professional case study writers

professional case study writers

The Art of Crafting Compelling Case Studies: A Comprehensive Guide for Professional Writers

1. Introduction to Case Studies

In the most basic sense, a case study is essentially a story. These narratives typically take one of two forms, either descriptive or illustrative. Descriptive case studies examine how circumstances unfold in a specific fashion, usually describing the progression of a condition or event over time. Illustrative case studies, meanwhile, are used to support, clarify, or warn against something, such as in situations when evidence from clinical practice settings can help a clinician to consider risk factors or other issues influencing a patient’s health problem. As stories, case studies are communicative tools that people use for a variety of reasons, but in all cases, they share several characteristics.

Real-world experience, practice-based evidence, and the lived experiences of individuals inform the stories we use as case studies. We draw on these experiences when we use case studies to illustrate the real-world events that unfold throughout the life span of a patient. In doing so, we give life to more than just the patient; we draw on other characters that are affected by the patient’s story (for instance, friends and family members). These stories portray real-world dilemmas, situations or conditions and are governed by the uncertainty caused by factors beyond what is minimally known, creating infinite plot possibilities dependent on influential factors. Finally, these stories – just as they would in real life – require us to critically determine what information to include and how to reveal it. We often shape case study reports about people or events for very specific reasons, such as professional development, teaching, training and vicarious learning, marketing and fundraising, recording and sending messages, resolution of legal dilemmas, and information gathering and sharing.

2. Understanding the Purpose and Audience of Case Studies

Understanding the purpose and audience of a case study

Primary objectives: The two primary objectives of a case study are to tell a compelling, educational story about how your company has solved a customer’s problem and to make potential customers more comfortable purchasing from you (or your client). Additionally, a case study is an informative document that tells how your company improved a customer’s business by providing your product or service.

Tailoring case studies to the audience: People make purchasing decisions based on certain criteria, some of which are objective and some of which are subjective. If you understand what each of your audience’s criteria is and make sure your case studies address those criteria, you will create compelling content where none existed before. For example, a CEO may only care about a return on investment, make-or-break ROI. It ought to be the 30th question in your discovery interviews. Your case study should head straight to the bottom line.

Write them with a purpose in mind: When you start working on a case study, ask yourself what you want its readers to feel, believe, or do when they have finished reading it. Then make sure you write your case study in a way that will achieve your aim. For instance, if you want the readers to feel reassured about purchasing from you, spend time painting a picture of the problems the customer was facing, the damage those problems were causing to their business, and the stress those problems were causing to the customer.

3. Research and Data Collection Techniques

When you have clarity on your audience and know what problems your case study will solve for them, you’re ready to hit the ground running. The first step is to begin gathering the raw materials you’ll need for your case. In this section, we’ll cover the essential aspects of research for case study development and the basics of choosing the data collection methods that are right for you.

Research Technique and Data Collection There are as many research techniques as there are answers you’re trying to find, because each question we’re looking to answer calls for a different query. Here’s a basic rundown of the various research methodologies. There is, of course, considerable overlap and mixing between these methods, and they do not function in a vacuum. You may use several methods or a combination of methods according to the needs of your project. Here are some types of research techniques:

– Descriptive research: The purpose of descriptive research is to describe a phenomenon, not to explain why it occurs. In other words, with descriptive research, one can answer what, when, and how. Researchers tend to use surveys (questionnaires) or case studies to obtain a snapshot of the current state of affairs.

– Ethnographic research: Ethnographic research is a qualitative method where researchers observe and/or interact with a study’s participants in natural settings. Ethnographers study people, cultures, and communities. In this method, researchers spend time in the field learning about a culture of a group of people. For instance, researchers interested in learning about the Amish culture might shadow a family as they go about their day-to-day activities. The goal of ethnography is to investigate a group, location, family, society, or community from the inside. Ethnographic research sheds light on the dynamics that influence activities and relationships in a society.

– Explanatory research: This type of research is used to explain a phenomenon. Explanatory research assumes that people are more complex than what can be determined by simple investigation (i.e. descriptive research). With explanatory research, researchers address why by testing various hypotheses to ascertain what variables are best suited for explaining an outcome.

– Experimental research: Experimental research is a form of research that involves incredibly specific conditions. This type of research is done in a controlled environment by assembling a sample of participants who fit a predetermined criteria. Not only that, but participants are then randomly (random assignment) placed into control or experimental groups. In experimental research, the researcher manipulates aspects of the experimental group and then compares the experimental group to the control group(s).

Given all of these types of research techniques, the case study is most commonly a descriptive qualitative study. Because it draws on real-life experiences, many data sources, and interviews, case study research methods are most likely to use a descriptive design. However, as mentioned, qualitative research methods are complex and include other types of research as well, such as exploratory, explanatory, phenomenological, could be theoretical, etc. Also, ethnography, phenomenological, or grounded theory approaches are also common in case study scenarios. They can capture different aspects of a phenomenon. In all these, however, at least one type of data can also be quantitative. For instance, experiments, case-control studies, and cohort studies can be both quantitative and qualitative. Each method has its own specific advantages and is very useful depending on the question. In this post, we blow things up descriptively to gain a thorough understanding of the field and types of things you can do. We hope you find it helpful!

4. Structuring and Writing an Effective Case Study

The structure of an effective case study

Since this is the section where you explain what your paper does, you should clarify for your reader how and why you will present your analysis in the way you do. Use subheadings to guide your readers through your paper and alert them to the main issues that you will be addressing. The headings and structure suggested in your analysis also demonstrate good practices that you should adopt and submit as a model for others to follow. As such, your paper will address the following:

– Background: What should your reader know before reading your analysis? – Setting the Stage: What specific issues regarding the problem you are investigating? – Initiating the Caring Circle: If you report primary research, describe the methods and procedures that were used in this section. – Making Sense of the Problem: What does your analysis focus on? Outline the main facts and evidence that you have gathered, and provide a concise analysis in order to explain what you think you have found. If necessary, consider organizational subheadings and bullet points to list your findings, showing how they pertain to the main idea.

Writing an effective case study

– Tip one: Make clear the contribution. You should have a clear sense of what part the case plays in your overall argument before you begin to write. In other words, it should not be simply an illustrative anecdote, but a carefully worked example that arises from the argument and develops it in important ways. The challenge is working out what this important way is, and then conveying it to the reader.

5. Enhancing Case Studies with Visuals and Data Visualization

Enhancing case studies with visuals and data visualization: Once the copy is written, creating your case study conclusion.

Visuals say more than words can. Where to place visuals depends on the design of the whole case study. Most hallway conversation readers truly want their eyes to flow smoothly through a case study. And yet, when the page is open, their eyes do not go first to the visuals. They go to the narrative beneath the image.

Second, when a page is turned, if there is a new presentation of information underneath the first block of text, the reader’s eye does not head straight for the next bit of body copy. It goes to the image and reads or internally digests in that block first. At the end of the image narrative, the eye goes back up and back to the start of the line that was interrupted.

The two places that make the most sense for a visual aid when dealing with case studies are first, bullet-tized “Hard Facts” and/or “Results,” and second, “So What?” “Take Aways” or “Lessons Learned.”

It can be very effective to have these points presented visually (bar chart, etc.) next to the text that introduces them. This is similar to a one-chart-even-the-New-York-Times-will-benefit use of a visual. The key is implied beneath the level of chart detail. What you are doing in placing these ‘strategic’ visuals is helping the reader decipher, categorize, create order in their memory and habits of days and life.

Is this your job? Well? Yes! Your greater end-goal is not to have written, or had written, a compelling story about a particular business providing so-and-so widget, or service. It is to persuade them to believe in you and your products enough that they buy, and buy again, and tell their friends to buy. Remember “the ‘so what’ phenomenon?” Again and again, what you write, and all that you write builds to this moment. How YOU deal with the “so what” will play a role in your ultimate success.

Data visualization will change with the times, and will change with technology. Today, can anything hold a stick to flow charts, bar charts, and pie graphs?