. This section needs to be the most relatable to the reader so they can picture themselves in a similar situation.
  • Share the solution. Explain which product or service offered was the ideal fit for the customer and why. Feel free to delve into their experience setting up, purchasing, and onboarding the solution.
  • Explain the results. Demonstrate the impact of the solution they chose by backing up their positive experience with data. Fill in with customer quotes and tangible, measurable results that show the effect of their choice.
  • Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that invites readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to nurture them further in the marketing pipeline. What you ask of the reader should tie directly into the goals that were established for the case study in the first place.

Template 2 — Data-driven format

  • Start with an engaging title. Be sure to include a statistic or data point in the first 70 characters. Again, it’s best to include the customer’s name as part of the title.
  • Create an overview. Share the customer’s background and a short version of the challenge they faced. Present the reason a particular product or service was chosen, and feel free to include quotes from the customer about their selection process.
  • Present data point 1. Isolate the first metric that the customer used to define success and explain how the product or solution helped to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
  • Present data point 2. Isolate the second metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
  • Present data point 3. Isolate the final metric that the customer used to define success and explain what the product or solution did to achieve this goal. Provide data points and quotes to substantiate the claim that success was achieved.
  • Summarize the results. Reiterate the fact that the customer was able to achieve success thanks to a specific product or service. Include quotes and statements that reflect customer satisfaction and suggest they plan to continue using the solution.
  • Ask for action. Include a CTA at the end of the case study that asks readers to reach out for more information, try a demo, or learn more — to further nurture them in the marketing pipeline. Again, remember that this is where marketers can look to convert their content into action with the customer.

While templates are helpful, seeing a case study in action can also be a great way to learn. Here are some examples of how Adobe customers have experienced success.

Juniper Networks

One example is the Adobe and Juniper Networks case study , which puts the reader in the customer’s shoes. The beginning of the story quickly orients the reader so that they know exactly who the article is about and what they were trying to achieve. Solutions are outlined in a way that shows Adobe Experience Manager is the best choice and a natural fit for the customer. Along the way, quotes from the client are incorporated to help add validity to the statements. The results in the case study are conveyed with clear evidence of scale and volume using tangible data.

A Lenovo case study showing statistics, a pull quote and featured headshot, the headline "The customer is king.," and Adobe product links.

The story of Lenovo’s journey with Adobe is one that spans years of planning, implementation, and rollout. The Lenovo case study does a great job of consolidating all of this into a relatable journey that other enterprise organizations can see themselves taking, despite the project size. This case study also features descriptive headers and compelling visual elements that engage the reader and strengthen the content.

Tata Consulting

When it comes to using data to show customer results, this case study does an excellent job of conveying details and numbers in an easy-to-digest manner. Bullet points at the start break up the content while also helping the reader understand exactly what the case study will be about. Tata Consulting used Adobe to deliver elevated, engaging content experiences for a large telecommunications client of its own — an objective that’s relatable for a lot of companies.

Case studies are a vital tool for any marketing team as they enable you to demonstrate the value of your company’s products and services to others. They help marketers do their job and add credibility to a brand trying to promote its solutions by using the experiences and stories of real customers.

When you’re ready to get started with a case study:

  • Think about a few goals you’d like to accomplish with your content.
  • Make a list of successful clients that would be strong candidates for a case study.
  • Reach out to the client to get their approval and conduct an interview.
  • Gather the data to present an engaging and effective customer story.

Adobe can help

There are several Adobe products that can help you craft compelling case studies. Adobe Experience Platform helps you collect data and deliver great customer experiences across every channel. Once you’ve created your case studies, Experience Platform will help you deliver the right information to the right customer at the right time for maximum impact.

To learn more, watch the Adobe Experience Platform story .

Keep in mind that the best case studies are backed by data. That’s where Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform and Adobe Analytics come into play. With Real-Time CDP, you can gather the data you need to build a great case study and target specific customers to deliver the content to the right audience at the perfect moment.

Watch the Real-Time CDP overview video to learn more.

Finally, Adobe Analytics turns real-time data into real-time insights. It helps your business collect and synthesize data from multiple platforms to make more informed decisions and create the best case study possible.

Request a demo to learn more about Adobe Analytics.

https://business.adobe.com/blog/perspectives/b2b-ecommerce-10-case-studies-inspire-you

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/business-case

https://business.adobe.com/blog/basics/what-is-real-time-analytics

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What Is a Case Study?

Weighing the pros and cons of this method of research

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Cara Lustik is a fact-checker and copywriter.

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Verywell / Colleen Tighe

  • Pros and Cons

What Types of Case Studies Are Out There?

Where do you find data for a case study, how do i write a psychology case study.

A case study is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes of behavior. Case studies can be used in many different fields, including psychology, medicine, education, anthropology, political science, and social work.

The point of a case study is to learn as much as possible about an individual or group so that the information can be generalized to many others. Unfortunately, case studies tend to be highly subjective, and it is sometimes difficult to generalize results to a larger population.

While case studies focus on a single individual or group, they follow a format similar to other types of psychology writing. If you are writing a case study, we got you—here are some rules of APA format to reference.  

At a Glance

A case study, or an in-depth study of a person, group, or event, can be a useful research tool when used wisely. In many cases, case studies are best used in situations where it would be difficult or impossible for you to conduct an experiment. They are helpful for looking at unique situations and allow researchers to gather a lot of˜ information about a specific individual or group of people. However, it's important to be cautious of any bias we draw from them as they are highly subjective.

What Are the Benefits and Limitations of Case Studies?

A case study can have its strengths and weaknesses. Researchers must consider these pros and cons before deciding if this type of study is appropriate for their needs.

One of the greatest advantages of a case study is that it allows researchers to investigate things that are often difficult or impossible to replicate in a lab. Some other benefits of a case study:

  • Allows researchers to capture information on the 'how,' 'what,' and 'why,' of something that's implemented
  • Gives researchers the chance to collect information on why one strategy might be chosen over another
  • Permits researchers to develop hypotheses that can be explored in experimental research

On the other hand, a case study can have some drawbacks:

  • It cannot necessarily be generalized to the larger population
  • Cannot demonstrate cause and effect
  • It may not be scientifically rigorous
  • It can lead to bias

Researchers may choose to perform a case study if they want to explore a unique or recently discovered phenomenon. Through their insights, researchers develop additional ideas and study questions that might be explored in future studies.

It's important to remember that the insights from case studies cannot be used to determine cause-and-effect relationships between variables. However, case studies may be used to develop hypotheses that can then be addressed in experimental research.

Case Study Examples

There have been a number of notable case studies in the history of psychology. Much of  Freud's work and theories were developed through individual case studies. Some great examples of case studies in psychology include:

  • Anna O : Anna O. was a pseudonym of a woman named Bertha Pappenheim, a patient of a physician named Josef Breuer. While she was never a patient of Freud's, Freud and Breuer discussed her case extensively. The woman was experiencing symptoms of a condition that was then known as hysteria and found that talking about her problems helped relieve her symptoms. Her case played an important part in the development of talk therapy as an approach to mental health treatment.
  • Phineas Gage : Phineas Gage was a railroad employee who experienced a terrible accident in which an explosion sent a metal rod through his skull, damaging important portions of his brain. Gage recovered from his accident but was left with serious changes in both personality and behavior.
  • Genie : Genie was a young girl subjected to horrific abuse and isolation. The case study of Genie allowed researchers to study whether language learning was possible, even after missing critical periods for language development. Her case also served as an example of how scientific research may interfere with treatment and lead to further abuse of vulnerable individuals.

Such cases demonstrate how case research can be used to study things that researchers could not replicate in experimental settings. In Genie's case, her horrific abuse denied her the opportunity to learn a language at critical points in her development.

This is clearly not something researchers could ethically replicate, but conducting a case study on Genie allowed researchers to study phenomena that are otherwise impossible to reproduce.

There are a few different types of case studies that psychologists and other researchers might use:

  • Collective case studies : These involve studying a group of individuals. Researchers might study a group of people in a certain setting or look at an entire community. For example, psychologists might explore how access to resources in a community has affected the collective mental well-being of those who live there.
  • Descriptive case studies : These involve starting with a descriptive theory. The subjects are then observed, and the information gathered is compared to the pre-existing theory.
  • Explanatory case studies : These   are often used to do causal investigations. In other words, researchers are interested in looking at factors that may have caused certain things to occur.
  • Exploratory case studies : These are sometimes used as a prelude to further, more in-depth research. This allows researchers to gather more information before developing their research questions and hypotheses .
  • Instrumental case studies : These occur when the individual or group allows researchers to understand more than what is initially obvious to observers.
  • Intrinsic case studies : This type of case study is when the researcher has a personal interest in the case. Jean Piaget's observations of his own children are good examples of how an intrinsic case study can contribute to the development of a psychological theory.

The three main case study types often used are intrinsic, instrumental, and collective. Intrinsic case studies are useful for learning about unique cases. Instrumental case studies help look at an individual to learn more about a broader issue. A collective case study can be useful for looking at several cases simultaneously.

The type of case study that psychology researchers use depends on the unique characteristics of the situation and the case itself.

There are a number of different sources and methods that researchers can use to gather information about an individual or group. Six major sources that have been identified by researchers are:

  • Archival records : Census records, survey records, and name lists are examples of archival records.
  • Direct observation : This strategy involves observing the subject, often in a natural setting . While an individual observer is sometimes used, it is more common to utilize a group of observers.
  • Documents : Letters, newspaper articles, administrative records, etc., are the types of documents often used as sources.
  • Interviews : Interviews are one of the most important methods for gathering information in case studies. An interview can involve structured survey questions or more open-ended questions.
  • Participant observation : When the researcher serves as a participant in events and observes the actions and outcomes, it is called participant observation.
  • Physical artifacts : Tools, objects, instruments, and other artifacts are often observed during a direct observation of the subject.

If you have been directed to write a case study for a psychology course, be sure to check with your instructor for any specific guidelines you need to follow. If you are writing your case study for a professional publication, check with the publisher for their specific guidelines for submitting a case study.

Here is a general outline of what should be included in a case study.

Section 1: A Case History

This section will have the following structure and content:

Background information : The first section of your paper will present your client's background. Include factors such as age, gender, work, health status, family mental health history, family and social relationships, drug and alcohol history, life difficulties, goals, and coping skills and weaknesses.

Description of the presenting problem : In the next section of your case study, you will describe the problem or symptoms that the client presented with.

Describe any physical, emotional, or sensory symptoms reported by the client. Thoughts, feelings, and perceptions related to the symptoms should also be noted. Any screening or diagnostic assessments that are used should also be described in detail and all scores reported.

Your diagnosis : Provide your diagnosis and give the appropriate Diagnostic and Statistical Manual code. Explain how you reached your diagnosis, how the client's symptoms fit the diagnostic criteria for the disorder(s), or any possible difficulties in reaching a diagnosis.

Section 2: Treatment Plan

This portion of the paper will address the chosen treatment for the condition. This might also include the theoretical basis for the chosen treatment or any other evidence that might exist to support why this approach was chosen.

  • Cognitive behavioral approach : Explain how a cognitive behavioral therapist would approach treatment. Offer background information on cognitive behavioral therapy and describe the treatment sessions, client response, and outcome of this type of treatment. Make note of any difficulties or successes encountered by your client during treatment.
  • Humanistic approach : Describe a humanistic approach that could be used to treat your client, such as client-centered therapy . Provide information on the type of treatment you chose, the client's reaction to the treatment, and the end result of this approach. Explain why the treatment was successful or unsuccessful.
  • Psychoanalytic approach : Describe how a psychoanalytic therapist would view the client's problem. Provide some background on the psychoanalytic approach and cite relevant references. Explain how psychoanalytic therapy would be used to treat the client, how the client would respond to therapy, and the effectiveness of this treatment approach.
  • Pharmacological approach : If treatment primarily involves the use of medications, explain which medications were used and why. Provide background on the effectiveness of these medications and how monotherapy may compare with an approach that combines medications with therapy or other treatments.

This section of a case study should also include information about the treatment goals, process, and outcomes.

When you are writing a case study, you should also include a section where you discuss the case study itself, including the strengths and limitiations of the study. You should note how the findings of your case study might support previous research. 

In your discussion section, you should also describe some of the implications of your case study. What ideas or findings might require further exploration? How might researchers go about exploring some of these questions in additional studies?

Need More Tips?

Here are a few additional pointers to keep in mind when formatting your case study:

  • Never refer to the subject of your case study as "the client." Instead, use their name or a pseudonym.
  • Read examples of case studies to gain an idea about the style and format.
  • Remember to use APA format when citing references .

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach .  BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011;11:100.

Crowe S, Cresswell K, Robertson A, Huby G, Avery A, Sheikh A. The case study approach . BMC Med Res Methodol . 2011 Jun 27;11:100. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-11-100

Gagnon, Yves-Chantal.  The Case Study as Research Method: A Practical Handbook . Canada, Chicago Review Press Incorporated DBA Independent Pub Group, 2010.

Yin, Robert K. Case Study Research and Applications: Design and Methods . United States, SAGE Publications, 2017.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

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Case Study Site Selection: Using an Evidence-Based Approach in Health-Care Settings

  • By: Gail V. Barrington , Rena Shimoni & Augusto V. C. Legaspi
  • Product: Sage Research Methods Cases Part 1
  • Publisher: SAGE Publications, Ltd.
  • Publication year: 2014
  • Online pub date: January 01, 2014
  • Discipline: Anthropology , Education , Nursing , Political Science and International Relations , Sociology
  • DOI: https:// doi. org/10.4135/978144627305013510255
  • Keywords: acute care , long-term care , scope , scope of practice , site selection , surveying Show all Show less
  • Online ISBN: 9781473946965 Copyright: Contact SAGE Publications at http://www.sagepub.com More information Less information

This case study illustrates distinctive features of case study methodology that were responsive to context in ways not often seen in case study research. Located in Alberta, Canada, the study explored the factors that supported or hindered licensed practical nurses' ability to work to the full scope of practice assigned to them by legislation but that they had not been able to fully implement in the field. While the case study method as described by Robert K. Yin provides a number of useful design components, there are several limitations, most particularly with regard to lack of rigor and the potential for bias. Due to the politically charged environment of this study, particular attention was given to devising an objective method for the selection of case study sites as well as to a number of other strategies to strengthen study rigor. An extensive literature review, theory development, a research framework, the success case method, a province-wide survey, and statistical modeling were used to produce an objective and defensible platform for site selection as well as to enhance study rigor. Study findings were well received by the diverse stakeholders who represented key sectors in the health-care system.

Learning Outcomes

  • Gain an understanding of the research components required in case study design
  • Understand the limitations of case study research and learn some strategies to mitigate these weaknesses
  • Learn how evidence can be strengthened by the use of multiple data sources
  • Understand the value of conducting a literature review to highlight methodological challenges observed in other research projects so that they can be avoided in future
  • Understand how theory building can provide a strong foundation for case study research
  • Learn how a research framework can provide a useful structure for tool design, data analysis and synthesis, and the preparation of individual and cross-case reports

This case study describes the recent study conducted to explore the impact of workplace factors on a particular group of health-care professionals. It tells the story of how, as researchers, we changed our methods in response to a complex environment and stakeholders' need for an evidence-based approach.

Coming into the study as Research Director, I was convinced that my experience in case study methodology would make the whole thing pretty straightforward. Between 1992 and 2008, I had conducted five program evaluation studies using case study methodology. I had explored a wide range of topics from customer service training in tourist facilities to new ways of teaching science in schools. I had written 34 individual case study reports, and because I like to write, I enjoyed doing this very much.

I based my work on a close reading of the work of case study methodologist, Robert K. Yin. I used a revised version of his 1984 classic reference book, Case Study Research: Design and Methods (SAGE, 1989). While a number of revised editions have been published since, I preferred my dog-eared copy, complete with highlighting, underlining, and marginal notes.

These early case study projects were certainly challenging in terms of the time, effort, and resources required, but I do not recall questioning the methodology itself. The case study method seemed self-contained and robust, and I replicated it in each study. Now, however, those experiences seem simplistic and lacking in rigor. The complex context and political sensitivities evident in this study caused me to rethink my assumptions about case study research. A much different approach would be the result.

The Research Context

In 2006, in the western Canadian province of Alberta, legislation was changed to allow licensed practical nurses (LPNs) to use a broader set of skills in health-care settings. LPN training was expanded from a 1-year certificate to a 2-year diploma, and programs were offered at a number of community colleges. Working to full scope became the expectation for LPNs, but change in practice was slow. By 2009, their annual professional survey results suggested that only 50% of LPNs were working to full scope. So what was the problem?

This study was commissioned in 2011 to find out more information about LPNs' scope utilization by the Workforce Division of the provincial government's department of health. Resource constraint and workforce efficiency were key drivers, but staff also needed sound evidence on which to base decisions related to policy and staffing. As a result, the study became a priority.

The grant flowed through the College of Licensed Practical Nurses of Alberta (CLPNA) to Bow Valley College in Calgary, Alberta. The college had a large LPN training program and a department that specialized in applied research and evaluation. I was hired as Research Director and acted, with my colleague, Dr Rena Shimoni, as Co-Principal Investigators. A longtime LPN practitioner and former instructor became our Project Manager. A steering committee was established to provide guidance. It included a number of carefully selected stakeholders as well as some nurse researchers to ensure that all groups with a vested interest in study outcomes were represented.

We wanted to find out what workplace factors were influencing the LPNs' ability to use their new skills. Typically, they worked in care teams with registered nurses (RNs) and health-care aides (HCAs). Each of the three nursing groups had their own training and certification processes and their own skill sets. Each group was paid on a different wage scale. While there were some clearly delineated tasks assigned to each group, in other areas, there was role overlap. The LPNs generally found themselves to be the ones ‘in the middle’.

The relationship between the RN and LPN professional organizations was strained. There was much anecdotal evidence of turf battles. Some RNs feared that LPNs would take over part of their jobs. At the same time, many LPNs felt undervalued by RNs, many of whom are unaware of the new legislation and upgraded training.

In reality, the range of education for both groups was quite broad. While RNs continued to upgrade their own skills, some of their most senior members had graduated when a 2- or 3-year diploma program had been the norm. Similarly, some senior LPNs had graduated many years before from a 6-month certificate program. The confusion and misinformation generated by these issues were evident in both the literature and public discourse. As researchers, we could see that this topic was clearly complex, political, and very, very tricky.

The Case Study Method

We proposed using a comparative case study design to conduct six case studies in different health-care facilities around the province. We looked to Yin for the guidance we needed. As he pointed out, case study research was useful to understand complex social phenomena within a real-life context. It provided a good way to explore interventions with no clear single set of boundaries or outcomes. These rationales certainly described our research context, but Yin also pointed out some methodological limitations:

  • the time-consuming nature of the research
  • the massive documentation that is produced
  • the limited control an investigator has over actual events
  • the lack of rigor and the potential for bias
  • the inability to generalize study findings

He confessed that case studies were typically viewed as a ‘less desirable form of inquiry’ than either experiments or surveys. As a result, he suggested using strategies to mitigate these limitations such as referring to the literature, using multiple sources of evidence, and adhering closely to the research design.

There were five components that Yin believed were especially important:

  • The study's question
  • The study propositions
  • Its units of analysis
  • The logic linking the data to the propositions
  • The criteria for interpreting the findings

Some of these components, particularly the units of analysis, left a lot of discretion to the researchers. Keeping in mind the critical mind-set of our stakeholders, some of whom would be looking for any hint of bias in the study, we needed to develop strategies that would enhance objectivity, increase rigor, and produce defensible evidence. And so we embarked on a journey to modify the case study method to fit the complex demands of our research environment.

Gathering the Evidence

We took the advice of Rossi, Lipsey, and Freeman (2004), and within the loose structure of the case study method, chose to be as rigorous as possible. We wanted to establish a confident basis for action, to withstand any criticism that might try to discredit our study, and to ensure that our information would be judged sufficient under scientific standards.

The Literature Review

To get us started and to inform our approach, we conducted an extensive literature review. It had three objectives:

  • To understand available evidence in order to provide a strong foundation for the study
  • To highlight the methodological challenges associated with examining one professional group working within a complex, interactive team
  • To identify gaps in knowledge associated with the impact of LPNs' scope utilization on quality of care

Very quickly we discovered that little research had focused specifically on LPNs or on other equivalent occupations (e.g. ‘registered practical nurse’.). Out of over 150,000 publications with the word ‘nurse’ cited in the PubMed database, only 374 included the term ‘licensed practical nurse’, and only 29 referred to scope of practice. We extended our search to unpublished policy documents and reports, and eventually, we identified nearly 100 documents for review. We produced a report that summarized our findings (Shimoni et al., 2011) and circulated this early product to stakeholders.

Many of the studies on scope that we reviewed had methodological problems, data limitations, or attribution issues. Flaws included unreported variables, confounding factors, small sample sizes, inappropriate use of summarized scores and aggregated data, and attribution issues associating outcomes to specific team members. Still, it was clear that some of these studies continued to influence nursing thought.

Building a Theory

Our next step was to build a theory to test our assumptions. Our study purpose as stated by our funder read as follows:

To provide objective, research-based evidence focused on LPNs in typical health-care settings and to explore the factors that promote and/or inhibit successful LPN scope utilization.

Initially, we had proposed a set of research questions, but these were refined after we had reviewed the literature. Several nurse researchers on our steering committee also offered us some sound advice. The final questions were as follows:

  • What can we learn about LPNs' individual practice that promotes or inhibits their ability to practice to full scope? How can these supports be enhanced? How can these barriers be reduced?
  • What can we learn about LPNs' work teams and systems that promote or inhibit their ability to practice to full scope? How can these supports be enhanced? How can these barriers be reduced?
  • What can we learn about LPNs' organizations that promote or inhibit their ability to practice to full scope? How can these supports be enhanced? How can these barriers be reduced?
  • Is there any evidence of differences in the patient experience when LPNs are working to their full scope? What are these differences?

We theorized that four key factors influenced LPNs' scope of practice in the workplace. These included (1) the individual LPN and related characteristics, (2) the care team in which the LPN worked, (3) the organization or site in which the LPN worked, and (4) the patient or client and their required nursing care. We designed the Scope of Practice Factors Model, and it provided the theory that guided our study (see Figure 1 ).

Figure 1. Scope of Practice Factors Model.

None

The Research Framework

We developed a research framework or Data Collection Matrix (DCM) to link our model to the research questions. Many of the topics identified in the literature were linked to the four key factors and provided the basis for study sub-questions and related indicators. We used the DCM to guide our tool development, and all tools were coded to its numbering system. Later that same numbering system was used to code and track the data we collected. This created a structured evidence trail that lead directly from the model through the DCM to tool development, data collection, data analysis, data synthesis, and final report preparation. The excerpt from the DCM in Figure 2 shows the links between research questions, indicators, tools, and item numbers. By checking back and forth between the model, the DCM, and the tools, we continually sharpened the study focus.

Figure 2. Data Collection Matrix.

None

The Success Case Method

In the past, when identifying case study sites, I had developed a simple sampling framework (e.g. rural vs urban and large vs small) and filled in the cells with reasonable or accessible choices. Now faced with heightened demands for rigor, that approach felt like throwing darts to see where they landed. Everyone we talked to had a recommendation for a ‘good’ case study site. We questioned the wisdom of this approach because it was based on personal opinion.

Needing a stronger rationale, we turned to the success case method developed by Robert O. Brinkerhoff (2003) to understand the impact of training. He claimed that it was a fast, credible, and effective way to evaluate organizational change. He believed that we learn the most about a phenomenon by interviewing both those individuals who are the most successful at implementing change and those who are the least. The separation of high and low scope sites seemed a promising way to understand scope utilization issues.

However, there was a small problem. Brinkerhoff's method was predicated on having survey data. He suggested setting high and low cutoff scores on several survey items and then randomly selecting individuals from each group (i.e. most successful and least successful). Thus, in order to identify high and low scope sites in an unbiased way, we first needed to survey all LPNs in the province.

Luckily, the steering committee could see the value of our suggested selection method and approved the addition of a province-wide survey. There were a number of reasons why this was a good idea, particularly because the survey allowed us to go beyond perceptions of scope to explore actual recorded practice. We used the competencies identified by the CLPNA as the basis for assessing actual scope. We also asked questions about site location and work setting and, based on the literature, added questions asked about the work environment, including communications, team work, safety culture, job satisfaction, and stress.

We sent out 8549 surveys to all practicing LPNs providing both an online and mail-in option; 2313 LPNs responded for a response rate of 27%. While we would have liked a higher return rate, we found that the respondents tracked proportionately to staff deployment across the province. The absolute number of returns also added to our confidence.

In the end, the decision to add a survey to our design strengthened our study immeasurably. The mix of quantitative and qualitative methods added depth and credibility to our findings, but it also allowed us explore a number of issues more fully. By staging the research over two phases, we had time to refine our focus as we went, so that by the time we actually visited the sites, we knew a lot about more about LPN characteristics and salient workplace issues than we would have if we had gone there directly as initially planned. We were able to refine our case study tools based on survey findings, focusing quickly on key topics. For us, administering a survey first followed by in-depth case studies was a winning strategy.

Cluster Analysis

We hired our colleagues at Science-Metrix, an evaluation firm located in Montréal, Québec, to conduct our statistical analysis and to help us with site selection. We asked them to provide four categories of sites with three possible selections in each one. The categories included

  • acute care sites in which LPNs work to low scope,
  • acute care sites in which LPNs work to high scope,
  • long-term care sites in which LPNs work to low scope,
  • long-term care sites in which LPNs work to high scope.

For their analysis, the research analysts, David Campbell and Olivier Beauchesne, selected Question 28 (Q28) of the survey (see Figure 3 ). They determined that a score of 1 would be associated with a low scope of practice and 5 with a high scope. They produced aggregated statistics at the site level and removed respondents with less than 75% valid answers (9 out of 12 items). Invalid answers were considered to be blanks or ‘not applicable’ answers. They also removed sites where less than five respondents had replied. In the end, 52 sites remained in the analysis.

Figure 3. Q28 competencies used.

None

Three statistical procedures were performed on these data:

  • a factorial analysis distinguished between Q28 variables that occurred more often in either acute care or long-term care settings. Dimension 1 variables related mainly to the administration of intravenous medications or blood products, more common in acute care. Dimension 2 variables related to developing and revising care plans and to teaching clients and families, more common in long-term care. The two dimensions were plotted on a graph.
  • based on their average score for each of the 12 items in Q28, sites were clustered into four groups, discriminated by their propensity to allow LPNs to practice to full scope. This procedure was called k-clustering (see Figure 4 ).
  • multi-criteria analysis was used to find the sites that performed highest or lowest in either acute care or long-term care settings. Scope performance was displayed on the graph by making the size of the bubble proportional to the site score.

Figure 4. Cluster graph with the final six sites chosen for case studies.

None

Based on this analysis, the research analysts drew up a list of recommended sites and forwarded it to the research team.

Selecting the Case Study Sites

The research team reviewed the list of suggested sites. Only at this final stage did qualitative considerations enter our deliberations so our choices lay within the parameters of the list produced through statistical analysis. As a final screen, we added some inclusion and exclusion criteria. For example, we wanted sites that were not too technically dependent on a specific treatment or too specialized in their target population (see Table 1 ).

Table 1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria.

None

Finally, we considered geographic location and size. We developed a table of high and low scope sites and identified our first and second choices in each cell. Invitations were sent to all the first choice sites. We were really excited when all six agreed to participate.

The final sample included three acute care sites, one mixed site (providing both acute and long-term care), and two long-term care sites. Three sites were high scope and three were low; three were urban and three were rural. Now we could proceed with our research knowing that our sites had been selected based on the best possible evidence. No dartboards for us!

What Happened Afterward

Of course, the site selection activity occurred early in the research process. To provide multiple lines of evidence, we used a number of tools, adapting standardized instruments where possible. We used standardized tools to measure patient and family experience. Where no tool was available, we created our own tools based on the DCM. These included four interview guides (for senior administrators, team leaders, RNs, and LPNs) and a focus group protocol for the HCAs. These tools were validated extensively but even so, once we were in the field, we still modified some of the wording after our first site visit.

The data were collected by a team of two researchers, including me and a junior researcher. Logistical support was provided by our experienced LPN Project Manager. We recorded each interview digitally, taking notes as a backup. Although we had many minor adventures in the field, because we had planned our study so carefully, the research rolled out smoothly, and ultimately, we collected data from 193 individuals across the six sites.

The recorded data were transcribed into individual Word documents, validated by a second researcher, and imported into MAXQDA, a qualitative software program. Data summaries were compiled and organized by DCM topic and emergent theme. Finally, the information was summarized in narrative form in six case study reports, using the Scope of Practice Factors Model and the DCM to organize our material.

The reports were sent to the site administrators who each reviewed their own report for accuracy. They sent us corrections as needed and also completed a validation survey rating the report's validity, relevance, utility, and value. All were satisfied that the reports reflected LPN scope issues and suggested that the information would be useful. The following comments (from both high and low scope sites) were typical:

I found the report to be an impartial and balanced perspective of the LPN scope of practice. I appreciated that it included possible areas for further study and some direction on care/assignment aspects that may require some education and discussion with all staff. Thank you for involving us in this study. (Senior Administrator, Site 2)

It was a privilege to be involved in this study. I found the report fascinating. Although I thought I understood the LPN role at this site well, it was very advantageous to see the promoters and barriers that relate to work setting and scope of practice summarized in a table. This summary has prompted me to think about other ways we could utilize our work force at this site … This report is excellent and is an excellent tool. Thank you for the data. (Senior Administrator, Site 4)

Each site report was revised based on administrator feedback and was returned to them for their use. A high level of confidentiality was employed throughout the process. The administrators were never told if their site was characterized as high or low scope, and no one else ever saw these reports.

As part of the final report, we prepared a cross-case summary, using our model as an organizing guide. Factors that promoted or inhibited scope utilization were described. No site names were mentioned, and only very general setting descriptors were used, such as urban, rural, acute, and long-term care.

To ensure rigor, we created a data triangulation table to summarize the key findings across all the sources of evidence including the literature review, survey, case studies, and key informant interviews. Thus, we were able to demonstrate which case study findings concurred with or strengthened previous studies, which findings were new, and which, if any, contradicted the reported literature.

The final report provided a great deal of well-documented evidence about LPN scope of practice. The results and recommendations were well received by the steering committee and other diverse players in the health-care system. The report was approved for circulation, and the CLPNA posted the complete report on their website. The research team was invited to present key findings to the annual LPN conference, and a panel of key stakeholders responded with comments about their own next steps.

This case study research explored the factors that supported or hindered LPNs' ability to work to the full scope of practice assigned to them by legislation but not yet fully implemented in the field. While the case study method as described by Yin provides a number of useful design components, there are several limitations, most particularly with regard to lack of rigor and the potential for bias. This study devised an objective method for the selection of case study sites and also used a number of strategies to strengthen study rigor throughout. An extensive literature review, theory building, a research framework, the success case method, a province-wide survey, and sophisticated statistical modeling were used to produce an objective and defensible platform for site selection.

Six case study sites were identified representing high or low scope work places for LPNs, environments in which they were either supported or hindered in their ability to use the competencies for which they were trained. The use of a survey greatly enhanced the information obtained by the study, and the two-phased approach allowed the researchers to incorporate early findings into later research activities.

The resulting case studies provided a rich and detailed description of six particular health-care sites in Alberta and as such have been able to inform the broader discussion about LPNs' scope of practice. While decision makers have suggested that they will use the evidence produced in this study for policy change, it is too soon to tell what impact it will eventually have.

Exercises and Discussion Questions

  • If you were to choose the sites but you did not have the resources to conduct such an extensive survey, what other methods can you think of in order to identify the high and low scope utilization sites? What are the reliability and validity strengths and issues of these options?
  • Could additional research be conducted to see if the key findings from this study could be generalized beyond the findings of these six sites? What would you do next?
  • In this research, a quantitative survey was used to identify sites with high and with low utilization of scope for the case studies. Can you think of a situation when a quantitative survey may follow completion of the case studies?
  • Do you think that the view still exists that case studies are considered a less desirable form of inquiry? On what do you base this opinion? What changes have occurred (e.g. in society, in people's mind-sets, and in research) that may have influenced present thinking about case study methodology?
  • This study took place in a complex, politically charged health system. Can you give an example of another system where the traditional case study method would be insufficient? Are there further steps beyond the ones described here that would be necessary to ensure rigor in this type of context?
  • In your own area of research, what features of case study methodology would be the most important? What rationale would you develop to support using this methodology in this context?

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Case Study: Design Embraced Portfolio – 2024

A look behind the code and collaboration of the new portfolio for Anthony Goodwin at Design Embraced.

case study sites

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How it started

Anthony got in touch with me through Norman. He had a concept ready for his new portfolio and needed someone to bring it to life. After he showed me this video of the home slider, I was on board immediately.

My first thoughts

After agreeing to the collaboration, without actually having a clue how to do it, I thought it would be straightforward to start with the home slider and deal with the bending of the planes, since this effect would be used multiple times. Adding the necessary control points to bend the plane properly was easier said than done. But, if I could do that, the rest of the page wouldn’t be so hard anymore (a couple of page transitions, some hover effects, etc.). At least that’s what I thought.

In this article

I will try to give you some insights into the work I did with and for Anthony Goodwin, including some of my favorite features and animations. I can’t delve too deeply because it would make the article quite long, and I don’t think it would be very interesting, since most of it is just basic frontend stuff with a very unique motion concept and design that powers the whole experience.

The tech stack

Before starting, I wanted to define the tools and libraries to use for the website. It’s basically planes in 3D space with some vertex manipulation, requiring WebGL. Since we’re not importing any objects and all the geometry is limited to planes, we don’t really need ThreeJS or some other fancy (big) library. We can just write it from scratch, which saves bytes and potentially performance. Here’s the tooling I ended up with:

  • Custom Static Site Generator with Deno
  • Tailwindcss for CSS
  • esbuild for building JS
  • Cloudflare Pages for free Hosting
  • Custom Tween library for animations
  • Custom WebGL library for rendering via WebGL
  • Custom Router for all the navigation and preloading
  • Custom Scroller for the smoothness

The site doesn’t have a CMS, and the content is editable through JSON. The focus was definitely on the animation and the general feel of the page. Initially I planned on using PayloadCMS (self-hosted). Check it out if you don’t know it already. It’s one of the best open source CMS I came across in the recent years.

“Why not just use NextJS, ThreeJS and GSAP? It’s easy!”

That’s a valid question. It probably would’ve been faster, but part of the process for me is learning new things. I wasn’t really familiar with WebGL, GSAP, or the magic in NextJS (or Astro, for that matter). So, I decided to take the longer route to build this project. It was more about understanding the fundamentals and the inner workings of each tool than just getting the project out the door. Also, I wanted to improve my own “library” further. It’s been a challenging yet rewarding process.

Another point worth mentioning is that while these libraries are incredibly useful, but they are also quite large because they need to cover a wide range of edge cases. Even with “tree-shaking” to remove unused code, I would have used only about 10%, making it overkill for this project. So I wanted to go with something more lightweight.

Bending and curling planes

I’m bad at math. That’s just how it is. So I need visualizations to make all the functions tangible otherwise I wouldn’t be able to come up with anything. Using the Desmos Calculator , I was able to create a graph that allowed me to control the plane’s behavior the way I needed. It took me some time though. Here’s the result, which you can play around with.

  • s = The size of the plane (or the length in this case)
  • r1 = The radius of the curl
  • k1 = The position of the curl
  • u = Determines the direction

There’re probably easier and simpler ways to solve this. After I got the formula down I tried to apply it to the planes vertex shader. Here’s the result isolated:

And here is the vertex shader code for the curl:

Page Transitions

We aimed for seamless transitions between pages to minimize delay and maintain a slick, easy navigation feel. By preloading all the pages upfront, we traded initial load performance for a better user experience and brand identity. For page transitions, I added animation functionality to the router that works with the tween package.

I wanted it to feel less like page navigation and more like one screen changing states. Optimizing all animations to be interruptible was the hardest part. This also required that every combination needed an animation, so I ended up with all these different animations to cover all cases:

case study sites

To get it right with all the scrolling and the states was the hardest part of the portfolio to be honest. Maybe there are better ways to deal with this, but yeah creating multiple “sub-animations” as components made it pretty manageable in the end. Here’s how the transition from “case to about” looks:

Without showing too much code here, a quick description what’s behind these functions:

  • viewEnter simply returns a timeline that triggers all the animations on the incoming page. Such as the text slide animation.
  • viewLeave also returns a timeline and triggers the “out” animation on all of these elements so that for example the text slide up and out of view again.
  • sliderLeave this hides the slider by curling the center image and moving it to the top, while also locking it and fading out all the other items.
  • enableTheme activates the colors found in the page its navigating to when the transition starts

Using animation util functions like sliderLeave and viewEnter allowed me to abstract some of the generic logic occurring on most pages, which made it easier to debug. You can test the page transitions. They’re not perfect, but it definitely feels more fluid than just having a fade-in fade-out transition. Here’s an example of me testing the interruptible transitions by quick navigation.

Moving from case-to-case

We also decided to try a seamless page transition for browsing the cases, running an animation and quickly hiding the old page.

To achieve this transition I’m tracking the scroll position from the start of the image this.observable.y - this.viewport.height * .5 to the end this.observable.y which is at the end of the screen. So when progress >= 1 and the transition hasn’t been triggered already, we navigate to the next project really quickly.

My nemesis: Old GPU shader bug

I encountered a headache-inducing bug with the GPU in an older iMac, related to the use of an or-operator in a condition inside the shader. I had to adjust the shader code to work around this issue.

So this didn’t work:

And had to be transformed to:

If someone has more information on this, please let me know, since I couldn’t really find anything useful online, just some old stackoverflow threads with similar issues but not if this is intended behavior or really a bug

The mobile page

We opted for a non-WebGL version for mobile to keep it lightweight and simplify development. Using WebGL on mobile would require a loader and it’s better in my opinion to make the mobile experience as fast as possible without much delay if possible. The mobile version replicates the home slider with CSS and JS, and page transitions are just simple fade-out and fade-in animations.

Making it accessible to keyboard-only usage

Ensuring accessibility for heavy-animation websites is challenging. Even harder when there’s a fixed budget and the main focus is the brand identity itself. For this portfolio, we’ve added keyboard navigation so users can tab through all links, the slider, and the cases. In order to mimic the default scrolling behaviour in browsers we added a “keyboard” behavior to the scroller :

Working with Anthony on his new portfolio taught me a lot. I mean, he really opened my eyes to a lot. The whole process was a combination of challenges, fun, learning, long nights and getting mad at some random GPU error. Collaborating with a creative powerhouse like him was something else. He’s an absolute beast, and if you haven’t checked out his portfolio by now (which I doubt), go and check out his work! The best part was pretty much bouncing ideas around and experimentation. Still fascinated with how fast Anthony is able to translate ideas in his head to After Effects. It saved us both a lot of back and forth!

From a tech perspective, many devs will get it when I say I’d do things differently in hindsight. But, finishing the project and seeing people engage with it has been rewarding. Can’t wait for what’s next!

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me on Twitter or LinkedIn or reach out via mail !

P.S.: We won SOTD on 18th March on Awwwards, very happy about that! 🎉

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Abortion Pill Dispute Centers on Central Question: Who Can Sue?

The parties in the fight over access to the abortion pill sharply disagree on whether anti-abortion doctors and groups can show they will suffer harm.

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Dr. Christina Francis stands in a white lab coat, with her hands in her pockets, in front of green trees.

By Abbie VanSickle and Pam Belluck

Abbie VanSickle reported from Washington, and Pam Belluck from New York.

The future of access to abortion pills may turn on a basic legal question: Who has a right to bring a lawsuit?

Among the anti-abortion doctors involved in the case before the Supreme Court seeking to restrict availability of the pill is Dr. Christina Francis, who leads one of the anti-abortion groups suing the Food and Drug Administration to curtail distribution of the drug, mifepristone. She says she has experienced moral injury in treating patients who have taken the medication.

Left unclear is whether that reaches a necessary threshold to bring a lawsuit in federal court — that the plaintiffs would suffer concrete harm if mifepristone remained widely available. Lawyers call this requirement standing.

The F.D.A. “is forcing me to be complicit in an action that I have a moral objection to,” Dr. Francis, who is the head of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in an interview on Friday.

Those statements are echoed by other anti-abortion doctors involved in the lawsuit, including an Indiana doctor and state legislator who has called for stronger punishments for abortion providers and a California doctor who helped pioneer an abortion pill reversal method that has not been supported by scientific evidence.

None of the anti-abortion doctors are required to prescribe the drugs or regularly treat abortion patients, but they say that they might encounter such patients in emergency rooms and that even treating side effects could cause them hardship. That, they say, would subject them to “enormous stress and pressure,” forcing them to choose between their consciences and their professional obligations.

The federal government and many legal experts contest those assertions. The government cites years of scientific evidence showing that serious complications from mifepristone are very rare, and experts express skepticism about the doctors’ claims of moral harm.

“It looks like a general objection to public policy,” said Elizabeth Sepper, a law professor at the University of Texas and an expert in conscience protections. “There are many things that our government does that violate each of our consciences. We might think, I don’t want to be involved in a state that administers the death penalty. But our legal system doesn’t allow us to go into court and say, I’m going to stop that public policy because it violates my conscience.”

The plaintiffs’ argument for standing may also run afoul of Supreme Court precedent.

A 2009 decision by the court, Summers v. Earth Island Institute , said that even if there was statistical likelihood of harm, it was insufficient for standing.

If the justices find that the standing claim fails, the case could be dismissed altogether.

The dispute has played out in the briefs filed to the Supreme Court.

Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar, arguing for the government, said that what scant evidence the challengers had supplied fell far short of showing real injury.

“Although mifepristone has been on the market for decades,” she wrote, the plaintiffs “cannot identify even a single case where any of their members has been forced to provide such care.”

“‘Stress and pressure’ are inherent” in the work of doctors, she added, contending that “simply being presented with a person in need of emergency care” did not qualify as injury to a doctor whose chosen responsibility was to treat patients.

Danco Laboratories, a manufacturer of mifepristone, warned that if the court decided the plaintiffs had standing , it could open the door to a flood of litigation from any doctor who disliked a drug or regulation, “destabilizing the industry and harming patients.”

Lawyers for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian legal advocacy group representing the doctors, noted that an appeals court said that the anti-abortion doctors and organizations had standing.

At issue in the case on Tuesday will be changes the F.D.A. made since 2016 that broadened access to mifepristone. Those decisions have allowed patients to obtain prescriptions for mifepristone by telemedicine and receive it through the mail.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers said those decisions escalated the risk that anti-abortion doctors “will see more women suffering emergency complications from abortion drugs.” Such complications, they said, include “retained fetal parts, heavy bleeding, severe infections,” which can inflict “mental, emotional and spiritual distress” on the doctors.

The federal government cites data showing that there was no increase in complications since the 2016 decisions and that serious complications occur in less than 1 percent of cases.

In her written declaration for the lawsuit, Dr. Francis said she had cared for a woman who experienced complications from taking abortion pills supplied by a website that shipped them from India. Asked why that would relate to decisions by the F.D.A., since it would not have approved or regulated the pills in question, Dr. Francis said she believed that its decision allowing American-based telemedicine providers to mail F.D.A.-approved pills was somehow also “allowing for women to be shipped drugs from India.”

Dr. Francis said in the interview that over the last two years, she cared for four or five patients who were bleeding, had infections or needed surgery to complete abortions.

The federal government, states and hospitals have established conscience protection policies to allow doctors and other health workers to opt out of providing care they object to — essentially establishing a route for anti-abortion doctors to avoid the harm they claim in the lawsuit. However, there is no evidence in the declarations, lawsuit or plaintiffs’ legal briefs that any of the doctors invoked conscience protections.

Dr. Ingrid Skop, another anti-abortion doctor who submitted a declaration, said in written responses to The New York Times that she had not invoked such protections. “The group where I practiced for 25 years had a policy not to perform abortions, so it was not an issue,” Dr. Skop said. In her current position, working a few shifts a month covering labor and delivery and the emergency room, if “a patient presents with an abortion-related complication, I will care for her,” she said.

Dr. Skop was an author on two recently retracted studies that suggested abortion pills were unsafe, both of which were cited by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

Dr. Francis said in the interview that often “in nonemergency situations, I have been able to excuse myself from patient care.” In emergency situations, she said, she felt “forced to violate my conscience.”

Although the anti-abortion doctors say mifepristone is unsafe for women, both Dr. Francis and Dr. Skop voiced no objection to the drug being used to treat women experiencing miscarriages. In a regimen identical to the medication abortion protocol, mifepristone is used for miscarriage treatment followed by misoprostol.

Dr. Francis said in those situations, she prescribed only misoprostol because she had not seen enough studies to know if using mifepristone first was more beneficial. “I don’t object to it on a moral basis,” she said.

Adam Liptak and Jodi Kantor contributed reporting. Julie Tate contributed research.

Abbie VanSickle covers the United States Supreme Court for The Times. She is a lawyer and has an extensive background in investigative reporting. More about Abbie VanSickle

Pam Belluck is a health and science reporter, covering a range of subjects, including reproductive health, long Covid, brain science, neurological disorders, mental health and genetics. More about Pam Belluck

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Take-two buys gearbox, company behind the borderlands franchise, from embracer for $460 million, breaking news.

Judge Tosses X/Twitter Lawsuit Against Group That Produced Study On Proliferation Of Hate Speech On Platform

By Ted Johnson

Ted Johnson

Political Editor

More Stories By Ted

  • Journalists Take Part In 24-Hour Read-A-Thon To Mark First Anniversary Of Wall Street Journal Reporter Evan Gershkovich’s Detention In Russia
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Joe Lieberman Dies: Former Senator And Vice Presidential Candidate Was 82

Elon Musk

A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit brought by X/Twitter against a watching group that produced a study that examined the proliferation of hate speech on the platform.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer concluded that the platform, owned by Elon Musk , was attempting to chill the speech rights of the Center for Countering Digital Hate and other groups.

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Disney And Ron DeSantis Allies Reach Settlement Over Theme Park District As Mouse House Board Battle Looms

X/Twitter had sued the group, claiming that in doing their study, they unlawfully “scraped” the platform for its data that led to an exodus of advertisers.

“X disagrees with the court’s decision and plans to appeal,” the company said.

Read the judge’s decision in the X case .

Imran Ahmed, founder and CEO of the watchdog group, wrote, “This ruling sends a strong message to those who aim at intimidating and silencing independent research.”

In his ruling, the judge even suggested that X/Twitter’s litigation had chilled other types of research into disinformation online. He pointed to a recent survey of 167 academics and researchers that “found that over 100 studies about X Corp. have been diverted, stalled, or canceled, with over half of those interviewed citing a fear of being sued by X Corp. over their findings or data.” 

The judge also noted the similarities of this case to another one brought by X/Twitter against Media Matters for America , another watchdog group that published a study on the placement of ads on X next to inflammatory hate and racist posts.

Breyer wrote in a footnote, “If there is any question about the ‘punishing’ part, X Corp. filed a similar suit, not before this Court, in November of 2023 against Media Matters, another non-profit media watchdog, for ‘reporting on ads from major brands appearing next to neo-Nazi content.’ Prior to doing so, Musk threatened a ‘thermonuclear lawsuit’ against Media Matters…Musk’s post also claimed, remarkably, that the lawsuit was furthering X Corp. efforts ‘to protect free speech.'”

The judge also rejected X/Twitter’s claims of harm to users. “There is no allegation in the complaint, and X Corp. did not assert that it could add an allegation, that CCDH scraped anything other than public tweets that ten X platform users deliberately broadcast to the world. No private user information was involved—no social security numbers, no account balances, no account numbers, no passwords, not even ‘gender, relationship status, ad interests etc.'”

The judge added, “It is clear to the Court that if X Corp. was indeed motived to spend money in response to CCDH’s scraping in 2023, it was not because of the harm such scraping posed to the X platform, but because of the harm it posed to X Corp.’s image. CCDH’s data collection allowed it to claim knowledge of what was occurring on the X platform in a cumulative sense. According to CCDH, its scraping revealed that X Corp. was generating millions of dollars in advertising revenue from previously banned accounts.”

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  1. Finding case studies

    Sample cases Cases online via the Harvard Business Review Try searching for Harvard Business Review in the Publication Name field in Business Source Complete, then checking the box to limit your search to the Document Type "case study." Add in other terms to focus your search. Note that only a very small subset of all Harvard Business School (HBS) cases are published in the HBR.

  2. Top 40 Most Popular Case Studies of 2021

    Fifty four percent of raw case users came from outside the U.S.. The Yale School of Management (SOM) case study directory pages received over 160K page views from 177 countries with approximately a third originating in India followed by the U.S. and the Philippines. Twenty-six of the cases in the list are raw cases.

  3. HBS Case Selections

    Case studies featuring Black protagonists. Curated: August 03, 2020 . Oprah! William W. George ... The home improvement review site considers whether to offer a free tier of its services.

  4. Free Case Studies

    This free case collection includes 18 innovative teaching cases on technology entrepreneurship. The cases all have accompanying teaching notes and many have media support items, details of which are displayed in product search. Highlighted Cases and Case Studies: Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative. Online library of "simple, straightforward ...

  5. Open Access Cases

    Ethics Unwrapped - McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin More than 50 case studies match ethics concepts to real world situations. From journalism to performing arts to foreign policy to scientific research to social work, these cases explore a range of current and historic ethical dilemmas, their motivating biases, and their consequences.

  6. Research Guides: Business Case Studies: Free Case Studies

    Society of Human Resources Management. The Open Case Studies project at UBC brings together faculty and students from different disciplines to write, edit, and learn with case studies that are free and open. Short video case studies covering topics including consumer goods, services, and technology. Learning, knowledge, research, insight ...

  7. What Is a Case Study?

    Revised on November 20, 2023. A case study is a detailed study of a specific subject, such as a person, group, place, event, organization, or phenomenon. Case studies are commonly used in social, educational, clinical, and business research. A case study research design usually involves qualitative methods, but quantitative methods are ...

  8. Library Guides: Case Studies: Sources for Case Studies

    You can, however, order them directly from HBS, around $8.95 each. How to find them: Harvard Business Review. publishes one case study per issue. These generally deal with fictitious companies but are very good studies of current problems faced by companies. Harvard Business School Publishing. Search by company name or topic.

  9. Case Study Methodology of Qualitative Research: Key Attributes and

    A case study is one of the most commonly used methodologies of social research. This article attempts to look into the various dimensions of a case study research strategy, the different epistemological strands which determine the particular case study type and approach adopted in the field, discusses the factors which can enhance the effectiveness of a case study research, and the debate ...

  10. Websites

    Harvard's case studies are available for ~$9 each. Choose document type of "case study" on left; then search within results on right. Ivey Publishing provides over 8,000 business case studies with a global perspective. The MERLOT collection consists of discipline-specific learning materials, including case studies.

  11. How to Write an Effective Case Study: Examples & Templates

    Case study examples. Case studies are proven marketing strategies in a wide variety of B2B industries. Here are just a few examples of a case study: Amazon Web Services, Inc. provides companies with cloud computing platforms and APIs on a metered, pay-as-you-go basis.

  12. Writing a Case Study

    The purpose of a paper in the social sciences designed around a case study is to thoroughly investigate a subject of analysis in order to reveal a new understanding about the research problem and, in so doing, contributing new knowledge to what is already known from previous studies. In applied social sciences disciplines [e.g., education, social work, public administration, etc.], case ...

  13. 19 Examples of Online Case Studies Done Right

    Stay focused. Don't use case studies as an opportunity to channel your revolutionary ideas, but don't delve in conventionalities, either. Don't try to tell everything about the project at once, or at all. Your clients don't need to know everything you did for a project. But they do need to know the relevant bits.

  14. 15 Real-Life Case Study Examples & Best Practices

    15 Real-Life Case Study Examples. Now that you understand what a case study is, let's look at real-life case study examples. In this section, we'll explore SaaS, marketing, sales, product and business case study examples with solutions. Take note of how these companies structured their case studies and included the key elements.

  15. Free cases from The Case Centre

    As a useful resource for case teachers, and to encourage the growth in case use, The Case Centre partnered with a group of leading business schools to provide this collection of ten free cases. Apple's iPhone: Calling Europe or Europe Calling. Sandra Sieber ; Josep Valor ; Jordan Mitchell IESE Business School. Reference no. SI-0172-E.

  16. How to write a case study

    Case study formats can include traditional print stories, interactive web or social content, data-heavy infographics, professionally shot videos, podcasts, and more. 5. Write your case study. We'll go into more detail later about how exactly to write a case study, including templates and examples. Generally speaking, though, there are a few ...

  17. Cases

    The Case Analysis Coach is an interactive tutorial on reading and analyzing a case study. The Case Study Handbook covers key skills students need to read, understand, discuss and write about cases. The Case Study Handbook is also available as individual chapters to help your students focus on specific skills.

  18. Case Study: Definition, Examples, Types, and How to Write

    A case study is an in-depth study of one person, group, or event. In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject's life and history is analyzed to seek patterns and causes of behavior. Case studies can be used in many different fields, including psychology, medicine, education, anthropology, political science, and social work.

  19. Library: Business Case Studies: Commercial and Free Case Websites

    This site from Santa Clara University provides ethics cases in business, government, leadership, ESG topics, etc. Case studies, curated resources, and videos from the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin. Offers free access to over 10,000 articles and podcasts and videos highlighting Wharton faculty research and ...

  20. Writing a Case Study Analysis

    A case study analysis requires you to investigate a business problem, examine the alternative solutions, and propose the most effective solution using supporting evidence. Preparing the Case. Before you begin writing, follow these guidelines to help you prepare and understand the case study: Read and Examine the Case Thoroughly

  21. Case Study Solutions

    Case Study Solutions. Hundreds of case solutions at your fingertips! Case study answers written by top business students. We are the marketplace for case study solutions. Save time and get inspired by our case solutions. We help you be a top student at your university! High-quality only.

  22. CommonSpirit Health Expands CANDOR Toolkit Across Entire Health System

    CommonSpirit Health, one of the Nation's largest health systems, serving 21 States, is expanding its use of AHRQ's Communication and Optimal Resolution (CANDOR) toolkit across its entire network of 140 hospitals and 1,000 ambulatory care centers. CommonSpirit Health was created in early 2019 by Catholic Health Initiatives and Dignity Health.

  23. Case Study Site Selection: Using an Evidence-Based Approach in Health

    This case study illustrates distinctive features of case study methodology that were responsive to context in ways not often seen in case study research. Located in Alberta, Canada, the study explored the factors that supported or hindered licensed practical nurses' ability to work to the full scope of practice assigned to them by legislation ...

  24. Best Case Study Websites

    Discover case study websites built by the Webflow community. Browse, clone, and customize the latest websites #MadeinWebflow.Looking for premium templates? case study Study Case. Most liked. Cloneable sites only. Showcase your site. View details. MacBook with scroll. 812. 2.3k. Moritz Petersen. View details. Mary Daniel. M.

  25. AHRQ Quality Indicators Toolkit Facilitates Process Improvement Work at

    This case study describes how the AHRQ QI Toolkit helped them in this endeavor. Just a few years ago, clinicians and administrators at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles were questioning the usefulness of quality measures based on hospital inpatient administrative claims data, such as the AHRQ Quality Indicators (QIs).

  26. Case Study: Design Embraced Portfolio

    Moving from case-to-case. We also decided to try a seamless page transition for browsing the cases, running an animation and quickly hiding the old page. To achieve this transition I'm tracking the scroll position from the start of the image this.observable.y - this.viewport.height * .5 to the end this.observable.y which is at the end of the ...

  27. Abortion Pill Dispute Centers on Central Question: Who Can Sue?

    At issue in the case on Tuesday will be changes the F.D.A. made since 2016 that broadened access to mifepristone. ... Dr. Skop was an author on two recently retracted studies that suggested ...

  28. The postcranial variability of Quaternary European rhinoceroses: the

    The postcranial variability of Quaternary European rhinoceroses: the case study of Stephanorhinus hundsheimensis from the Middle Pleistocene site of Contrada Monticelli (Apulia, ... This study was financially supported by Geoscience PhD scholarship to DS (Bari University-Italy), and by fund "FrancescangeltCTCAVAPONT2022" to MM (Bari ...

  29. Abortion pill case raises question: who can sue the FDA?

    This time, a D.C. appeals court judge threw the case out on a technicality. Thompson was not the first to mull suing the FDA over a too-broad label, even as a mountain of other lawsuits focused on ...

  30. Judge Tosses X/Twitter Case Against Group That Produced Study On

    A federal judge tossed out a lawsuit brought by X/Twitter against a watching group that produced a study that examined the proliferation of hate speech on the platform. U.S. District Judge Charles ...