casestudy

A case study is a research method that involves an in-depth, contextual analysis of a real-world phenomenon. It aims to illuminate how and why something happens by examining a case—an individual, organization, event, or program—within its natural setting. Case studies rely on multiple sources of evidence, such as interviews, observations, documents, and archival records, and they often use a case study protocol to guide data collection and analysis.

Types include exploratory (or pilot) case studies to define questions, descriptive case studies to portray a phenomenon in detail, and explanatory case studies to investigate causal mechanisms. They can be instrumental, where the case is used to understand a broader issue, or intrinsic, where the focus is on the case itself. Researchers may study a single case or conduct multiple-case studies to enable cross-case comparison.

Methodology typically involves careful case selection, data collection from diverse sources, and systematic analysis that looks for patterns, explanations, and alternatives. Reports emphasize context and process, and researchers often use triangulation to strengthen reliability and validity.

Applications span many fields, including business to evaluate strategies, social sciences to explore behaviors, education to examine programs, medicine to study patient outcomes, and public policy to understand implementation. Strengths include rich, contextual insights and hypothesis generation, while limitations involve limited generalizability, potential biases, and time demands.

Quality considerations include transparent design, rigorous data collection, triangulation, and clear linkage between evidence and conclusions.

See also: case study research, case method, case-based reasoning.