How to Write a Case Study

According to some authors a case study is a kind of conundrum which is waiting for someone who will come and settle it. That means that any case study should include some problem and readers need to resolve it. It's necessary to include adequate information into a case study to make a reader to read, think and then propose some relevant solution. If you want to write a good case study you must remember that it isn't a simple description or a data set. You have to present your information in such a way which would put a reader in a position of author at the source of writing. But on the other side you shouldn't make a reader to think hard for making a proper conclusion.

If you are in case study writing we can propose you a guide through this hard but absorbing process.

As usual three steps of case study writing are distinguished: research stage, analysis stage and writing itself. In the accepted phrase, everything begins with the research but nothing can keep you from returning to it after writing has begun. So…

Research

1. You can provide a library research as well as the Internet one. Your task is to find and investigate previous achievements, investigations or studies and pick out the most important from it. After finishing you may discover that some problems demand solving or you can discover some smart ideas which can give you food for thought and work. As soon as you pick out a problem for studying you need to have an expert consultation according to your future work.

2. The other way to get necessary information is to provide an interview with people who are privy to your topic. Your task is to find such sort of people everywhere you can – in the Internet, at the office or in some kind of company. You can set questions for them as well as for their customers. For example:

• Describe your impression about this establishment? (for customer, of course)
• What are your ideas about the current problem?
• How can you describe the situation' development?
• What in your opinion needs changing?
• Other questions about the statistical data, customers, services and so on.

Try to ask such questions which demand something more than ordinary "yes" or "no" answers. Give your respondents more space for thinking and expressing their thoughts. To cope with this, think up questions of various types and don't forget to include some short creative task (if time and possibility allow you to do this). You can work through this information and then add it to your case study. After you have managed with the research stage it's high time to pass on to the...

Analysis stage

1. The first thing you need to do is to gather all available data to top it off. You have different information at your disposal from respondents, books and Internet. But unfortunately you can't take everything. That's why your task is to examine this information, put it in good order and to choose the best one which would express your thoughts properly and be intelligible for your readers.

2. It will be a perfect idea to set separate parts of information for different people. It may be a single person as well as working group. Their task will be to select the most important data and to interpret it in proper and suitable for a reader shape.

3. You have already selected the topic for your case study? Good. Now express it with the help of couple of sentences. Thereby you may find out that you have a lack of necessary information. At this rate you should return to the Research stage.

If you like the way you have estimated the problem in a suitable for the readers form, divide the issue into separate parts. Every issue would represent a sort of enigma you need to cope with to manage with general task itself. Assign some additional time for discussion these small tasks with other members of your working group.

Case Study Writing

1. At first you should define the problem or aim of your case study. Describe the main objective of your work. In capacity of sound beginning you can use reference for one of your respondents.

2. Arrange all parts of your study. As usual it is organized under the following subheading:

1. Introduction

Designate the aim and main objectives of your case study.

Give a detailed account of the research field. As usual it is a company' review.

Describe briefly the results and conclusions of your case study. Don't include many particular details. Indicate what kind of theory you have used.

In this part the reader should have a possibility to familiarize oneself with all important elements of your study.

Indicate all suppositions you've made during your work.

2. Background

History and main characteristics of the place you have chose for your case study. You should think over nearly 2 pages or maybe a little bit more which will include text as well as couple of photos to provide the understanding of what you are trying to talk about. Make a conclusion what features make investigated place being special.

3. Received data or discoveries of your study

Emphasize the problems you discovered during your work. Each problem' studying should include clear and reliable evidences and the ways for its solution. You need to find some basic problems, because very often many problems are the results of some large and essential ones, which have being forgotten or couldn't be managed in past.

Divide this section into separate passages, one for concrete problem.

4. Considerations

Sum up all available problems.

Find out and propose the ways for their possible solution (propose the most obvious and the alternative one).

Make a short description of each alternative way and estimate it from the position of its advantages and shortcomings.

Don't make any references to the theoretical material.

5. Conclusion

Make a conclusion of everything you got during your discoveries and considerations.

6. Recommendations

• Place customers – propose your reader some work to do and ask him to make a comparison of similar kind establishment. To do it better include customers' opinions about this place you got while you were carrying out an interview with them
• Government attitude to this place – the permissions and prohibitions. Are there any possibilities to change them, and if are, who is able to do this?
• Enterprising perspectives – present information about the opportunities for future development and growth. Indicate all available facilities, what profit they bring and what the ways for their improvement are
• Possible workers – describe the staff' situation. Does the establishment dispose of workers of enough quantity? Would their quantity be enough to fill all new positions which may appear in future? Describe the level of their education, skills and working availability. Should the establishment owner hire some coaches and pay for a subsequent training? Is it possible to do at the local educational establishments? You should carry out all necessary calculations to provide the reader with all possible and required information. You oughtn't do it inside your work but do them for yourself. If you haven't done this before stop and arrange everything. Quite possible you will require more additional information
• The ways of appearance improvement – propose some additional decorations which would make the institution more attractive for the customers. Depending on the kind of institution you picked out the decorative elements can vary. It can be flowers, elements of stone decoration, high-tech decoration, everything what can make the profits of the institution much higher.

7. Accomplishment

Elucidate what measures should be assumed and who will be responsible for their execution.

If it's suitably include your computations about the possible spending.

8. References

Be sure that all references are formatted properly and you didn't forget to mention some of them. Discuss references requirements with your supervisor.

Writing this we didn't want to give you the orders about your future work. It's just an advice, or some guide which can help you to cope with your study task.