CASE STUDY

DR. MAHESWARI JAIKUMAR

DEFINITION Research on a phenomenon by

studying in depth a single case example.

The case can be an individual person, an event, a group or an institution.

FEATURES• Are an in depth examination of

people, places, or institutions.

• ROBSON defines case study as “the development of detailed, intensive knowledge about a single “case” or a small number of related cases”

• Case studies are more considered as qualitative studies.• How ever they could be either

qualitative or quantitative. • (Based on the purpose of the

study & the phenomenon under study)

• Case study is of particular interest if the investigator wishes

to gain a rich understanding of the context of the research & it’s processes.

DATA COLLECTION METHODS

The data collection methods include

1.Observation. 2.Personal interview.

ANALYSIS• Analysis in a case study design

does not involve sophisticated quantitative & statistics.• The stress is more on the

quantitative analysis of collected data.

APPLICATION IN NURSING• Case study methodology is used

since a long time for in – depth study of a single patient or a group of patients, to generate knowledge to solve nursing problems of patients suffering with specific disease conditions.

E.g.., How a pregnant women

manage pain during delivery process.

EXAMPLE A case study on the organization

& functioning of a multispecialty hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.