What is a Case Study?
The study of a person, a small group, a single situation, or a specific “case,” is called a case study. It involves extensive research, including documented evidence of a particular issue or situation — symptoms, reactions, affects of certain stimuli, and the conclusion reached following the study. A case study may show a correlation between two factors, whether or not a causal relationship can also be proven. It may sound complicated, but it’s really quite simple. For example, a case study may show that obese people tend to drink a lot of diet soda. This would mean that there is a correlation, or association, between being overweight and drinking diet soda. No causal factor has been shown, or in other words, there is no scientific evidence that indicates drinking diet soda actually causes obesity, just that there is an association between the two. Another case study may prove both causal and correlative factors. If research and evidence show that obese people also tend to eat more fa
A case study is a description of an actual administrative situation involving a decision to be made or a problem to be solved. It can a real situation that actually happened just as described, or portions have been disguised for reasons of privacy. Most case studies are written in such a way that the reader takes the place of the manager whose responsibility is to make decisions to help solve the problem. In almost all case studies, a decision must be made, although that decision might be to leave the situation as it is and do nothing. The Case Method as a Learning Tool The case method of analysis is a learning tool in which students and Instructors participate in direct discussion of case studies, as opposed to the lecture method, where the Instructor speaks and students listen and take notes. In the case method, students teach themselves, with the Instructor being an active guide, rather than just a talking head delivering content. The focus is on students learning through their join
