Reporting Case Study Research

Conceptual Overview and Discussion

For the case researcher, probably the greatest factor that will influence the form of the case report will be the intended audience for the case. Because the results of case research may be of interest to a wide range of audience types—for example, other academic specialists within a field of study or discipline, organizational or public policy practitioners, or students—their interests and needs will be different. It is these differences that should drive how the case is written up and that will determine what information or information subsets (e.g., methodology, analytics, discussion, and results) from the research will need to be included or emphasized in the reporting of the case. If the research is being presented to members of an academic audience, who are already familiar with the methodology being used within the case, their interest will normally be in how the particulars of the case relate to the larger body of related research. On the other hand, it is likely that public policy or organizational practitioners will be more interested in what concrete or practical lessons may be drawn from the case rather than the case's contribution to an abstract body of theory. For students, the focus will likely be on how the case material relates to a body of theory and how the case may inform them concerning the application of theory in a reallife setting. In any event, the audience's interest for particular types of information needs must be kept foremost in the mind of the researcher, whether he or she is writing for fellow academics, students, or managers.

Regardless of the audience, however, it must be recognized that it is the nature of case research itself that provides one of the greatest challenges to the researcher for the writing up and reporting of his or her research. Because each case is relatively unique, case research by its nature is not amenable to rote or formulaic approaches to reporting. “Standard” or “proprietary” formats that are used in other forms of research, for example, experimental or quantitative survey-based research as published in journals, are not likely to be suitable for most case reports. This is why case researchers have a wider latitude and a greater range of choice for the form and format of their case reports. However, this latitude comes with a price for the case researcher: Unlike the formulaic constraints that may exist for other types of research reporting, for the case researcher this task is much more complex and demanding.

Although the writing up or reporting of case research is actually the last stage in the case [Page 807]research process, researchers may (and, many would argue, should) engage in the writing of the case earlier in the research cycle. Although the process of writing up from the beginning is a demanding and challenging one, this type of approach ensures that, for the researcher, the case material—whether thoughts, ideas, data summary, or synthesis—is not forgotten or missed when he or she is reporting the results of the case research. In addition, the act of writing up the case as the research moves forward often aids in the execution of the research itself; it forces the researcher to be reflexive concerning the case, its aim, and the knowledge to be found within or drawn from the case. It also avoids placing the researcher in a position of “where to start” once all the data have been gathered and the analysis completed, thus militating against a condition of writer's block.

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