How to Do a Case Analysis
Table of Contents
What is a Case Analysis Paper?
When most students are issued case analysis assignments, the first question most of them ask is ‘what is a case analysis?’ Well, a case study analysis paper refers to a descriptive assignment that requires a student or researcher to examine a specific situation or institution to come up with relevant recommendations. Case analysis, therefore, means evaluating an individual case that is based on real-life situations, determining what is a miss, and coming up with various solutions for that problem.
Types of Case Study
Whenever students are asked to write such a paper, they immediately start thinking of looking for a case analysis example or a good discussion example. However, they forget that there are several types of case studies that one can be asked to tackle. These include:
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Illustrative
These case studies tend to be descriptive. They utilize one or two scenarios to show what a situation looks like.
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Exploratory or Pilot
These are more condensed case studies that are performed before one implements a massive investigation. They help in identifying questions and selecting classes of measurement before the primary research.
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Cumulative
These types of case studies provide aggregate information from various sites that have been collected at different periods. They help in determining if past studies promote higher generalization with no extra cost or time being expended.
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Critical Instance
These case studies investigate one or more sites to examine a situation of interest or challenge a highly generalized or universal assertion. It is useful for answering cause and effect questions.
Is Case Study Qualitative or Quantitative?
A case study can either be qualitative or quantitative. There is no specified approach that a case study is specified to take.
How to Analyze the Results
‘How do you start an analysis?’ This is a question most students with case analysis assignments tend to ask. Well, analyzing results for a case study is less of undertaking statistical methods and more of focusing on opinions. Therefore, before one analyzes information, one must first begin by collecting data. After that, one can try to collate it into a more accessible and more manageable way to interpret it. You can decide to construct a narrative around it. Ding this will help one learn the trends of the issue in question, and also help one analyze every bit of the problem accurately.
Why Case Study is Important?
A research paper is essential because it gives a reader insight into the various course of actions. On the other hand, argumentative essays are critical because they help in proving that a specific point of view s more dominant than the other. However, gave you ever wondered why a case analysis is critical? Here are a few solid reasons for the significance of this task:
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They are Comprehensive
One of the most important reasons as to why case studies are conducted is because they tend to be detailed and give holistic reviews on a particular issue. Since in this assignment, a student tends to use multiple tools that one would otherwise not apply; they tend to collect so much detailed information. As a result, more information tends to give a reader an in-depth understanding of the topic or theme in question. Case studies are very significant tasks in establishing a credible platform of what is causing and how it is affecting a particular issue.
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They Help Reduce Bias
Bias may arise when a researcher is prompted to manipulate results to fit his or her opinions. Most researchers who are researching various societal problems and issues have fallen victim to bias. Thus, it means that research papers are highly vulnerable to bias. However, this is not the case when it comes to case analysis. Unlike research papers, case study papers give room for diversity of perspectives, since they do not limit themselves like research papers to various sources of information like surveys or interviews. Due to the lack of such boundaries from where a student can gather information about a specific subject, case studies help in enhancing one’s understanding of the issue under investigation.
What are the Objectives of Case Study?
Like any other academic paper, a student must have various objectives in mind before they write a case analysis. After all, objectives are crucial in determining how one presents their work. In the case of a case analysis assignment, the primary goal is usually to tell the reader how several guidelines, frameworks, and principles apply in the context of an actual laboratory. Additionally, the objective of case study assignments is to explain how various concepts intersect with multiple subjects such as technical training, authorship, and mentoring. Another objective of conducting a case study is to help a reader identify numerous temptations, segments, and pressures that lead up to individual misconduct. As such, when performing a case study, one is more alert and less likely to fall in the pit of those temptations.
How to Write a Case Study Assignment
‘How do you write a case analysis?’ This is one of the most asked questions online. When it comes to case analysis writing, the procedure is quite easy. However, since most students have developed the mentality that the task is challenging, they tend to acquire many challenges in their writing process. However, it does not have to be extra hard if at all, you have the right mentality and structure. Here is a brilliant structure on how to write a case analysis:
1. Prepare the Case
Even before you begin writing, you have to start with a step known as preparing the case. It encompasses some significant steps which are mostly overlooked by students who forget to prepare their case. These steps include:
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Selecting a Case
Selecting a case is the first step you should take once you have compiled the problem statement and research questions of your work. It a case is important because usually, there are a lot of general ideas that one may intend on researching. However, since they cannot all be covered all the same time, one has to go ahead and specify only one case. So, go ahead and select the specific case that you want to focus on. Since some students are so conversant with selecting cases, you find them coming up with weak or irrelevant case analyses. This can be avoided when one chooses a brilliant case.
A brilliant case means that the case has the potential of providing new and unseen insights into the subject of interest. Additionally, it means that the case analysis can challenge several existing theories and assumptions that have been developed over time regarding the issue in question. A brilliant case also means that it has the power of proposing several practical and accurate courses of action that can resolve the problem in question. A brilliant case can also open up new channels for future research. When selecting a case, some students have gone to extremes trying to acquire a sample. However, case analysis is not the same as quantitative or experimental research because it does not require a representative or random sample. Hence, do not bother trying to look for a sample.
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Examining the Case
After one has selected their case, they must take time to analyze it thoroughly. By thoroughly, it means looking at the case from every angle possible. This is a time-consuming process, and as such, a student should never write a case analysis last minute. Tackling such a task last minute will only mean that you conducted shallow research, did not take to analyze it thoroughly, and consequently, your case study has weak outcomes and recommendations. So, take your time to research on the question in hand, take notes, and highlight various relevant facts and key problems of the issue.
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Specifying the Analysis
After conducting research and taking time to analyze the case, now one must define the scope of their study. Defining the scope merely means specifying what angle your entire work will be focusing on. In a nutshell, specifying what area your case analysis will look at. In this case, you are required to identify two to five significant points or problems that you are going to address. As you do so try and only choose the most important ones. To help you choose strong points, try and ask yourselves why these problems exist, how they occur, their impact in a specified society or organization, and also who is responsible for their occurrence and mitigation.
2. Collect Your Data
Data collection is one of the most fundamental steps in a case analysis assignment. It involves the process and methodology of attaining the raw data that makes up your case analysis. Currently, there are numerous and different research methods that a student can use to collect data on a particular subject. However, they all depend on the subject, assignment instructions, and the problem at hand. A case study analysis can utilize either qualitative or quantitative data collection methods. In the case where one is using a qualitative data collection approach, one can attain information from primary and secondary sources such as articles and newspapers, observations, and even interviews. On the other hand, if one is taking a quantitative data approach, one can search for statistics and analyze them for information.
3. Draft the Case
Once you have researched and gathered all the necessary information that you need for your case, then you can now go ahead and draft an overview. The framework should contain your analysis and its most important sections. Although the sections one has in their case analysis may vary depending on the assignment instructions. A standard case analysis draft should, however, contain the following sections:
a) An Introduction
In this section, a student must identify the key problems or issues they are going to discuss in their case study. Since it is a case analysis outline, there is no need of going deep and discussing how you resulted in these points. The overview is just for the mere purpose of helping you include significant points and arranging your work in an organized manner. After writing the key problems, a student now has to formulate and write a thesis statement. The statement is just a summary of your entire work in one or two sentences.
b) Background Information
A good case analysis outline should also contain brief and precise background information. Some students have had some troubles when writing background information because they do not know what to write. Well, writing the background information simply asks a student to set the scene of their theme. Therefore, give important information about the scene of the issue in question, some relevant facts, and the most important points about your case.
c) Evaluation of the Case
In this segment, a student must outline the various elements of their case study that they are focusing on. It is important to evaluate point by point and give some information about what is working and what is not. Again, avoid details because this is just a framework to help you in your writing process. However, if you have been instructed otherwise, then ensure that your outline is detailed with relevant and accurate information.
d) Proposed Solutions or Changes
In a case study, a student is always advised to have a section where they indicate several practical solutions for the issue at hand. Therefore, this segment in the case analysis framework is where you should indicate your proposed solutions. Ensure that you indicate specific and practical solutions. Some students tend to give unrealistic changes that cannot help with the problem at hand. Again, it is important to explain why you think the solutions you have proposed may work, or why you chose them. You can support your arguments with concrete proof from your course readings, discussions, outside research, lectures, anecdotes, and other credible sources.
e) Recommendations
In this segment, a student should indicate the various recommendations they have come up with fro the problem in question. It is important to discuss those particular strategies to show the reader just how they can help in solving the question in hand. Additionally, a student must indicate who are supposed to implement the proposed solutions, when, and how.
4. Write Your Case Analysis
Since one has already developed a framework of how they will structure their work and what will be included in each section, the writing process now becomes straightforward. Ensure that you include every point you wrote in the outline, and also that you discuss it, where necessary. Additionally, ensure that you use in-text citations in the instructed formatting style.
5. Proofread Your Work
After you have written the case analysis, ensure you go through it and correct any errors. Mistakes can reduce the quality and also the credibility of your work. So, go through your work to ensure that the in-text citations are formatted correctly, that your work is structured properly, and also that the case analysis contains no spelling, punctuation, transition, and grammatical errors.
Case Study Format for Students
Let us face it; case analysis assignments are not a favourite cup of tea among most students. Therefore, do not be surprised when you bump into searches online such as ‘where can one buy a case study assignment?’ ‘What is the example of case study?’ or ‘what is the format of case study?’ These searches arise from the mere fact that most students are not conversant with how to write a case analysis. MyHomeworkWriters has done extensive research and compiled the best case study format for students. It is as shown below:
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Title Page
An excellent case study for a student must always begin with a title page. It must show the title of their work, their name, and the name of the institution. However, one does not just state them in any order. They have to be written as per the writing style one has been instructed to use. The differences in how the title page is structured depend on the formatting style one is using.
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An Abstract
Although most students believe that abstracts are only included when one is writing a research proposal or research paper, these sections are also included when one is writing a case study. So, do not forget to write an abstract the next time you are writing a case study. In addition to that, you also need to write only precise and relevant content in this section. In the case of a case analysis of a student, one must identify if they will write a structured or a narrative type abstract.
A narrative abstract refers to a concise summary of the entire work. It aims at giving the reader an opportunity of understanding if he or she has an interest in reading the complete case analysis. On the other hand, structured abstracts are used, especially in scientific studies, when one aims at providing some questions or information that will, later on, be studied in the text. Whatever type of abstract one uses, one first must understand what it entails and how to write it.
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An Introduction
Most students do not know what to include in the introduction of a case analysis. Therefore, you will find most on the internet searching for a case study introduction example. They often use the examples they get to learn what to include in this section. In the introduction, a student must aim at telling the reader what their study is, why it is so exciting, and also why it is significant. To achieve that, it means that a student must try as much as possible to capture the attention of the reader and keep them glued to their work. However, it is easier said than done.
Nonetheless, it does not mean that this is an impossible task. It is quite possible to keep your reader glued and interested in your case analysis. One approach you can use to do this is by giving an example of similar cases like your case analysis. Trying to create a similarity with a critical study can make them interested to see how well you present your ideas. If not, you can state historical events and show how they are affecting and interrelate with your case analysis.
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The Presentation
In this segment, a student must try and provide all the information that they have collected in an organized manner. This means having your ideas flow logically to avoid the reader misinterpreting your message or getting confused as they read your work. Additionally, one must try as much as possible to ensure their work is interesting to avoid boring the reader.
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The Outcome
In this section, the student must write the results which they have acquired after analyzing their case. The results must tell the reader how and why the event or problem in question should be dealt with.
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Recommendations
Every case analysis must contain the recommendations section. The recommendations segment tells the reader what suggestions you are providing of dealing with the problem or issue in question. When writing the recommendations, one must state only precise and accurate points. Avoid being vague or wordy since it can weaken the credibility of the suggestions you give. So, keep your suggestions list simple and straightforward.
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The Conclusion
It is important to end a case analysis with a distinct conclusion. In this section, ensure you restate some of your initial ideas and arguments. However, do not introduce any new concept that was not discussed in earlier on in the body.
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References
References are significant in case analysis writing because they help show where you obtained your arguments and counter-arguments. A student must learn how to write various sources in various formatting styles, to avoid mixing up the formats. Additionally, they must also learn how to use only credible sources as reference materials.
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