> Markdown rendering of https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/case-study-research/. The index of every agent-readable page on this site is at https://www.thesisai.io/llms.txt. [ Back to the archive ](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/) Megosztás [ Try ThesisAI ](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/chat/) Methodology November 14, 2026 11 min read # Case Study Research: Types, Examples and How to Do One A case study looks at one thing, or a few, in enough depth to explain how and why something happens there. Done well it is one of the most convincing designs a student can use; done loosely it reads as a long description with no argument. J Jonas Berger _· M. Sc._ Link másolása Print What's inside On this page Progress 0% Case studies are everywhere in business, education, health, policy and engineering theses, partly because they fit a student timeline and partly because organisations are often willing to be studied. The difference between a strong and a weak case study is almost always in the design decisions made before any data is collected. This post covers what counts as a case study, the main types, how to select and bound a case, which data to collect, how to analyse it, and how to structure the write-up. ## What a Case Study Is A case study is an in-depth investigation of a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundary between phenomenon and context is not clear (Yin, 2018). The "case" can be a person, an organisation, a project, a policy, an event or a community. What makes it a case study is not the size of the sample but the depth, the use of several sources of evidence, and the attention to context. ## Types of Case Study Type| Purpose| Example question ---|---|--- **Exploratory**| Investigate something little understood, often before a larger study| How do small farms decide whether to adopt drone monitoring? **Descriptive**| Give a detailed account of a phenomenon in context| How is a hospital's new triage system used on night shifts? **Explanatory**| Explain how and why an outcome occurred| Why did the merger of two regional banks fail to deliver its savings? **Intrinsic**| The case itself is of interest| How did one city achieve zero homelessness? **Instrumental**| The case illuminates a wider issue| What does one firm's four-day week reveal about productivity measurement? **Multiple / comparative**| Compare several cases to find patterns| How do three universities implement the same AI policy differently? ### Write the case study chapter from your sources ThesisAI drafts complete academic documents with methodology, findings and discussion, and checks every citation against the paper it came from. [Kezdj el írni ](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/check-payment/) ## Selecting the Case The case must be chosen for a reason that supports the claim you want to make. "My employer agreed" is how you gained access, not why the case is informative. * **Typical case:** representative of many others, so findings are likely to apply more widely. * **Extreme or unusual case:** shows a phenomenon in its clearest form. * **Critical case:** if a theory fails here, where conditions are most favourable, it will fail elsewhere. * **Deviant case:** an exception to an established pattern, useful for refining theory. * **Revelatory case:** a situation previously inaccessible to researchers. ## Bounding the Case State what is inside the case and what is context, in time, place and scope. "The digital transformation of Company X" is unbounded. "The rollout of a new CRM system in Company X's sales department between January and December 2025" is a case. Drift beyond the boundary is the most common reason case studies grow unmanageable. A case study generalises to theory, not to a population. Say so explicitly, and say which theory, and the weakest-sounding objection to your design disappears. Analytic, not statistical, generalisation ## Data Sources Triangulation across sources is what gives a case study its strength. Aim for at least three of the following: * **Interviews** with people in different roles. * **Documents:** reports, minutes, emails, policies, strategy papers. * **Archival records:** performance data, budgets, service records. * **Direct observation** of meetings, work or events. * **Surveys** of a wider group within the case. * **Physical artefacts** such as products, tools or software. Our guide to [data collection methods](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/data-collection-methods/) covers each in detail. ## Analysing Case Study Data 1. **Build a case database.** Keep all notes, transcripts and documents organised and dated, so a reader could trace any claim to its evidence. 2. **Code the data.** [Thematic analysis](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/how-to-do-a-thematic-analysis/) is the usual starting point for qualitative material. 3. **Match patterns.** Compare what you found with what your theory predicted. 4. **Build an explanation.** For explanatory cases, assemble a causal story and test it against rival explanations. 5. **Construct a timeline** where sequence matters. 6. **Compare across cases** in multiple-case designs: analyse each case on its own first, then look for patterns across them. ## Structure of the Write-up 1. Introduction and problem 2. Literature review and theoretical lens 3. Methodology: why a case study, case selection, boundary, sources, analysis, ethics 4. Case description: the context a reader needs, kept short 5. Findings, organised by theme or research question, not by source 6. Discussion against the theory 7. Conclusion, with the limits on generalisation stated ## FAQs About Case Study Research ### Is a case study qualitative or quantitative? Usually qualitative, but it can use quantitative data or both. The design is defined by depth and context, not by the kind of data. See [qualitative vs quantitative research](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/qualitative-vs-quantitative-research/). ### How many cases do I need? One is enough if it is well chosen and justified. Multiple-case designs typically use two to four cases in a thesis. More than that and depth suffers. ### Can you generalise from a case study? Not statistically, to a population. You can generalise analytically, to a theory, and you can describe the conditions under which your findings are likely to hold elsewhere. ### Do I need to anonymise the organisation? Usually yes, unless the organisation has agreed in writing to be named. Even then, protect individual participants. Our post on [ethical considerations in research](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/ethical-considerations-in-research/) covers this. Pick a case for what it can teach you, draw a firm boundary around it, collect evidence from several sources and analyse it against a theory. That combination is what turns a case description into a case study an examiner will credit. § End · November 14, 2026 Was this useful? Actions Share post Link másolása Print page Topics #case-study #qualitative #research-design J Jonas Berger _· M. Sc._ [All posts](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/) ## Folytatás _reading._ [ All field notes ](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/) [ Methodology2026 Research Design The main designs compared, and how to choose yours. Read ](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/research-design/) [ Methodology2026 How to Do a Thematic Analysis The six phases, with coding examples. Read ](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/how-to-do-a-thematic-analysis/) [ Research2026 Data Collection Methods Six methods compared, with sample sizes and a decision table. Read ](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/blog/data-collection-methods/) ### A short note _every other Tuesday._ Research writing, citation practice, and the tools we're building. No marketing - unsubscribe with one click. By subscribing, you accept the [feltételeket és irányelveket](https://www.thesisai.io/hu/terms-and-policies/). NO SPAM · 2× MONTHLY