如何写好案例分析论文

如何写好案例分析论文？许多领域使用自己的个案研究的形式，但它们是应用最广泛的学术和商业环境。学术案例研究侧重于个人或小团体，生产基础上，研究个月详细，但非广义报告。在商业世界中，营销案例研究描述了用于促进公司一个成功的故事。

规划学术案例

定义研究的课题。案例研究侧重于一个人，一小群人，或者偶尔单个事件。你会被定性研究找到具体的细节和你的主题是如何受到影响的描述。

例如，医案研究会研究如何一个病人是由伤病的影响。一个心理学案例研究可以研究一小群人在治疗的实验形式。

案例研究并非专门针对大型集团研究或统计分析。

前瞻性和回顾性研究之间做出选择。前瞻性的案例研究执行自己的新的研究，涉及个人或小团体。回顾性病例研究探讨少数相关研究的课题以往的情况下，并且不需要与这些案件的新主体参与。

案例研究可能会或可能不会包括两种类型的研究。

缩小你的研究目标。这可能是由教授或雇主给你提前，或者你可以开发它自己。以下是主要类型的案例研究，通过组织目标：

典型案例研究描述，以帮助人们了解一个陌生的情况。例如，患有抑郁症的人，设计的一个案例研究，以帮助沟通抑郁症的主观经验，见习治疗师。

探索案例研究前期项目，以帮助指导未来的，更大规模的项目。他们的目标是确定研究问题和可能的研究方法。例如，三校辅导计划的个案研究会描述每种方法的利弊，并就新的辅导计划如何组织试探性的建议。

例如关键案例集中在一个独特的案例，没有一个通用的目的。例子包括与一种罕见的疾病，或具体的案例进行研究病人的描述性研究，以确定一个广泛适用的“万能”的理论是否实际上是在所有情况下适用，或有用。

申请审批道德。几乎所有的案例都必须依法获得伦理委员会批准，他们就可以开始了。请联系您的机构或部门，并提出您的案例研究，负责道德监督的人。您可能会被要求证明该案例研究没有任何伤害到它的参与者。

按照即使你进行了回顾性案例研究此步骤。在某些情况下，发布了新的诠释可能造成伤害，在原有研究的参与者。

规划一个长期研究。大多数学术案例至少持续3-6个月，其中许多人持续数年。你可以通过你的研究资金或学位课程的长度是有限的，但你应该允许几个星期最起码进行研究。

详细设计你的研究策略。创建一个描述你将如何收集数据，并回答您的研究问题的大纲。确切的方法是你的，但这些提示可以帮助：

创建你打算如果可能的话来回答，在学习四五个要点。考虑在接近这个问题，这些要点观点。

至少选择两个，最好是多，这些数据源：报告收集，互联网研究，图书馆研究，访谈研究课题，专家访谈，实地考察等和映射的概念或类型学。

设计面试问题，这将导致深入的答案和相关的研究目标继续对话。

如有必要，征集参与者。你可能有一个特定的个人想法，或者你可能需要从谁满足您的研究标准，更广阔的游泳池招人。让你的研究方法和时限非常清楚的潜在参与者。目前还不清楚通信可能是违反道德的，或者可以使参与者通过学习中途出去走走，浪费时间很大。

既然你是不是在进行统计分析，你不需要聘请社会的不同截面。你应该知道你的小样本中的任何偏见，使他们在报告中明确，但他们不坏你的研究。

开展学术案例研究

进行背景调查。如果学习的人，在他们过去的研究资料，可能是相关的，可能包括病史，家族病史，或组织的历史。研究课题和类似的案例研究的一个很好的背景知识可以帮助指导自己的研究为好，特别是如果你正在编写一个关键利益的案例研究。

任何一个回顾性成分的案例研究，尤其是案例研究，将受益于基本的学术研究策略。

了解如何进行突兀观察。在涉及人类受试者的案例研究，道德准则不通常允许您在参加“间谍”。你必须练习突兀的观察，这里的学员都知道你的存在。不同于定量研究，可以与学员交谈，让他们感到舒适，包括自己的活动。一些研究人员也试图保持一段距离，但要知道，你的存在会影响到参与者的行为，无论你与他们形成的关系。

建立信任与参与者可以导致更少的抑制行为。观察他们的家庭，工作场所或其他“自然”的环境中的人可能比把他们到实验室或办公室更有效。

有科目填写一份问卷是突兀研究的一个常见的例子。受试者知道他们正在研究，因此，他们的行为会发生变化，但是这是一个快速，有时获得某些信息的唯一途径。

做笔记。当你编译你的最终报告在观察期间大量票据将是至关重要的。在一些案例中，可适当要求参与者在日记中记录的经历。

进行面谈。根据您的个案研究的总长度，你可能每周一次两个月每年举行一次采访中，或者只是一次或两次。与你在规划阶段准备面试问题开始，然后遍历深入挖掘的话题：

描述的经验 – 问参与者是什么样子去通过你学习的经历，或者是你正在学习系统的一部分。

描述意思 – 问什么经验对他们意味着参与者，或者他们从它是什么“生活经验”。问他们有什么精神和情感协会与你研究的主题，无论是医疗条件，事件或其他话题。

焦点 – 在后来的采访中，准备填补空白，你的知识，或者说是对用户的研究问题和理论在研究的过程中发展尤为相关的问题。

保持严谨。案例研究可能觉得不太数据驱动的不是一个医学试验或科学实验，但要注意严格和有效的方法仍然是至关重要的。如果你发现自己吸引到学习对光谱的最末端的参与者，留出时间来观察一个更“典型”的参加者为好。当复习功课，质疑你的逻辑链和丢弃可能的结论没有详细观察备份起来。你引用的任何资源应彻底检查的可靠性。

收集所有数据，并进行分析。阅读和参考回到你原来的要点之后，你可能会发现数据令人惊讶的方式作出反应。你需要一起拉你的信息，并编写案例研究，特别是如果你的研究是在跨间隔几个月或几年前进行的重点吧。

如果您正在使用不止一个人工作，你会想要分配完成的部分在一起，以确保您的案例研究将流动。例如，一个人可能是负责让你收集的数据图表，而其他人会每次写你想回答你的子弹点之一的分析。

写下您的最后一种情况研究报告。根据您所设计的研究问题和你进行案例研究的类型，这可能是一个描述性的报告，在特定的情况下，接地的分析论证，或为进一步研究或项目建议的方向。包括案例研究本身的最相关的观察和访谈，并考虑作为附录，供读者参考附加额外的数据（如全面试）。

如果写一个案例研究的非学术的观众，可以考虑使用的叙述方式，描述了按时间顺序排列的案例研究期间发生的事件。减少你的行话使用。

How to Do a Case Study

Many fields use their own form of case study, but they are most widely used in academic and business contexts. An academic case study focuses on an individual or a small group, producing a detailed but non-generalized report based on months of research. In the business world, marketing case studies describe a success story used to promote a company.

Planning an Academic Case Study

Define the subject of study. A case study focuses on a single individual, a small group of people, or occasionally a single event. You’ll be conducting qualitative research to find specific details and descriptions of how your subject is affected.

For example, a medical case study might study how a single patient is affected by an injury. A psychology case study might study a small group of people in an experimental form of therapy.

Case studies are not designed for large group studies or statistical analysis.

Decide between prospective and retrospective research. Prospective case studies perform new studies of their own, involving individuals or small groups. Retrospective case studies examine a small number of past cases related to the subject of study, and do not require new involvement with the subject of these cases.

A case study may or may not include both types of research.

Narrow down your research goals. This may be given to you in advance by a professor or employer, or you may develop it on your own. Here are the main types of case studies, organized by goal:[1]

Illustrative case studies describe an unfamiliar situation in order to help people understand it. For instance, a case study of a person with depression, designed to help communicate the subjective experience of depression to trainee therapists.

Exploratory case studies are preliminary projects to help guide a future, larger-scale project. They aim to identify research questions and possible research approaches. For example, a case study of three school tutoring programs would describe the pros and cons of each approach, and give tentative recommendations on how a new tutoring program could be organized.

Critical instance case studies focus on a unique case, without a generalized purpose. Examples include a descriptive study of a patient with a rare condition, or a study of a specific case to determine whether a broadly applied “universal” theory is actually applicable or useful in all cases.

Apply for ethical approval. Almost all case studies are required by law to obtain ethical approval before they can begin. Contact your institution or department and propose your case study to the people in charge of ethics oversight. You may be asked to prove that the case study does no harm to its participants.

Follow this step even if you are conducting a retrospective case study. In some cases, publishing a new interpretation can cause harm to the participants in the original study.

Plan for a long-term study. Most academic case studies last at least 3–6 months, and many of them continue for years. You may be limited by your research funding or the length of your degree program, but you should allow a few weeks to conduct the study at the very least.

Design your research strategy in detail. Create an outline describing how you will gather data and answer your research questions. The exact approach is up to you, but these tips may help:

Create four or five bullet points that you intend to answer, if possible, in the study. Consider perspectives on approaching the question and these bullet points.

Choose at least two, and preferably more, of these data sources: report collection, Internet research, library research, interviewing research subjects, interviewing experts, other fieldwork, and mapping concepts or typologies.

Design interview questions that will lead to in-depth answers and continued conversations related to your research goals.

Recruit participants if necessary. You may have a specific individual in mind, or you may need to recruit people from a broader pool who satisfy your research criteria. Make your research methods and time frame extremely clear to the potential participants. Unclear communication could be a breach of ethics, or could cause a participant to walk out partway through the study, wasting a great deal of time.

Since you aren’t conducting a statistical analysis, you do not need to recruit a diverse cross-section of society. You should be aware of any biases in your small sample, and make them clear in your report, but they do not invalidate your research.

Conducting Academic Case Study Research

Perform background research. If studying people, research information in their past that may be relevant, possibly including medical history, family history, or history of an organization. A good background knowledge of the research topic and similar case studies could help guide your own research as well, especially if you are writing a critical interest case study.

Any case study, but especially case studies with a retrospective component, will benefit from basic academic research strategies.

Learn how to conduct obtrusive observation. In a case study involving human participants, ethics guidelines do not typically allow you to “spy” on the participants. You must practice obtrusive observation, where the participants are aware of your presence. Unlike a quantitative study, you may talk with the participants, make them feel comfortable, and include yourself in activities. Some researchers do attempt to maintain a distance, but be aware that your presence will affect the behavior of the participants regardless of the relationship you form with them.

Establishing trust with participants can result in less inhibited behavior. Observing people in their home, workplaces, or other “natural” environments may be more effective than bringing them to a laboratory or office.

Having subjects fill out a questionnaire is a common example of obtrusive research. Subjects know they are being studied, so their behavior will change, but this is a quick and sometimes the only way to gain certain information.

Take notes. Extensive notes during observation will be vital when you are compiling your final report. In some case studies, it may be appropriate to ask the participant to record experiences in a diary.

Conduct interviews. Depending on the total length of your case study, you might hold an interview weekly, once every month or two, or just once or twice a year. Begin with the interview questions you prepared in the planning phase, then iterate to dig deeper into the topic:[2]

Describe experience — ask the participant what it’s like to go through the experience you’re studying, or be a part of the system you’re studying.

Describe meaning — ask the participant what the experience means to them, or what “life lessons” they take from it. Ask what mental and emotional associations they have with the subject of your study, whether it’s a medical condition, an event, or another topic.

Focus – in later interviews, prepare questions that fill gaps in your knowledge, or that are particularly relevant to the development of your research questions and theories over the course of the study.

Stay rigorous. A case study may feel less data-driven than a medical trial or a scientific experiment, but attention to rigor and valid methodology remains vital. If you find yourself drawn to studying a participant on one extreme end of the spectrum, set aside time to observe a more “typical” participant as well.[3] When reviewing your notes, question your chain of logic and discard possible conclusions that do not have detailed observation backing them up. Any sources you cite should be thoroughly checked for reliability.

Collect all of your data and analyze it. After reading and referring back to your original bullet points, you may find that the data reacts in a surprising manner. You need to pull your information together and focus it before writing case studies, especially if your research was performed in intervals across months or years.

If you are working with more than one person you will want to assign sections for completion together to make sure your case study will flow. For example, one person may be in charge of making charts of the data you gathered, while other people will each write an analysis of one of your bullet points you are trying to answer.

Write your final case study report. Based on the research questions you designed and the type of case study you conducted, this may be a descriptive report, an analytic argument grounded in a specific case, or a suggested direction for further research or projects. Include your most relevant observations and interviews in the case study itself, and consider attaching additional data (such as full interviews) as an appendix for readers to refer to.

If writing a case study for a non-academic audience, consider using a narrative form, describing the events that occurred during your case study in chronological order. Minimize your use of jargon.