25-08-2017, 09:32 PM
A Guide for Designing and Conducting a Case Study for Evaluation Input
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What is a Case Study?
A case study is a story about something unique, special, or interesting—stories can be
about individuals, organizations, processes, programs, neighborhoods, institutions, and
even events.1 The case study gives the story behind the result by capturing what happened
to bring it about, and can be a good opportunity to highlight a project’s success, or to
bring attention to a particular challenge or difficulty in a project. Cases2 might be selected
because they are highly effective, not effective, representative, typical, or of special interest.
A few examples of case study topics are provided below—the case studies would describe
what happened when, to whom, and with what consequences in each case.
When is a Case Study Appropriate?
Case studies are appropriate when there is a unique or interesting story to be told. Case
studies are often used to provide context to other data (such as outcome data), offering a
more complete picture of what happened in the program and why.
What are the Advantages and Limitations of a Case Study?
The primary advantage of a case study is that it provides much more detailed information
than what is available through other methods, such as surveys. Case studies also allow one
to present data collected from multiple methods (i.e., surveys, interviews, document
review, and observation) to provide the complete story. There are a few limitations and
pitfalls however, each of which is described below.
Can be lengthy: Because they provide detailed information about the case in narrative form,
it may be difficult to hold a reader’s interest if too lengthy. In writing the case study, care
should be taken to provide the rich information in a digestible manner.
Concern that case studies lack rigor: Case studies have been viewed in the evaluation and
research fields as less rigorous than surveys or other methods. Reasons for this include the
fact that qualitative research in general is still considered unscientific by some and in many
cases, case study researchers have not been systematic in their data collection or have
allowed bias in their findings. In conducting and writing case studies, all involved should
use care in being systematic in their data collection and take steps to ensure validity3 and
reliability4 in the study.
What are Potential Sources of Information?
Case studies typically rely on multiple sources of information and methods to provide as
complete a picture as possible. Information sources could include:
• Project documents (including meeting minutes)
• Project reports, including quarterly reports, midterm reviews
• Monitoring visits
• Mystery client reports
• Facility assessment reports
• Interviews
• Questionnaire/survey results
• Evaluation reports
• Observation
• Other
What are the Elements of a Case Study?
Case studies do not have set elements that need to be included; the elements of each will
vary depending on the case or story chosen, the data collected, and the purpose (for
example, to illustrate a best case versus a typical case). However, case studies typically
describe a program or intervention put in place to address a particular problem.