Table of Contents
Introduction
Research is an unavoidable task at an academic level. If you have a serious problem designing and conducting a case study, you can get assistance from custom case study writing help. The second way to deal with such issues is to understand the detailed process of a case study. To learn this process, you can read this article, which discusses how to conduct a case study.
1. What is meant by Case Study in Research?
A case study is an approach to getting in-depth information about any subject. There is no restriction for problem type, but you can use this approach for solving a problem related to a person, group or event. In the case of a person, you can better evaluate the changes in behaviours. Also, the causes behind any particular behaviour can be studied through the case study approach. Furthermore, you can conduct a case study to find generalized concepts in medicine, engineering, social work and many more fields.
Most of the time, it happens when you conduct a case study for data that is not directly linked with your research problem but helps indirectly. In such cases, the critical evaluation of data can lead you toward the desired results. Based on your expertise, you can better find effective results. Otherwise, it is challenging to generate generalised concepts. The systematic procedure is one of the most important things when you conduct a case study. You have to go for a designed procedure in the right order. Also, the rules related to the format have great importance when you write a case study.
2. How to Design a Case Study?
The following approaches can help you design and conduct a case study:
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Cognitive Behavioural Approach
The major use of the cognitive behavioural approach can be seen in medical research. This approach helps in finding an effective solution for several functional activities. You can find a way to get rid of many disorders through this approach. The disorder can be in the form of stress, anxiety and depression. It is a cognitive behavioural approach that filters the situation based on evidence. Also, it generalizes the situation and makes it magnificently positive.
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Humanistic Approach
The humanistic approach is one case study approach that emphasises unique aspects. If we discuss the humanistic approach in terms of psychology, it works on the unique traits of individuals. In this way, finding a way to achieve the designed goals becomes easy. When designing a case study, this approach plays the role of a third party and characterises the responses in a good way. With the help of this approach, you can find the reason for accepting or rejecting a particular plan in a case study.
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Psychoanalytic Approach
To conduct a case study, you have to highlight the major and minor features of a problem. In literature, when you see the discussion is on major features, you can use the same data to evaluate minor features. The psychological approach determines the hidden aspects of past experiences. In this approach, you must be clear about three main concepts: preconscious, unconscious and conscious.
3. How to Conduct a Case Study?
To conduct a case study, you need to follow the steps mentioned below:
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Select a Case for Discussion
To select a case, you need to evaluate the topic of discussion. The topic must have worth in the present or upcoming era. Also, it should not be very complicated to generalise the basic concepts. The selected case should be relevant to the research statement. Read the case and note down the core purpose. It will help you get the depth of study.
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Construct a Theoretical Framework
A theoretical framework is the most important step in conducting a case study. If you do not build a theoretical framework, the next step will not be clear to you. You can say that a theoretical framework provides you with a one-directional path to follow. From the approaches mentioned above, you can select one approach. The approach selection should not be random, but you must evaluate your research statement and then go for a particular study approach.
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Collect Relevant Data
There are different ways to collect data for a case study. Based on the research aim, you have to see which way of data collection is best and most effective.
- You can collect data by interviewing an individual and a focus group. For an interview, you must have some experience. Otherwise, it will cause problems in the form of faulty data.
- Another way to collect data for a case study is from documents. The document can be a letter, article or journal. Also, you can ask some organisations for their already collected data. Simply put, you can use primary and secondary data to conduct a case study.
- Many experienced researchers prefer to go for critical observation of a particular phenomenon. They observe the action and reactions that help them come up with a constructive outcome.
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Analysis of Selected Case
When you conduct a case study, the real data is in personal form. The subjective data is not easy to handle. To make it manageable, you can code the whole data. Using some software to code a large sample of data is better. Also, the chances of error can be reduced with an automatic system. So, the coding of data converts subjective data into numeric one. Analyse the data with the right technique. When you rationalise codes, you get propositions from a case study.
Final Thoughts
A case study is a useful research approach if you use it wisely. In many research problems, it is not feasible to do first-hand experiments and collect data for analysis. Also, it can be impossible based on the nature of the study and problem. In such cases, you can find a unique solution with the help of case studies.
