Research Methods: Uncovering 6 Varieties of Case Studies to Fuel Your Inquiry and Evaluation
Case studies, a versatile research method, are widely used across various fields including business, law, nursing, sociology, and psychology. These in-depth analyses provide a comprehensive understanding of specific situations or phenomena, often employing both qualitative and quantitative data.
There are six common types of case studies, each with its unique purpose and applications.
1. **Descriptive Case Studies** aim to describe a situation or phenomenon in detail, often exploring connections between the subject and theoretical frameworks. They are commonly used in business and social sciences to illustrate how a particular practice or intervention works in real-world settings.
2. **Explanatory Case Studies** focus on explaining the causes and effects of specific events or phenomena. Frequently used in business and nursing, they help understand the outcomes of interventions or strategies. For instance, in the automotive industry, they might investigate why a vehicle failed a test.
3. **Exploratory Case Studies** are employed to investigate novel or complex issues where little is known. They are used in nursing education to explore patient care and nursing roles, and in business to research unfamiliar markets or technologies.
4. **Intrinsic Case Studies** focus on understanding the case itself, often because it represents a unique situation. They are utilised in sociology and anthropology to study specific communities or behaviors over extended periods.
5. **Instrumental Case Studies** use a specific case to illuminate broader issues or theories. In nursing, they might connect specific examples with general principles in education. In business, they might be used to demonstrate how a particular strategy solved a broader issue.
6. **Collective Case Studies (or Multiple Case Studies)** involve analyzing multiple cases to identify patterns or trends across different situations. They are useful in fields like business and sociology for cross-case analysis to understand the prevalence of certain phenomena.
In business, case studies serve as success stories, helping potential clients see how a company can solve their problems and build trust. They are designed using brand colours and fonts, often a combination of the client's and the brand's. A visual communication platform can be used to design case studies, as it allows for easy design and creation of branded, engaging reports, all without design experience. The My Brand Kit feature allows businesses to automatically apply their brand to designs.
In the realm of UX Design, reports examine public perception and implement new visuals to improve it. Clinical reports are used to share knowledge with other professionals and examine new or unusual diseases or symptoms. Social work case reports often have a community focus and can examine public health responses.
While case studies can take time and energy to design, they are worth creating due to their benefits. They collect large amounts of information, help formulate hypotheses, build the case for further research, discover new insights into a subject, build brand trust and loyalty, and engage customers through stories. However, they do have limitations, such as responses from interviews being subjective, studies being difficult to replicate, and the risk of generalizing the results among a larger population.
In the wake of the pandemic, there has been a significant increase in research, particularly in the fields of healthcare and education. Exploratory case studies are the starting point of investigations, often conducted as a precursor to large-scale studies. As we continue to navigate complex phenomena, case studies will undoubtedly remain a valuable tool in our quest for understanding.
References: [1] Flick, U. (2018). Case study research: Traditional and transformative approaches. SAGE Publications. [2] Yin, R. K. (2014). Case study research: Design and methods (5th ed.). SAGE Publications. [3] Stake, R. E. (2010). The art of case study research. SAGE Publications. [4] Merriam, S. B., & Tisdell, E. J. (2016). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. Jossey-Bass.
- In business, case studies are not only used to illustrate how a particular practice or intervention works, but also to showcase brand identity by incorporating brand colors, fonts, and design templates, using a visual communication platform like My Brand Kit.
- Additionally, case studies in the education-and-self-development sector, such as nursing education, can employ exploratory case studies to investigate novel or complex issues, helping to discover new insights into patient care and nursing roles, which can be applied to formulate future strategies in finance or business.
