Skip to Main Content

Library

Which study type is that? A guide to study types

Study and experiment types for Health Sciences and Medicine

Case study


A case study in health and medicine will generally focus on patient care, individual patients or a small group of patients, diagnoses, treatments or outcomes. It may highlight rare or unusual conditions, new treatments or clinical findings that can provide health professionals with valuable insights. Case studies may involve in-depth analysis of clinical data including patient records, diagnostic tests and treatment outcomes and therefore must adhere to ethical guidelines. Case studies can have immediate practical applications in diagnosing and treating patients.

 

case study

Useful for addressing:

Observational questions

Undertaking a case study

The main stages of research activity when planning and undertaking a cases study:

  • Defining the case
  • Selecting the case(s)
  • Collecting the data
  • Analysing and interpreting the data
  • Reporting the findings

Avery, A., Cresswell, K., Crowe, S., Huby, G., Robertson, A., & Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(1), 100-108.

Further reading and resources

  • Avery, A., Cresswell, K., Crowe, S., Huby, G., Robertson, A., & Sheikh, A. (2011). The case study approach. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 11(1), 100-108. Full Text
     
  • Center for Evidence Based Management (July, 2014), Critical Appraisal Checklist for a Case Study. Retrieved from https://www.cebma.org Full Text
     
  • Cheek, C., Hays, R., Smith, J., & Allen, P. (2018). Improving case study research in medical education: a systematised review. Medical education, 52(5), 480-487. Full Text
     
  • Heale, R., & Twycross, A. (2018). What is a case study?. Evidence-based nursing, 21(1), 7-8. Full Text
     
  • Yin, R. K. (1999). Enhancing the quality of case studies in health services research. Health services research, 34(5 Pt 2), 1209. Full Text

     
  • Yin, R. K. (2009). Case study research: Design and methods (Vol. 5). Sage Catalogue Link

Example

Andreassen, H. K., Kjekshus, L. E., & Tjora, A. (2015). Survival of the project: a case study of ICT innovation in health care. Social Science & Medicine, 132, 62-69. Full Text

 

 

 

 


Library Instagram
Library Blogs
Library Contacts