Case Study
The fundamental objective of the case studies is to know and understand the particularity of a situation to distinguish how the parties work and the relationships with the whole.
Definition of case study
Case study is the set of actions that are executed to know the market response (Target (demand) and suppliers, competition (offer)) before a product or service.
Supply and demand are analyzed, as well as prices and distribution channels.
The objective of any case study must be to end up having a clear vision of the characteristics of the product or service that you want to introduce in the market, and an exhaustive knowledge of the interlocutors of the sector along with all the necessary expertise for a pricing and marketing policy.
With a good case study, we should be clear about the geographic and temporal distribution of the demand market. Which is the target with a complete profile, (sex, age, income, preferences, etc.), which has historically been the behavior of demand and what projection is expected, especially if your products or services come to provide added value and competitive advantages? What can revolutionize the sector, the offer.
Price analysis and its evolution of the different competitors or geographical boundaries.
Regarding the competition, we will need a minimum of data, who are and for each one of them turnover volumes, market share, evolution, employees, production costs, etc. everything we can collect.
The objectives of a case study can be classified into:
Exploratory objectives : whose results are used to formulate a question to start an investigation,
Descriptive objectives: help to describe and better understand a particular case,
Explanatory objectives: guide to facilitate the interpretation of the evidence .33
The case studies are characterized by being:
Particularist: intensively and deeply studies a phenomenon.
Descriptive: differentiates the parts that make up the whole.
Heuristic: creates new meanings to expand experiences.
Inductive: discover relationships and generate a hypothesis.
Types of case studies
The typologies of case studies are classified by objective (Stake) or by their functions in education (Merriam).
The types of case studies by objectives are classified into:
Intrinsic case study: gives a greater understanding of the phenomenon.
Instrumental case study: provides greater clarity in the theoretical aspect.
Collective case study: investigate the phenomena through the deepening of multiple cases.
The types of case studies in education are of character:
Descriptive:
cases that describe a situation or phenomenon.
Interpretive: cases that reinforce the theoretical side or help to theorize.
Evaluative: cases that guide and help make a decision or the formulation of a program.
Phases an example of a case study
The case studies focus on the following steps:
Selection and definition of the case: “María is an exemplary student, but her grades have dropped in the last quarter.”
List of questions: Why have Maria’s grades dropped? What is the direct cause? What is her family situation? Have other unusual behaviors occurred in María?
Location of the source of the data: family, relatives, friends, teachers, bibliography.
Analysis and interpretation: María has felt unmotivated since her brother was admitted to the hospital. Maria is the older sister and was very close to her brother. The family works all day, and Maria must take care of herself.
Preparation of a report: describes the processes, details, conclusions of the case. Case studies in research projects usually follow the structure of a research protocol.
Who participates in a case study and what are the steps?
Depending on the depth of the investigation and the resources available, the equipment and partners of the case study will be increased or reduced.
In an ambitious case study with the necessary resources, you should have the following participants who would act in order of presentation.
First of all, he is a consultant, adviser or entrepreneur capable and responsible for the creation of a strategic and marketing plan — the one who orders the investigation to a research institute.
This (the institute) carries out, depending on the objectives and resources, a research plan that identifies the information needs and the form of recruitment. Usually, secondary sources that are rigorous, transparent and effective in their methodology and results should be analyzed in depth to incorporate this information into market research.
The most suitable thing is also to design a road map to collect through direct surveys (primary sources) the most specific information and that we lack.
Also, it is usually necessary to specify some data or initial conclusions with qualitative analysis, small groups or direct interview with the most valid interlocutors (clients, suppliers, competence)
To this end, the research institute designs one or several questionnaires and models of interviews in the case of qualitative research.
Once everything is finished, the research institute passes the needs of surveys to a field company, the company that conducts the surveys. These entities usually have panels or groups of people willing to answer inquiries or access to them. They also typically have teams of physical interviewers and telemarketing with call centers specialized in studies.
Once the field company has the results of the survey or surveys, it passes this data to an operating company, independent and rigorous that makes the exploitation of data (graphics, documents, bbdd, etc.). These organizations are called calculation companies.
Finally, the research institute receives the results of the surveys already exploited by the calculation company, proceeding to analyze the results and create the report for the consultant or client.
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