No doubt, writing a case study analysis takes time and effort. You need to take a few steps and some of them might bring you a lot of difficulties. In order to avoid pitfalls and mistakes, you should read the following guide that contains great tips for you and some useful information that will help you a lot.
Do Case Studies Differ from Research Papers?
Surely, every type of college assignment has its unique specifics and even different purposes or aims. While case studies are pretty similar to research papers in terms of researching and analyzing a problem, they still have a lot of differences. For example, the main goal of a case study is to examine a problem in detail and take a look at the cause, effects, various scenarios, and ways of solving it. The main goal of a case study is to make sure that you work with a particular practical example that gives a lot of insights and helps you better understand the theoretical part of the case.
Various fields of knowledge would not be complete if not for case studies. For example, Business, Marketing, Medicine, Law, Management, and other important niches are better to be studied through practical examples and this is what case studies are for.
A typical case study, though it takes much effort to be completed, doesn’t happen to be very long. Generally, it ends up being about 800-900 words which is not that much compared to other types of college assignments However, you need to understand how to describe a case and that is where storytelling is so crucial.
The Key Moments in Writing a Case Study Analysis
When working on an assignment that requires you to take a closer look at a case study, it’s important to understand what is expected from you. In general, when a student gets such an assignment, it should provide a thorough understanding of what a situation or problem is, what led to the problem, which actions were taken, what could be done differently, etc.
So, what a student should do first is to examine the case and make notes about the most important details and factors that might be crucial for the following analysis.
Another important element is to make sure that you revise the case from various perspectives. This is where you need to conduct research and gather a few valuable sources that might come in handy in the process. They might be needed for showing parallels and connections as well as providing a background for your case study analysis.
And the last essential thing is critical thinking. You need to be able not only to provide a detailed explanation of what the case was all about but also be able to analyze it, draw a conclusion, provide a prognosis of possible outcomes or consequences, and even provide some advice or suggestions for the case. So be ready to put your critical thinking skills to work.
The Process of Writing a Case Study Analysis
So, here you are sitting with a blank page in front of you, not knowing where to start. Don’t worry, we will guide you through the whole process.
The Beginning
Once you have your case on hand, you need to make some digging. Write your notes as you read the case (or maybe you are watching it on screen), and highlight the key moments. Think of the scenario and why it all happened. Sometimes students get an assignment that requires them to make a suggestion on what will happen next or vice versa – suggest what was the cause of the problem. Read your task carefully and define what is required from you. Every case study assignment is different, so there might be a lot of options for what you should pay attention to.
Come up with your thesis statement and a hypothesis if needed. Let’s say you are working on a case about a patient who developed tissue necrosis due to alcoholism. Then your thesis statement would be concentrated on the negative effects of alcoholism on the human body. In this case, you should continue your research to prove your point.
Research
Conducting your research is crucial to provide proof and background information if the issue or problem you are working on is common. Let’s take a look at our example – this case study would need to have some reliable statistics on the amount of the same cases around the world and their common cause – alcoholism. If you can gather such data and add it to your paper, it would instantly add more value to your point of view.
You will also need to research all the terms that can be found through your case or your case study analysis to make sure that your reader can follow. Add the term explanation to your paper if needed.
Highlight the importance of the topic that you chose and why the particular case is a good example of the issue that you address.
Writing First Draft
When working on a first draft, pay attention to the requirements of the assignment. If you are afraid that you would not be able to meet the requirements regarding the deadline or word count, you might want to order case study analysis from us.
The task that you were provided with should give you an understanding of the elements that you have to include in your paper. For example, you might want to add a chapter about the possible consequences or ways of solving the issue – some of them might need to be compared and analyzed. For example, you might be asked to compare different solution options and name their pros and cons.
Don’t forget to highlight the best solution according to your point of view. Check if it makes sense when compared to your hypothesis and if there are any sources that can be used to support your opinion. The rule of thumb for a case study analysis is to have at least one source for each and every theory that you address.
The Final Step
Before you send your paper to your professor, you need to make sure that it is proofread and edited so that there are no mistakes and errors. You can use software to check your text’s grammar and punctuation but don’t forget to reread your text and make changes that are needed.