Case studies

What is a case study?

Case study assignments can help students to apply theoretical knowledge to real-world situations that they encounter in their professional field. These real-world situations or scenarios are also called 'cases' - a case could be an organisation, a business, a patient or patient group, or an event. A case study involves the following basic steps:

1. Identify the case or scenario that you will focus on.
2. Analyse the case - break it down into key elements and factors.
3. Use theory and academic reading to make sense of the different elements and how they interact.
4. Explain cause and effect, suggesting recommendations, improvements or solutions.

Case studies are used across various disciplines, such as business, healthcare, marketing and tourism to enhance students' problem-solving skills, analytical thinking, decision making abilities and their application of theoretical knowledge. If you have completed a placement, you could be asked to write a case study based on your experience in the workplace, combined with your own reflections.

Types of case study

There are two main types of case study: analytical and problem-solving. Always check the assessment criteria to understand which type of case study you are being asked to write:

Analytical case studies

This type of case study will explore a real-life event or issue, focusing on the key facts, who is involved, and identifying the key elements or factors involved. Examples of this type of case study might be:

• You examine the 2008 Financial Crisis, identifying key causes, events and their consequences. 
• You examine the SARS outbreak in 2022, considering key causes, symptoms, those affected, and public health responses.

For this type of assignment, consider your audience and what they need to know. This can help to narrow down the content and factors that you choose to focus on.
 

Problem-solving case studies

In this type of case study, you will identify a challenge or problem, and use the assignment to propose evidence-informed solutions or recommended actions. For example:

• You could reflect on the impact of staff shortages while on placement and make recommendations - based on your first-hand experience and reading - for short and long-term solutions.
• You could choose an organisation and evaluate their cybersecurity measures, identifying key weaknesses in current practice. You could then create an action plan for how these weaknesses could be resolved by staff.

In this type of case study, your proposed solutions will need to be backed up by evidence. If there are multiple solutions to choose from, focus on those that would have the biggest impact.