What is the problem that needs a solution? What is the situation, and what are the risks? What are you trying to prove? What questions are required to analyze the problem? What questions might the reader of the study have? What tools are required to analyze the problem? Is data analysis necessary? Can the study use just interviews and observations, or will it require additional information? What is your current knowledge about the problem or situation?
How much background information do you need to procure? How will you obtain this background info? What other information do you need to know to successfully complete the study? How do you plan to present the report? Will it be a simple written report, or will you add PowerPoint presentations or images or videos?
When is the report due? Are you giving yourself enough time to complete the project? What is the marketing problem? Most case studies begin with a problem that management or the marketing department is facing.
You must fully understand the problem and what caused it. That is when you can start searching for a solution. However, marketing case studies can be difficult to research. You must turn a marketing problem into a research problem. For example, if the problem is that sales are not growing, you must translate that to a research problem.
Research problems could be poor performance or poor expectations. You want a research problem because then you can find an answer. Management problems focus on actions, such as whether to advertise more, or change advertising strategies.
Research problems focus on finding out how to solve the management problem. As with the research for most case studies, the scientific method is standard. It allows you to use existing knowledge as a starting point. The scientific method has the following steps:. The above terminology is very similar to the research process.
The main difference is that the scientific method is objective and the research process is subjective. Quantitative research is based on impartial analysis, and qualitative research is based on personal judgment. After selecting the method of inquiry, it is time to decide on a research method.
There are two main research methodologies, experimental research and non-experimental research. Experimental research allows you to control the variables and to manipulate any of the variables that influence the study. Non-experimental research allows you to observe, but not intervene. You just observe and then report your findings. The design is the plan for how you will conduct the study, and how you will collect the data. The design is the scientific method you will use to obtain the information you are seeking.
There are many different ways to collect data, with the two most important being interviews and observation. Interviews are when you ask people questions and get a response. These interviews can be done face-to-face, by telephone, the mail, email, or even the Internet.
This category of research techniques is survey research. Interviews can be done in both experimental and non-experimental research. Observation is watching a person or company's behavior. For example, by observing a persons buying behavior, you could predict how that person will make purchases in the future. When using interviews or observation, it is required that you record your results. How you record the data will depend on which method you use. As with all case studies, using a research notebook is key, and will be the heart of the study.
When developing your case study, you won't usually examine an entire population; those are done by larger research projects. Your study will use a sample, which is a small representation of the population. When designing your sample, be prepared to answer the following questions:. From which type of population should the sample be chosen? What is the process for the selection of the sample?
There are two ways to select a sample from the general population; probability and non-probability sampling. Probability sampling uses random sampling of everyone in the population. Non-probability sampling uses the judgment of the researcher. The last step of designing your sample is to determine the sample size. This can depend on cost and accuracy. Larger samples are better and more accurate, but they can also be costly.
In order to use the data, it first must be analyzed. How you analyze the data should be decided upon as early in the process as possible, and will vary depending on the type of info you are collecting, and the form of measurement being used.
As stated repeatedly, make sure you keep track of everything in the research notebook. The final stage of the process is the marketing case study. The final study will include all of the information, as well as detail the process. It will also describe the results, conclusions, and any recommendations.
It must have all the information needed so that the reader can understand the case study. As with all case studies, it must be easy to read. You don't want to use info that is too technical; otherwise you could potentially overwhelm your reader.
For example, you should keep the case study objective rather than raving about your own work. But in this section, your customers have the opportunity to do that for you. Author Recent Posts. Jennifer Mattern. Jennifer Mattern is a freelance business writer, PR consultant, and professional blogger specializing in working with small businesses as well as independent and creative professionals.
In addition to writing for others for over 20 years and having 19 years' experience in PR and online marketing, Jenn has 17 years of blogging experience. In your discussion section, you should also describe some of the implications of your case study. What ideas or findings might require further exploration? How might researchers go about exploring some of these questions in additional studies?
Case studies can be a useful research tool, but they need to be used wisely. In many cases, they are best utilized in situations where conducting an experiment would be difficult or impossible.
They are helpful for looking at unique situations and allow researchers to gather a great deal of information about a specific individual or group of people. If you have been directed to write a case study for a psychology course, be sure to check with your instructor for any specific guidelines that you are required to follow. If you are writing your case study for professional publication, be sure to check with the publisher for their specific guidelines for submitting a case study.
Ever wonder what your personality type means? Sign up to find out more in our Healthy Mind newsletter. Simply Psychology. Case Study Method. Updated Gagnon, Yves-Chantal. Yin, Robert K. Your Privacy Rights. To change or withdraw your consent choices for VerywellMind. At any time, you can update your settings through the "EU Privacy" link at the bottom of any page. These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. We and our partners process data to: Actively scan device characteristics for identification.
I Accept Show Purposes. Table of Contents View All. Table of Contents. What Is a Case Study? Benefits and Limitations. The research process involves doing the following:.
Although your instructor might be looking at slightly different criteria, every case study rubric essentially has the same standards. Your professor will want you to exhibit 8 different outcomes:.
Let's look at the structure of an outline based on the issue of the alcoholic addiction of 30 people. In a draft, you have to develop and write your case study by using: the data which you collected throughout the research, interviews, and the analysis processes that were undertaken. Follow these rules for the draft:. Even though your case study is a story, it should be based on evidence. Use as much data as possible to illustrate your point. Without the right data, your case study may appear weak and the readers may not be able to relate to your issue as much as they should.
Let's see the examples:. Try to include as many credible sources as possible. You may have terms or sources that could be hard for other cultures to understand. If this is the case, you should include them in the appendix or Notes for the Instructor or Professor.
There are some cases when you need to cite someone else's study in your own one — therefore, you need to master how to cite a case study. A case study is like a research paper when it comes to citations. You can cite it like you cite a book, depending on what style you need. To conclude, a case study is one of the best methods of getting an overview of what happened to a person, a group, or a situation in practice.
It allows you to have an in-depth glance at the real-life problems that businesses, healthcare, criminal justice, etc. This insight helps us look at such situations in a different light.
0コメント