AP 405 - SEMINAR - SN Lecture - How To Conduct A Case Study

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How to Conduct a Case Study

SEMINAR Paper Support for 4th Year Students.

Sarika Narayan
25TH September 2021
What is a Case Study ?
• A Case Study is an enquiry that investigates or
examines a contemporary phenomenon in depth
and within its real life context.
• It is your account of:
– An activity
– An event A Phenomenon
– A problem
• Used to understand how the complexities of real life
influence your area of research.
• Analyse. Apply knowledge. Reason. Draw conclusions.
Points to remember :

• Case: It is any given “real life” situation.

• Case Study: It is the analysis of this “real life”


situation.
Features of a Case Study
• Taken from real life.
• It includes sufficient information for the
reader to relate to the researcher’s topic of
research issues.
• Consists of many parts.
– Divide your research to headings and
sub-headings.
What Case to Study?
• Choose Wisely!
– Should fit within your research method
• (for e.g. : this semester – online, time bound. )
• Relationship to context

– Establish a rationale for your selection


• What am I trying to find out more about?
• How does this fit with my area of research?

– Define how it affects your research


• Your research could be based on :
– a philosophy
– An aspect of design
– Technical science
– Human behaviour or Social Science

– Link it to your research


Benefits of a Case Study as part of
Research?
• Narrows and refines your research - Focus on
a BOUNDED topic.

• Allows diverse information to be collected and


used.

• You gain new perspective and knowledge –


and think about a different view point.
Bounding a Case Study
• A BOUNDED Case Study is a closed system, that allows the researcher to
focus on their area of research.

• What is this case study being done for?


– What is your starting point?
• Broad interest to be narrowed down to specific topic.

• What is my focus and specific objective?


– Focus on your own area of analysis

• What type do I want?


– Is this Case Study a Typical (Representative) example of the phenomenon I am
studying?
Or
– Is it Atypical (Radical)?
• often provide more unique information.
Approaches to Case Studies
• Analytical Approach
– Understand what has happened and why.
– Not necessary to identify problems or suggest
solutions.

• Problem-Oriented Method
– Identify major problems that exist
– Suggest solutions to these problems.
Types of Case Studies
• Single
– Specific to one sample
• Intense
• Limitless
• Difficult to justify
• Single, but embedded
– Like overlays of information on the same Case
• Multiple
– Many, to support your research
– Cross-analysis between them
How to choose?
• A few to support my research?
• And a few to show failure of my research?
Selecting the Depth of your research :
• HOLISTIC : One whole entity (narrow scope,
intense).
OR
• EMBEDDED : Many Cases, some common
aspects studied which are common to your
research.
Format for a Case Study
• Introduction
• Statement of Research (Identify it)
• Purpose of research
– Exploring an idea / theory?
– Explaining a scientific fact?
– Describing a phenomenon?
• Limitations of conducting your case study
• Any important definitions
Methodology of Data
• Decide how your data is researched and collected for your
Case Study.
• Find
– Themes
– Links
– Patterns
• Data could be based on multiple observations:
– P.E.S.T. or Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural or Technical
concerns and issues
– Interviews, Questionnaires, Social Media, etc.
• Data sources could relate to each other or be dissimilar
(contradictory).
– For eg: Architect’s vision vs. Client’s vision vs. User’s perception.
Data Collection Methods
• Questionnaire
– to gain different perspectives

• Interviews with key persons

• Blog / Journal / Websites/ Social media

• Any relevant documents


– Statistics
– Governmental Data
– Timeline of events

• Observations
– Confirm / Contrast collected information

• Source business journals, periodicals, and textual references as any online research. Make sure
you support your ideas with facts and figures.

• CREATION of an in-depth narrative of the phenomenon you are researching.


Good case studies should:
• Relate your research to a practical situation
– So that you are able to apply the ideas and knowledge
researched to the practical situation at hand in the
case study.
• Identify the patterns and links
– Select the major patterns and trends in the case
studies.
– Suggest solutions as required or analyse links and
trends in your analysis.
• Recommend a solution to be implemented, if required.
• Detail how this solution can be implemented
Summary - Conclusions
-Recommendations
• Summary
– What happened?
• Conclusions
– Reasons it happened?
– Why did it happen this way?
– Why not another way?
• Recommendations
– How does this support or change my solution?
– What new solutions can I suggest?
5 things for a good Case Study!
• Must be significant.
• Must be complete.
• Must consider alternative perspectives.
• Must display sufficient evidence.
• Must engage interest of reader.
8 Steps to write a Case Study!
1. Outline the purpose of the case study
2. Describe the specific field of research
– Usually an overview of the situation
3. Identify problems found.
– divide into sub-sections, one for each problem.
– Record your findings
4. Summary – of all issues found
5. Identify solutions. (likely to be more than one
solution per problem) Discuss them.
8 Steps to write a Case Study!
6. Final Summary - Sum up the main points
from the findings and discussion.
7. Conclusion
– Justify your choice of alternative solutions that
can be adopted.
• Here, integration of theory is appropriate.
8. Make sure all references are cited correctly.
• References / Appendices (if any)
Case Study Protocol
• Check records
• Background Analysis
• Design of case study
• Data Collection
• Analysis
• Validity
• Study limitations
• Identify target audience
• Schedule
Check list on writing a Case Study
• Jargon should be minimum.
• Know the case thoroughly.
• Be analytical.
• Keep the attention of the reader.
• Present the situation without bias.
• Provide relevant details.
References
• “How to write a case study ”, Monash University, Published in July 2007
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314147521_Case_Studies_as_method
_for_architectural_research
• https://www.academia.edu/33816129/CASE_STUDY_AS_A_TOOL_FOR_ARCHITEC
TURAL_RESEARCH
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ectS1ote8uA
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7XTVBajjr8
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhvdC4vDjts
• Yin R.K. (2003). Case Study Research: Design And Methods. Los Angeles, CA: Sage
Thank you & All the Best!

Sarika Ma’am

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