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Developing the Case Study

Once you have your topic, it is time to start planning and developing the study. This process will be different depending on what type of case study you are planning to do. For this lesson, we will assume a psychological case study, as most case studies are based on the psychological model.

Once you have the topic, it is time to ask yourself some questions. What question do you want to answer with the study?



For example, a researcher is considering a case study about PTSD in veterans. The topic is PTSD in veterans. What questions could be asked?

Each of these questions is a viable question, and finding the answers, or the possible answers, would be helpful for both psychologists and veterans who suffer from PTSD.

Research Notebook

Before beginning research, the study should have a research notebook. In this notebook, there should be a list of questions the researcher must be able to answer. Such as:
  1. What is the background of the case study? Who requested the study to be done, and why? What industry is the study in, and where will the study take place?

  2. What is the problem that needs a solution? What is the situation, and what are the risks?

  3. What questions are required to analyze the problem? What questions might the reader of the study have? What questions might colleagues have?

  4. What tools are required to analyze the problem? Is data analysis necessary?

  5. What is your current knowledge about the problem or situation? How much background information do you need to procure? How will you obtain this background info?

  6. What other information do you need to know to successfully complete the study?

  7. How do you plan to present the report? Will it be a simple written report, or will you add PowerPoint presentations or images or videos? When is the report due? Are you giving yourself enough time to complete the project?
The research notebook is the heart of the study. Other organizational methods can be utilized, such as Microsoft Excel, but a physical notebook should always be kept, as well.

Planning the Research

The most important parts of the case study are:
  1. The case study's questions

  2. The study's propositions

  3. How information and data will be analyzed

  4. The logic behind the propositions

  5. How the findings will be interpreted
The study's questions should be either a "how" or "why" question, and their definition is the researchers first job. These questions will help determine the study's goals.

Not every case study has a proposition. If you are doing an exploratory study, you will not have propositions. Instead, you will have a stated purpose, which will determine whether your study is successful, or not.

How the information will be analyzed will depend on what the topic is. This would vary, depending on whether it was a person, group, or organization.

When setting up your research, you will want to follow case study protocol. The protocol should have the following sections:
  1. An overview of the case study, including the objectives, topic, and issues

  2. Procedures for gathering information and conducting interviews

  3. Questions that will be asked during interviews and data collection

  4. A guide for the final case study report
When deciding upon which research methods to use, these are the most important:
  1. Documents and archival records

  2. Interviews

  3. Direct observations

  4. Indirect observations, or observations of subjects

  5. Physical artifacts and tools
Documents could include almost anything, including letters, memos, newspaper articles, Internet articles, other case studies, or any other document germane to the study.

Archival records can include military and service records, company or business records, survey data, or census information.

Research Strategy

Before beginning the study, you want a clear research strategy. Your best chance at success will be if you use an outline that describes how you will gather your data, and how you will answer your research questions.

The researcher should create a list with four or five bullet points that need answers. Consider the approaches for these questions, and the different perspectives you could take.

The researcher should then choose at least two data sources (ideally more). These sources could include interviews, Internet research, and field work or report collection. The more data sources used, the better the quality of the final data.

The researcher then must formulate interview questions that will result in detailed and in-depth answers that will help meet the research goals. A list of 15 to 20 questions is a good start, but these can, and will, change as the process flows.

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