Case study examples

A case study is an in-depth investigation of a single case or instance in a real context -- a single person, a patient, a group, a notable event, a community, a program, a government policy, an agency, an organization, a business, or other entity. It allows for detailed, qualitative exploration of complex events or phenomena. The data involved are often gathered from observations, interviews, online data about the subject of study, or other methods. others in the field.

This page contains some possible topic areas for case study research, some general suggestions, and examples of actual case studies from different fields.

1 Possible topics

Generally, a case study can involve an in-depth analysis of any kind of individual or entity, such as...

• a company or business (of any country), or one of its activities (e.g., a merger, acquisition, expansion into a new market, marketing strategy)
• an organization, institute, or institution 
• a non-governmental organization (NGO), charity, non-profit organization, or community service organization  
• a governmental / intergovernmental organization (such as UNESCO, the UN, World Bank)
• a government agency
• a government program
• a school, university, or educational institution 
• a department or major of a particular university
• an educational program (at a particular school or educational institution, or from a particular organization or agency)
• a community service program
• an individual subject, e.g., a teacher or learner (educational study), an employee or manager (business study) or a patient (health study) - Note: This requires sufficient academic training and expertise, such as advanced research-oriented students who are familiar with qualitative research
• A particular teaching method or approach in a particular context (e.g., a particular EFL/ESL teaching method; how a particular type of literature is taught)
• The learning experiences of a particular group of students / learners (in a progam, major, department, or such a context)
• The experiences of a particular teacher / group of teachers at a particular educational institution
• The opinions or experiences of a particular group of consumers / users of a product, service, or company

Your analysis might focus on one or more of the following types.

• an evaluation (e.g., the effectiveness of a company, program, or activity)
• a problem / solution or analysis of a problem or challenge that the entity has faced, is facing, or will likely face
• a challenge (past, present, or likely future challenge) for this entity / program
• an analysis, evaluation, or problem-solution paper based on a model (like the STAR model), theory, or framework in your field
• reasons for an entity's success or failure (past or present)
• the likely prospects of an entity or program, e.g., its potential for failure or success
• suggestions for what a company or entity should do (e.g., for a specific challenge, or for its future)
• an interview, survey or questionnaire study of a particular group of persons (e.g., students, teachers, stakeholders)

Some general suggestions

• Evaluating a company's performance and/or future prospects; evaluating one of its product lines, its marketing strategies, its management practices, or any particualr aspect of the company. You will probably need to use trade journals, business magazines, official company websites, official reports, government data, etc. as sources.
• Evaluating an NGO, community service program, government service, government agency, intergovernmental program (e.g., WHO, UNESCO...), educational program, etc. * Evaluating a specific university, college, public school, educational program, degree program, department, or such; or how a particular subject is taught, say, at universities in a particular country.
• A specific government policy, educational policy, or such.
• For such topics, as sources you will need to use some of the following: official websites (company or instituional sites), official publications (from relevant entities), official reports, white papers, official documents, government data, business news articles, official data / statistics, data from government agencies / websites, articles from professional publications, and maybe relevant academic studies, among others.
• Qualitative research, such as interview, survey or questionnaire studies, require some knowledge of a relevant model, theory, or research methods, and/or enough knowledge of a particular field that you know what you are doing.

Some general ideas

• Company X's rise and grown in a particualr market; Company X's current strategy or peformance in a particular market; the success (and future) of product line X from Company Y
• Business, management or leadership practices at Company / Entity X; the leadership and management style of Company X / Organization X
• A particular degree program at a particular university
• Problems with a community project in City X
• Needs or problems of a particular agency (governmental / intergovernmental) or NGO
• English-medium instruction program(s) at a particular university, or at universities in a particular country
• How literature is taught in language departments at Korean universities
• The life of a famous author (poet, novelist, etc.) and how his/her life shaped his/her writings
• How a city or province can better promote itself, e.g., by attracting more tourism or businesses
• How a particular university can improve its image, or attract more international students, or promote itself, or attract more research funds
• How a particular university (or universities in one area or country) can better prepare students for the job market
• A specific governmental policy or program
• Focused interviews (e.g., consumers of a product, students in a school or program)
• A group project of two or more people (in that case, the length requirement for the paper is per person)

Research question

The idea then needs to be formulated as a specific research question, like one of these. This is in the format of a wh-question (who, when, what, why, where, or how), or occasionally, a yes/no question, like one of these.

• How did AMD regain its market share in the consumer chip market?
• How effectively has a particular community program helped prevent the spread of HIV in X City?
• Why did the Microsoft Zune fail?
• How can Mozilla regain its market share in the browser market?
• How effectively is a particular program meeting the needs of its students?
• What impact does marijuana use have on students at X community college?
• Is company X's website well designed for customers who shop at their online store?

East Asian companies

For students interested in South Korean and other Asian firms, one of these firms, or one of its divisions, would make for interesting topics. Specifically, a specific division, business trend, or product line of such a company would be a valid topic.

1. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (China): A multinational conglomerate specializing in e-commerce, retail, internet, and technology, with e-commerce platforms like Alibaba.com, Taobao, and Tmall.
2. Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (South Korea): A major conglomerate consisting of several divisions for microelectronics and consumer electronics. Besides a large number of consumer products, they are a major manufacturer of computer memory and storage media.
3. Tencent Holdings Ltd. (China): A technology conglomerate with divisions for social media, gaming, entertainment, fintech, and cloud services, including WeChat and QQ.
4. SoftBank Group Corp. (Japan): A multinational conglomerate involved in telecommunications, internet services, robotics, and venture capital investments.
5. Xiaomi Corporation (China): A technology company known for its smartphones, smart devices, and internet services.
6. Hyundai Motor Group (S. Korea): A leading conglomerate that includes Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation, and other companies.
7. SK Group (S. Korea): One of the largest conglomerates in South Korea, spanning various sectors like energy, chemicals, telecommunications, and semiconductors. Its subsidiary, SK Innovation, works on electric vehicle (EV) battery production and renewable energy.
8. LG Corporation (S. Korea): A multinational conglomerate with various business units like electronics, chemicals, and telecommunications. A major subsidiary is LG Electronics, known for its consumer electronics.
9. Naver Corporation (S. Korea): A major technology company, primarily known for its internet services and platforms, including the Naver search engine, online portal, and various digital services; it also works on artificial intelligence (AI), e-commerce, and fintech.
10. Coupang (S. Korea): A Korean e-commerce company that has experienced rapid growth in recent years, the so-called "Amazon of South Korea" due to its online shopping platform.

2 Case study examples

The following is a collection of case studies from various areas. Note that some of these are more professional or academic in quality, while others are not so, and may be good examples, but not worth citing in your own college paper.

2.1 Business

1. [1] E-business development for competitive advantages: a case study
2. [2] Business analytics and business value: A comparative case study
3. [3] Research Strategies for Small Business: A Case Study Approach
4. [4] A business sustainability model: a European case study
5. [5] Assessing supply chain management success factors: A case study
6. [6] A Case Study of Hilton Environmental Reporting as a Tool of Corporate Social Responsibility
7. [7] Corporate Social Responsibility in Hospitality: Issues and Implications. A Case Study of Scandic
8. [8] Stakeholders' Influences on Corporate Green Innovation Strategy: A Case Study of Manufacturing Firms in China

2.1.1 Marketing

1. [9] Marketing via social media: A case study
2. [10] Is standardisation of marketing feasible in culture-bound industries: A European case study
3. [11] The Evaluation of Marketing Mix Elements: A Case Study
4. [12] Collaborative destination marketing: A case study of Elkhart county, Indiana

2.1.2 Management

1. [13] The Effects of Types of Training on Support of Training Among Corporate Managers
2. [14] Corporate Sustainability Indicators: an Australian Mining Case Study

2.2 Health & fitness

1. [15] Case study using best practice design principles for workplace wellness programs
2. [16] Effectiveness of a Wearable Fitness Tracker: Practice Implications actice Implications in Allied Health
3. [17] Monitoring Training Load, Well-Being, Heart Rate Variability, and Competitive Performance of a Functional-Fitness Female Athlete: A Case Study
4. [18] Biomarker development in the precision medicine era: lung cancer as a case study
5. [19] A Case Study of Personalized Medicine
6. [20] The Diversity Snowball Effect: The Quest to Increase Diversity in Emergency Medicine: A Case Study of Highland's Emergency Medicine Residency Program
7. [21] The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on medicine security in Africa: Nigeria as a case study
8. [22] The McMaster M.D. program: A case study of renewal in medical education
9. [23] Putting conflict management into practice: A nursing case study

2.2.1 Health & fitness companies

1. [24] Examining the development, delivery and measurement of service quality in the fitness industry: A case study
2. [25] Towards a geography of fitness: an ethnographic case study of the gym in British bodybuilding culture
3. [26] Individual Case Study: An In Depth Look into LA Fitness

2.3 Social sciences

2.3.1 Anthropology

1. [27] Anthropology and Advocacy: A Case Study of the Campaign against the Ok Tedi Mine
2. [28] Aborigines and Tin Mining in North Queensland: A Case Study in the Anthropology of Contact History
3. [29] Law and Anthropology: A Case Study in Inter-Disciplinary Collaboration

2.3.2 Sociology

1. [30] Embeddedness as a multilevel problem: A case study in economic sociology
2. [31] Curriculum Assessment: A Case Study in Sociology
3. [32] The sociology of warabamdi: A case study from Pakistan

2.3.3 Urban studies

1. [33] Dynamic Busan”: Envisioning a global hub city in Korea
2. [34] Festival Management: A Case Study Perspective

2.4 Education

1. [35] The Learning Experience of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education. A case study of a UK university
2. [36] Reflection and teacher education: A case study and theoretical analysis
3. [37] E-learning platforms in higher education
4. [38] A Case Study of Students' Frustrations with a Web-Based Distance Education
5. [39] Achieving balance in decentralization: A case study of education decentralization in Chile
6. [40] English-medium instruction in Chinese higher education: a case study
7. [41] Knowledge Management and Higher Education: A UK Case Study

2.4.1 Language education

1. [42] From the imagined to the practiced: A case study on novice EFL teachers' professional identity change in China
2. [43] Exploring the use of educational technology in EFL teaching: A case study of primary education in the southern region of Ecuador
3. [44] Using augmented-reality-based mobile learning material in EFL English composition: An exploratory case study
4. [45] Virtual Workspaces for Enhancing Collaborative Work in EFL Learning: A Case Study in Higher Education
5. [46] Contexts and Policy Reform: A Case Study of EFL Teaching in a High School in Japan
6. [47] Factors influencing EFL students’ motivation in online learning: A qualitative case study

3 See also

1. Rashid Y, Rashid A, Warraich MA, Sabir SS, Waseem A. Case Study Method: A Step-by-Step Guide for Business Researchers. International Journal of Qualitative Methods. January 2019. http://doi:10.1177/1609406919862424
2. Informal case study examples (Hoffman Marketing Coummunications)
3. Case studies
4. Doing case studies
5. Professional sources