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320 What is a case study?
A case study is an analysis of an individual case that is linked to an existing theory. The aim of a case study is to understand the case with sufficient literature research, to explain it and, if necessary, to answer open questions. Case studies are also increasingly being used in personnel selection processes. The applicant is then given a number of tasks in an assessment center for which he or she must find solutions.
Conduct a case study in 5 steps
The case study is one of the simpler research methods, although it requires just as much research effort as, for example, a survey or an expert interview. Below we have listed 5 steps and described how to conduct a case study:
- Set the research goal
- Select the case
- Find research material (literature and theory)
- Describe the case
- Analyze the case
Set the goal
At the beginning it is important to formulate a research question so that it is clear exactly what you want to investigate with the case study. How or why questions are best suited for the analysis, as the case study is about high-quality research.
Select the case
You should choose your case carefully, because it should be relevant to your research question. Random selection is not recommended. Organizations, people, places, events, but also phenomena are perfectly suited here.
A good case study should have the following characteristics:
- The case is about a non-typical and unusual example.
- It provides new and unknown impressions of the problem.
- Existing results are critically questioned.
- New approaches to solving a problem are presented.
- The case opens up new directions for future research.
Search for literature
As soon as you have found your research question and the case for your bachelor’s thesis, it is time to establish a connection to the literature. When researching the literature, you look for theories that are suitable for your case, which you can use in the analysis. When you compare your case study with existing literature, you proceed deductively. This means that you do not get any new results, but you can either confirm or refute the existing theory.
Describe the case
After the literature research is completed, you can move on to describing the case study. First, your case is described and all important details are described. It is advisable to create a timeline if it is an event. Details that are crucial to your case study should be described in detail. This is important so that your research question can be distinguished from all other possible cases in this area.
Analyze the case
Finally, the case is analyzed. Here you explain why your example is important for your research and how you can ultimately use it to answer your research question.
Types of case studies
Due to the different focuses and approaches that you can choose from, you can also use different types of case studies. We have summarized the most important types for you here:
Case study method (problem finding case)
In this type of case study, the problem is not explicitly stated. The main focus is on identifying problems independently and weighing them up in terms of their importance. For example, a company situation is described from the perspective of several people involved. Questions are not formulated precisely, but the processors have to find them out themselves.
Case problem method (assessment case)
In the case problem method, information is given on the implementation of the decision and ongoing development. Decisions are made using this information and the actual decision-making process is retrospectively assessed and discussed.
Case incident method (information case)
In these case studies, the focus is on filtering data that is important for a decision. Such studies contain a lot of information that is not relevant to the actual problem, or this information is missing or partially incomplete. The important information must be identified and questions are formulated from it.
Stated problem method (investigation case)
In the investigation case, the decision situation and the problem are described. A precise application situation is explained for the theoretical knowledge. The person working on the case tries to solve the problem by means of precisely formulated tasks.
Example of a case study in the bachelor’s thesis
Companies are particularly well suited to a case study. Studies relating to marketing strategies and sales are particularly popular. The effects of individual advertising campaigns in the automotive industry, for example, can be examined in a case study. More specifically, you can research the purchasing decisions of end consumers in favor of electric cars. The research question can be answered with the help of a clearly defined picture. Existing data, such as purchase premiums or subsidies, can be included in your case study. Through detailed literature research, you can integrate your case study into a framework of existing analyses and research and evaluate it in relation to the question using the information you have obtained.
Advantages of the case study
If you use a case study as a method in your bachelor thesis, you will have certain advantages. These include:
- This makes it possible to look at and analyze your case from several perspectives.
- A connection to real life can be made. This makes your research realistic.
- With a case study, you have less organizational effort than with a survey.
- Difficulties, problems or facts that were not known can be uncovered.
This means that a case study is an excellent method for analyzing a problem, but also a question, in detail.
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