Prior discussing examples we must emphasize on the points that make a case study effective.
Following features help making a good case study:
Beginning of an effective copy is always a good headline, a good case study must narrate convincing stories which contain a connection between a problem and a solution of that problem plus the outcomes of the solution.
A case study about a brand your customers will be familiar with is beneficially advantageous. It creates trust and power.
You want the candidates to read your case study and make a relation with the problem that your client was facing. The main emphasis should be on generating case studies for your best clients. Certainly, the problems delineated in case studies must contain a connection with the issues that your existing customers run into.
After the identification of a problem, how did your organization assist your customer overcome the problem? Many of the case studies provide really indefinite answers. Although you don’t want to pen thousands of words delineating every part of the solution, some precision is significant to assist candidates understand how you can assist them.
Were the results significant ? Case studies are expected to demonstrate inspiring results and build your prospect’s attention and interest . But you also aim to set realistic anticipations for a new client. An in-depth case study must delineate why the result you provided was possible in that state.
The more you precise your words the better your case study will look. A good case study summarizes long content into small meaningful paragraphs and it will give an idea to the reader of each page.
The detail must not be distracted, there should be a connection established since beginning to wrap up.
Note: Some businesses might give a brief case study in PDF form for the purpose of sales guarantee than an extensive form, in-depth version of the similar case study on their website is available. In this case, it is a general way to write a longer case study.
This initial phase is essential as it sets the outline for your whole case study.
If your clients give their consent and allow you to use their name and information, then you can comprehensively explain the details of your client like who they are, how you provided your assistance to them and what were the outcomes of your support
Whereas, if they would rather remain reluctantly anonymous or demand from you to keep it specific in detail then you’ll have to make a struggle over finding a way to keep your information general while still delineating the effects of your efforts.
A good case study has a before, during and after like a proper starting point, middle point and an endpoint.
Before: The Problem
The case study will always start by introducing a problem, one of your customers suffered from.
This portion of the study creates what’s at stake and introduces the characters like your establishment, the client company, and the individuals who are involved in communication for each side.
During: The Solution
Once you are done with explaining the issue, the next phase includes your offering, which works as the answer to the predicament.
The product or service you offer is in a very actual sense as we can say the hero of the story. It catalyzes the modifications that you explain in terms of your characteristics, benefits, and other differentiators.
After: The Result
In the concluding phase, the discussion of the good ending brought about by your resolution is done.
Certainly, a study about two companies isn’t really exciting by itself. The best case studies personify the characters, containing the retailer and the client corporation, with large numbers of quotes sprinkled throughout the whole story.
A case study should not only a whitepaper
In fact, some of the most influential case studies built their own intensely bright visuals or graphics that look a lot more like an infographic, and even like a magazine
Color blocks, hero shots, skyscraper photography, and strong contrasts are all there to be included in case studies. The more information you aim to provide, the more creative you should be in exhibiting it so it can be understood in a glimpse.
Icons are a best way to make the information precise rapidly, icons also help to grab the reader's attention to particular points of the page by acting as a visual clue.
While conducting any type of research the use of facts, figures and stats is beneficially helpful. Being able to measure the findings is significant for the complete and better understanding of the information. Like just saying that sales increased does not give appropriate information sales instead you must say that sales increased 10% which gives actual number of increment and eventually the complete information.
Make the important information in your case study stand out with the use of high contrast colors and shapes. For optimum impact make use of shapes like a circle, rectangle or a triangle or just opt for a balancing or contrasting color.
While you are writing a case study, you must make a comprehensive approach to the company and do a proper investigation from every point like from their sales to the social media.
While you make a case study it’s a good idea to take into account both the short term and the long term goals of the corporation to attain the better understanding of the things they deliver. Short term goals are that the corporation or an individual hopes to accomplish in a near time, and long term goals will be the ones that the corporation or an individual desires to accomplish in long time.
Make your case study influencing and compelling with the use of cogent, action based or sensitive language particularly while customizing the template of your case study.
Make your research sparkling with the use of a homochromatic and moderate color palette. With the use of a single color, and long blank spaces you can certify that your design is not distracted from the content of your case study.
Charts are an exceptional and admirable way for data visualization and for bringing information and facts to life. It becomes easy to understand information with charts.
As it’s essential to be comprehensive with your investigation for the case study and it’s similarly significant to precise the information you have collected. Précising the information helps people to slide your case study and yet able to get the main essential points. Writing an effectual and productive summary at the start of the case study helps set the prospect and anticipation for the readers.
No one really likes to go through pages and pages of long texts so that’s why you must use visuals to make better understanding of your ideas. With the use of photos, graphics, icons or patterns you can generate a much more appealing design that can attract the attention of the reader.
To make the best use of the efficacy of the case study, you must think deliberately. Before the commencement of the case study, investigate, ponder about what and how you desire to study or what you desire to prove. You might desire to study how a corporation conducts business, or make a new product. If that is the case, make your questions according to this.
With the use of this technique, data is collected by member observation that is then improved through formal or informal dialogue. An excellent instance would be perceiving employees in the staff brake chamber within a corporation. In this case, the investigator can pick to notice some group of people and their collaboration with definite perception and beliefs in order to collect data about the specific subject.
This is a précised method that is done before performing a complete investigation. The main purpose for this sort of study is to help in categorizing questions and select measurement factors prior to the actual research But, if you are not cautious, you may be interested to create a premature result built on the early summary.
Usually, the aim is to demonstrate that more research will be needed and considered important. It is very common in the field of psychology.
This is a kind of descriptive learning which uses one or more existences of an occasion to show the situation at hand. The purpose is to give the readers an detailed common indication about the subject being treated. While writing this sort of a case study, the idea is to have whoever reads it persuade the common understanding of the subject.
Most of the time, these studies are extremely neutral like that they do not need a lot of interpretation. They seldom include humans because when it does involve humans, numerous variables come into play regarding that subject material.
This is used to collect data put together by multiple sites at multiple times, in order to occur with a particular and single body of evidence that makes it hot to pen. The purpose of these studies normally is to collect the material from the past studies and create a better, solid outline of the subject in question without going through the inconvenience of extra charges or time being consumed on additional studies.
This technique is used frequently for the interrogation of the current generalizations or general claims about ideas . The purpose here is to have a look into two or more outcomes and inspect the situation without developing any generalization. Instead, every situation is considered distinctively.
Case studies are quite essential particularly in the academic world, it helps in the world of creating new findings and refining the old one. They can also be applied in like any discipline and most of the time they do not happen in separation.
Here is a common structure of a case study, which can be used in many of the cases:
Narrative abstract is a summary of the entire work to give the person an idea to understand if he needs to read the whole paper.
Structured abstracts can be used in scientific studies, when a list of data or questions is required to be provided, that will be studied in the subject matter. subheadings can also be used, that will give the reader an indication of how the structure of the project looks like;
A case study analysis should not only precise the case. It must isolate main problems, outline and evaluate alternative modes of action, and draw suitable conclusions. The case study analysis can be done following these points:
Recognize the significant facts.
Study the case many times to get the information it comprises. Most of the case scenarios, like in real life, give complete information. Few of these evidences are more pertinent as compared to others for the recognition of an issue. The facts in the case can be presumed true by a person, but announcements, results, or conclusions made by persons should be interrogated. Highlight and then make a list of the most significant facts and numbers that will assist in defining the main problem. If the main facts and figures are unavailable then assumptions can be made, but these suppositions must be realistic according to the situation. The "correctness" of your decisions can depend on the suppositions you make.
Use the evidence that is provided by the case to recognize the main issues that are faced by the corporation you are reading. Most of the cases present various issues. Find the significant one and isolate them from the insignificant one. Mention the main issues that the company is facing. The challenges or problems must be explained in sentences not more than two. One must be able to describe how this issue can affect the scheme or performance of the company.
The reason behind the occurrence of the problem may also require to explain. Information system related problems in the industrial world normally present a blend of organizational, technology and management problems. While detecting the main problem, ask what sort of an issue it is: whether it is an organizational issue, a technology issue, a management issue, or a mixture of all these? Which technology, organizational and management elements added to the issue?
Make a List of different ways the corporation can use to resolve its issues or encounter the challenges. For information system issues, do these substitutes need a fresh information system or the alteration of a present system? Is there a requirement for new business methods, latest technologies, management processes or organizational arrangements? Which modifications to organizational methods will be needed by each alternative? What management strategy will be needed for the execution of each alternative?
Some solutions are way too costly or functionally difficult to execute, the solutions that the organizational resources can’t fulfill must be avoided. Find out the limitations that will restrict the available solutions.
Assess each substitute with the use of the facts and problems that were previously identified. Find out the charges and profit of every alternative. Specify the hazards as well as the advantages linked with each way of action. Make sure to specify any supposition on which your decision is based.
Specify your choice for the best way of action and give an elaborated detail of your choice. The reason for not selecting other substitutes may also desire to be explained. Your final endorsement must flow reasonably from other case analysis and must clearly state what suppositions were brought in use to reach your conclusion.
With the example of a business case, it gets easy to know how case study analysis actually works:
The case in point:
The challenges:
The measures:
The results:
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