Editing Case study (section)

{{Short description|In-depth, detailed examination of a particular case}}
A '''case study''' is an in-depth, detailed examination of a particular case (or cases) within a real-world context.<ref>{{cite book | last=Bromley | first=D. B. | title=The case-study method in psychology and related disciplines | publisher=Wiley | publication-place=Chichester | date=1986 | isbn=0-471-90853-3 | oclc=12235475}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | last1=Feagin | first1=Joe R. | last2=Orum | first2=Anthony M. | last3=Sjoberg | first3=Gideon | title=A Case for the case study | publisher=University of North Carolina Press | publication-place=Chapel Hill | date=1991 | isbn=0-8078-1973-5 | oclc=22909879}}</ref> For example, case studies in [[medicine]] may focus on an individual patient or ailment; case studies in [[business]] might cover a particular [[firm]]'s strategy or a broader [[Market (economics)|market]]; similarly, case studies in [[politics]] can range from a narrow happening over time like the operations of a specific [[political campaign]], to an enormous undertaking like [[world war]], or more often the [[policy analysis]] of real-world problems affecting multiple stakeholders.

Generally, a case study can highlight nearly any individual, group, organization, event, belief system, or action. A case study does not necessarily have to be one observation ([[Sample (statistics)|N]]=1), but may include many observations (one or multiple individuals and entities across multiple time periods, all within the same case study).<ref name=":11">{{Cite book|last=Geddes|first=Barbara|title=Paradigms and Sand Castles|date=2003|publisher=University of Michigan Press|isbn=978-0-472-09835-4|location=Ann Arbor, MI|pages=117|doi=10.3998/mpub.11910}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book|last1=King|first1=Gary|title=Designing Social Inquiry|last2=Keohane|first2=Robert O.|last3=Verba|first3=Sidney|date=1994|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=978-1-4008-2121-1|location=Princeton, New Jersey|pages=52–53|doi=10.1515/9781400821211}}</ref><ref name=":13">{{Cite book|last=Gerring|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xECY0nnkTvMC|title=Case Study Research: Principles and Practices|date=2007|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-85928-8|pages=1, 19–20|language=en}}</ref><ref name=":14">{{Cite journal|last=Thies|first=Cameron G.|date=2002|title=A Pragmatic Guide to Qualitative Historical Analysis in the Study of International Relations|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44218229|journal=International Studies Perspectives|volume=3|issue=4|pages=351–372|doi=10.1111/1528-3577.t01-1-00099|jstor=44218229|issn=1528-3577|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Research projects involving numerous cases are frequently called cross-case research, whereas a study of a single case is called within-case research.<ref name=":13" /><ref name=":15">{{Cite book|last1=George|first1=Alexander L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JEGzE6ExN-gC|title=Case Studies and Theory Development in the Social Sciences|last2=Bennett|first2=Andrew|date=2005|publisher=MIT Press|isbn=978-0-262-57222-4|pages=18|language=en}}</ref>

Case study research has been extensively practiced in both the [[Social science|social]] and [[natural science]]s.<ref name="Mills2010">{{cite book |editor1-last=Mills |editor1-first=Albert J. |editor2-first=Gabrielle |editor2-last=Durepos |editor3-first=Elden |editor3-last=Wiebe |title=Encyclopedia of Case Study Research |publisher=SAGE Publications |location=Thousand Oaks, CA |year=2010 |page=xxxi |isbn=978-1-4129-5670-3 }}</ref><ref name="Yin">{{cite book |last=Yin |first=Robert K. |author-link=Robert K. Yin |title=Case Study Research: Design and Methods |url={{GBurl|OgyqBAAAQBAJ}} |edition=6th |year=2017 |publisher=SAGE Publications |location=Thousand Oaks, California, US |isbn=978-1-5063-3616-9}}</ref>{{rp|5–6}}<ref name="Rolls2005">{{cite book|title=Classic Case Studies in Psychology|last=Rolls|first=Geoffrey|publisher=Hodder Education|year=2005|location=Abingdon, England}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |first1=Marilyn L. |last1=Taylor |first2=Mikael |last2=Søndergaard |title=Unraveling the Mysteries of Case Study Research: A Guide for Business and Management Students|publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing|year=2017|isbn=978-1786437235}}</ref>