The Case Writer's Toolkit

June Gwee

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9789811071720
• eBook ISBN: 9789811071737
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Counseling in Career Development
• Index: Psychology

This book deconstructs the case study, describes the case writing process and explains how a good case study is composed. It is a reference book that accompanies case writers on their case writing journey. It serves as a guide for writers to develop case studies for teaching, research, and knowledge-capture. There are illustrations and charts to help writers visualise concepts, signpost ideas, break down complex information and apply techniques in a practical manner.

Part IFunction

© The Author(s) 2018

June GweeThe Case Writer’s Toolkithttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-7173-7_1

Begin Abstract

1. Introduction

June Gwee¹

(1)

Asian Business Case Centre, College of Business (Nanyang Business School), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore

There is never just one path.

End Abstract

Telling real-life, non-fiction stories requires skill and craft which are the critical tools that case writers need to draw from their toolkit. The case writer’s toolkit contains five tools to design and compose effective case studies. These are the Writer’s Compass , Case Roundel , Research Rhombus , Case Jigsaw , and Chronicler’s Rune . I’ve chosen geometric figures to depict each of these tools for two reasons. First, geometric figures are formed simply by a combination of lines and points on a single plane or space. There is technical precision, mathematical accuracy and conceptual balance in the formation of each geometric figure which symbolises the scientific aspect of a case writer’s tool. At the same time, the geometric figures are versatile because they can be combined to form other geometric shapes. For example, by flattening a circle, you get an oval, and putting two isosceles triangles together, a quadrilateral is formed. This is the writer’s creative craft—using imagination, knowledge and mastery of his/her tools to create an effective piece of work.

The circle, quadrilateral and triangle are the main geometric shapes in our world. By manipulating these three basic shapes, artists can sketch almost anything they see around them. Likewise for case writers, these three shapes are the building blocks of their toolkit for writing engaging and meaningful case studies. Hence, the case writer’s toolkit is a kaleidoscope (Fig. 1.1) of the Writer’s Compass, Case Roundel, Research Rhombus, Case Jigsaw and Chronicler’s Rune. The toolkit is dynamic, creative and alive, representing the writer’s skill , craft and imagination to compose an engaging case study.

Fig. 1.1

The case writer’s toolkit

1.1 Defining the Case Study

Before we examine and use each of these tools, we need to answer a fundamental question—‘what is a case study?’. This is an important question because to know how to write a case study, you must first understand its function .

The case study can serve different purposes. Depending on how you intend to use it, the case study can be defined in many ways (see Table 1.1).

Table 1.1

Case study definitions

Howard Husock (1997) in An Outline for Casewriters and Case Teachers, Kennedy School of Government A teaching case is a story describing or based on actual events that justifies careful study and analysis by students. For example, of a crisis in foreign policy decision-making . Like any story, a case presents a conflict , typically the tension between alternative courses of action that bring different viewpoints, interests and values into contention and that must be resolved by a decision.^1	Robert K. Yin (1984) in Case Study Research: Design and Methods A case study is an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context, especially when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident. The case study inquiry copes with the technically distinctive situation in which there will be many more variables of interest than data points, and as one result relies on multiple sources of evidence, with data needing to converge in a triangulating fashion, and as another result benefits from the prior development of theoretical propositions to guide data collection and analysis.^2	Colorado State University Case study refers to the collection and presentation of detailed information about a particular participant or small group, frequently including the accounts of subjects themselves. A form of qualitative descriptive research , the case study looks intensely at an individual or small participant pool, drawing conclusions only about that participant or group and only in that specific context .^3
Rolf Johansson (2003) in Case Study Methodology A case is a phenomenon specific to time and space.^4		William Naumes and Margaret J. Naumes (2012) in The Art & Craft of Case Writing A case is a factual description of events that happened at some point in the past.^5
Carnegie Mellon University Case studies are stories . They present realistic, complex and contextually rich situations and often involve a dilemma, conflict, or problem that one or more of the characters in the case must negotiate.^6	John S. Hammond (2009) in Learning by the Case Method Cases show actual problems and decisions that a company has faced.^7	Merriam-Webster Dictionary A published report about a person, group, or situation that has been studied over time. A situation in real life that can be looked at or studied to learn about something.^8
Hong Kong University Case study is a learning practice that shifts the emphasis from lecture-based activities to more student-based activities.^9	University of New South Wales A case study is an account of an activity, event or problem that contains a real or hypothetical situation and includes the complexities you would encounter in the workplace. Case studies are used to help you see how the complexities of real life influence decisions.^10	Stanford University In general terms, case studies can assess the applications of concepts to complex real-world situations, including building analytical skills that distinguish high priority from low priority elements.^11

From these definitions, a case study can be a story, a report, a research method, a tool for teaching and an assessment method. For this toolkit, I will use this definition of a case study:

A case study is an objective account of real events in a complex environment where a person, organisation or country faces dilemmas and conflicts. The case study provides insights, challenges the thinking of readers and engages them to critically think or act on the issues discussed in the case study.

1.1.1 Case Vignettes and Case Scenarios

Case vignettes and case scenarios are variants of case studies. A case vignette can ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Front Matter
• Part I. Function
• Part II. Process
• Part III. Form
• Part IV. Craft
• Part V. Composition
• Part VI. Teach
• Back Matter