What is a case?

o Teaching case
Objective is to serve as a stimulus for reflection and discussion
Responses of students are evaluated
Elements
Real world situations with some facts changed for confidentiality
Should have supporting data and documents
Should be open-ended to allow students to develop multiple potential
solutions
o Research case
Gathering enough information about a certain topic to understand how it functions or
operates
Requires multiple data gathering techniques (e.g. interviews, FGDs)
o Decision case
Based on historical events and information given by the org that focuses on decision
making
Not intended to prove that a situation was handled well or poorly
Focus: business/organizational case
o Getting enough info about a certain info to allow us to get an insight into the life of that
organization/group
o Simulates a real situation and makes the reader a participant gives them a real life
dilemma
o Characteristics
Narrow in scope, often focusing on one protagonist
Has a finite decision point at a fixed time
Contains relevant docs referred to in the case as exhibits
Phases in Writing
o Research
o Analysis
o Writing
Analyzing Data for a Case Study
o ...empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon with its real life
context
o Qualitative finding themes among all the topics
FGD Analysis
Use metacards
Finding connections between various questions and responses
Put the original quotes first, polish later
o Quantitative
Putting respondent numbers after encoding the data
Be careful in using the mean check for outliers
Writing A Case
o Must be journalistic, but should have the why
o Outline
Introduction
Brief context of the problem
Innovative approaches employed by the company
Key output and outcomes for business
Key output and outcomes for society and the environment
Challenges in moving forward
o Good writing
Adapting language and style to your audience
Should have a protagonist with a central decision point at a specific point in time
Past tense to recount events, present tense to describe current situation
Active rather than passive
Short rather than complex sentences
Use sub-headings to organize
o Introduction
Should grab the readers attention and make reader want to read more
Introduce the protagonist and provide the context
o Body
Deeper background and context, broadens the initial problem
Scenes should follow a logical order and illustrate point related to the problem
Carry the narrative forward
Should provide relevant details (both positive and negative)
Careful not to implicate the leaders traits
o Ending
Conclusion should stress the importance of the research
Leave a final impression on the reader
o Review your research article
o Assure confidentiality