In the social sciences and life sciences, a case study is a research method involving an up-close,

in-depth, and detailed examination of a subject of study (the case), as well as its related contextual
conditions.
Case studies can be produced by following a formal research method. These case studies are likely
to appear in formal research venues, as journals and professional conferences, rather than popular
works. The resulting body of 'case study research' has long had a prominent place in many
disciplines and professions, ranging from psychology, anthropology, sociology, and political science
to education, clinical science, social work, and administrative science.[1][2]:5–6
In doing case study research, the "case" being studied may be an individual, organization, event, or
action, existing in a specific time and place. For instance, clinical science has produced both well-
known case studies of individuals and also case studies of clinical practices.[3][4][5] However, when
"case" is used in an abstract sense, as in a claim, a proposition, or an argument, such a case can be
the subject of many research methods, not just case study research.
Another suggestion is that case study should be defined as a research strategy, an empirical inquiry
that investigates a phenomenon within its real-life context. Case study research can mean single
and multiple case studies, can include quantitative evidence, relies on multiple sources of evidence,
and benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions. Case studies should not be
confused with qualitative research and they can be based on any mix of quantitative and qualitative
evidence. Single-subject research provides the statistical framework for making inferences from
quantitative case-study data.[2][6]
Case studies may involve both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

Contents

• 1Different types of case study research methods

• 2Case selection and structure
• 3Marketing analysis
• 4Types of case studies
• 5Case studies in business
• 6History
• 7Related uses
• 8See also
• 9References
• 10Further reading
• 11External links

Different types of case study research methods[edit]

In business research, four common case study approaches are distinguished.[7][8] First, there is the
"no theory first" type of case study design, which is closely connected to Kathleen M. Eisenhardt's
methodological work.[7][9] The second type of research design is about "gaps and holes",
following Robert K. Yin's guidelines and making positivist assumptions.[7][2] A third design deals with a
"social construction of reality", represented by the work of Robert E. Stake.[7][10] Finally, the reason for
case study research can also be to identify "anomalies"; a representative scholar of this approach
is Michael Burawoy.[7][11] Each of these four approaches has its areas of application, but it is important
to understand their unique ontological and epistomological assumptions. There are substantial
methodological differences between these approaches.
Case selection and structure[edit]
An average, or typical case, is often not the richest in information. In clarifying lines of history and
causation it is more useful to select subjects that offer an interesting, unusual or particularly
revealing set of circumstances. A case selection that is based on representativeness will seldom be
able to produce these kinds of insights. When selecting a case for a case study, researchers will
therefore use information-oriented sampling, as opposed to random sampling.[12] Outlier cases (that
is, those which are extreme, deviant or atypical) reveal more information than the potentially
representative case, as seen in cases selected for more qualitative safety scientific analyses of
accidents.[13][14] A case may be chosen because of the inherent interest of the case or the
circumstances surrounding it. Alternatively it may be chosen because of researchers' in-depth local
knowledge; where researchers have this local knowledge they are in a position to "soak and poke"
as Richard Fenno put it,[15] and thereby to offer reasoned lines of explanation based on this rich
knowledge of setting and circumstances.
Three types of cases may thus be distinguished for selection:

1. Key cases
2. Outlier cases
3. Local knowledge cases
Whatever the frame of reference for the choice of the subject of the case study (key, outlier, local
knowledge), there is a distinction to be made between the subject and the object of the case study.
The subject is the "practical, historical unity" through which the theoretical focus of the study is being
viewed.[16] The object is that theoretical focus – the analytical frame. Thus, for example, if a
researcher were interested in US resistance to communist expansion as a theoretical focus, then the
Korean War might be taken to be the subject, the lens, the case study through which the theoretical
focus, the object, could be viewed and explicated.[17]
Beyond decisions about case selection and the subject and object of the study, decisions need to be
made about purpose, approach and process in the case study. Gary Thomas thus proposes a
typology for the case study wherein purposes are first identified (evaluative or exploratory), then
approaches are delineated (theory-testing, theory-building or illustrative), then processes are
decided upon, with a principal choice being between whether the study is to be single or multiple,
and choices also about whether the study is to be retrospective, snapshot or diachronic, and
whether it is nested, parallel or sequential.[18]

Marketing analysis[edit]
Some cases study marketing analysis to ensure a full understanding of the effects on an
organization. In a case where the market of any organization is in jepoardy, the agency will seek
answers and solutions. In order to fulfill this need, the organization must gather pertient information.
Case studies can be used to establish where the problem originates by utilizing several research
methods. [19] Research methods should be chosen appropriately to conduct a thorough investigation.
The primary methods used include: interviews, surveys, focus groups, observations and in some
cases, field trials.[20] The methods chosen rely heavily on the amount of capital the organization is
able to spend and the kind of data that is required by the group.

Types of case studies[edit]

In public-relations research, three types of case studies are used:[21]

1. Linear,
 2. Process-oriented,
3. Grounded.
Under the more generalized category of case study exist several subdivisions, each of which is
custom selected for use depending upon the goals of the investigator. These types of case study
include the following:

• Illustrative case studies. These are primarily descriptive studies. They typically utilize one or
two instances of an event to show the existing situation. Illustrative case studies serve primarily
to make the unfamiliar familiar and to give readers a common language about the topic in
question.
• Exploratory (or pilot) case studies. These are condensed case studies performed before
implementing a large scale investigation. Their basic function is to help identify questions and
select types of measurement prior to the main investigation. The primary pitfall of this type of
study is that initial findings may seem convincing enough to be released prematurely as
conclusions.
• Cumulative case studies. These serve to aggregate information from several sites collected at
different times. The idea behind these studies is that the collection of past studies will allow for
greater generalization without additional cost or time being expended on new, possibly repetitive
studies.
• Critical instance case studies. These examine one or more sites either for the purpose of
examining a situation of unique interest with little to no interest in generalization, or to call into
question a highly generalized or universal assertion. This method is useful for answering cause
and effect questions.

Case studies in business[edit]

At Harvard Law School In 1870, Christopher Langdell departed from the traditional lecture-and-notes
approach to teaching contract law and began using cases pled before courts as the basis for class
discussions.[22] By 1920, this practice had become the dominant pedagogical approach used by law
schools in the United States.[23]
Research in business disciplines is usually based on a positivist epistemology,[24] namely, that reality
is something that is objective and can be discovered and understood by a scientific examination of
empirical evidence. But organizational behavior cannot always be easily reduced to simple tests that
prove something to be true or false. Reality may be an objective thing, but it is understood and
interpreted by people who, in turn, act upon it, and so critical realism, which addresses the
connection between the natural and social worlds, is a useful basis for analyzing the environment of
and events within an organization.[25]
Case studies in management are generally used to interpret strategies or relationships, to develop
sets of "best practices", or to analyze the external influences or the internal interactions of a
firm.[26] With several notable exceptions (e.g., Janis on Groupthink)[27]

History[edit]
Frederic Le Play first introduced the case-study method into social science in 1829 as a handmaiden
to statistics in his studies of family budgets.[28]
In all these disciplines, case studies were an occasion for postulating new theories, as in
the grounded-theory work of sociologists Barney Glaser (1930- ) and Anselm Strauss (1916-1996).[29]
One of the areas in which case studies have been gaining popularity is education and in particular
educational evaluation.[30][31][32]
Comparative case studies, in social science, policy, and education research; discusses one
approach, which encourages researchers to compare horizontally, vertically, and temporally.[33]

Related uses[edit]
Using case studies in research differs from their use in teaching, where they are commonly
called case methods and casebook methods. Teaching case studies have been a highly popular
pedagogical format in many fields ranging from business education to science education. Harvard
Business School has been among the most prominent developers and users of teaching case
studies.[34][35] Business school faculty generally develop case studies with particular learning
objectives in mind. Additional relevant documentation, such as financial statements, time-lines, and
short biographies, often referred to in the case study as exhibits, and multimedia supplements (such
as video-recordings of interviews with the case subject) often accompany the case studies. Similarly,
teaching case studies have become increasingly popular in science education. The National Center
for Case Studies in Teaching Science has made a growing body of case studies available for
classroom use, for university as well as secondary school coursework.[36][37]
Case studies are commonly used in case competitions and in job interviews for consulting firms such
as McKinsey & Company, CEB Inc. and the Boston Consulting Group, in which candidates are
asked to develop the best solution for a case in an allotted time frame.[38]