But within the framework of qualitative approaches it is essential to develop the aspects of interpretation—the categories—as closely as possible to the material, and to formulate them in terms of the material. Having its origin in navigation, military strategy and geodetic surveying, the term triangulation in social research is used in a less literal sense to describe the use of multiple methods and measures of an empirical phenomenon cf. Article Summary To do a case study, start by defining the subject and goal of your study and then getting ethical approval from the institution or department you're working under. The content analysis of qualitative research data: A dynamic approach. The whole point to this exercise is to learn how to make good decisions, and having imperfect information is normal for most business decisions, not the exception. Students tend to find the concept of key decision criteria very confusing, so you will probably find that you re-write them several times as you analyze the case.
For instance, a case study of a person with depression, designed to help communicate the subjective experience of depression to therapist trainees. Describe the structure and size of the main business under consideration. Unclear communication could be a breach of ethics, or could cause a participant to walk out partway through the study, wasting a great deal of time. Ask what mental and emotional associations they have with the subject of your study, whether it's a medical condition, an event, or another topic. The purpose here is to thoroughly understand the situation and the decisions that will need to be made. Using the information you gathered in step one, continue by examining and making a list of the value creation functions of the company.
Recommendations are directed at solving whatever strategic problem the company is facing and at increasing its future profitability. A case study focuses on a single individual, a small group of people, or occasionally a single event. One of the primary reasons for doing the short cycle process is to give you an indication of how much work will need to be done to prepare the case study properly. Make a list of problems that have occurred and note the effects they have had on the company. This step also involves a great look at the conclusions made about the problems.
Here, you look at the management, employees, finances, ownership, history and other things. As a matter of fact, its quantitative counterpart—classical content analysis—is repeatedly mentioned as a method of analyzing data in the context of conducting case study research cf. Use common sense and comparisons to industry standards when making judgements as to the meaning of your answers to avoid jumping to conclusions. Depending on the total length of your case study, you might hold an interview weekly, once every month or two, or just once or twice a year. Often, however, the person writing these will not have a marketing background.
Draw from class discussions, readings, and personal experience. You may be asked to prove that the case study does no harm to its participants. Students learn, often unconsciously, how to evaluate a problem, how to make decisions, and how to orally argue a point of view. Learn how to conduct obtrusive observation. Qualitative content analysis takes a holistic and comprehensive approach towards analyzing data material and thus achieves to almost completely grasp and cover the complexity of the social situations examined and social data material derived from them.
What you are demanded to do in a case study analysis is to analyze and not to prescribe. Your contribution is important, and is likely a part of your evaluation for the course. Make sure you read the case study several times. Notes 1 I am indebted to an anonymous reviewer for pointing this fact out to me. Prospective case studies perform new studies of their own, involving individuals or small groups.
With this kind of an assignment, write effectively and avoid fluff. How to cite a case study and create a Title Page A case study is like a research paper when it comes to citations. Triangulation in organizational research: A re-presentation. What are the immediate issues that need to be addressed? When you are evaluating, you must ensure 100% honesty by not allowing some personal opinions becloud your judgment of the situation. Content analysis in communication research. What is your point of view and how does it affect your analysis? This helps to differentiate between issues that can be resolved within the context of the case, and those that are bigger issues that needed to addressed at a another time preferably by someone else! Does it follow a logical chain of arguments? The entire case study should divide into about three to five sections. Review the case questions if they have been provided.
Identify the costs and benefits of each alternative. The purpose here is to thoroughly understand the situation and the decisions that will need to be made. What is the urgency to the situation? For maximum effectiveness, it is essential that you do all three components. Still having trouble crafting a case study? How would the analysis of this case relate to an issue or problem in your own setting? It is this combination that fosters its strong ability to deal with complexity. Included in these cases are questions to help you understand and analyze the case. Do they occur because of bad strategy formulation or because of bad strategy implementation? After reading and referring back to your original bullet points, you may find that the data reacts in a surprising manner. To see an annotated sample of a Case Study Analysis, click.
To create this article, 21 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Read the case several times to become familiar with the information it contains. Manning School of Business Administration is no exception. Prospective case studies perform new studies of their own, involving individuals or small groups. However, he fails to go into greater detail concerning this matter. This is all the theory that your instructor has discussed in class along with other readings. Die Praxis der Qualitativen Inhaltsanalyse.
Which factors in the macroenvironment will appear salient depends on the specific company being analyzed. This article has also been viewed 311,075 times. Invent and feature a thesis statement, summarizing the results of your investigation in 1-2 sentences. Crowd definition can help you make a decision as to what to include in the report predicated on what readers should be aware to do their jobs better or what the readers must understand to improve their understanding of your topic. When you have these tools, then you must observe the following tips. Use the Short Cycle Process to familiarize yourself with the case. Analyzing the case should take the following steps: 1.