Case Study #1: Conflict in the Office Ramya Roa and Ann Scheck McAlearney Trisha Olsen has been an assistant director at Liberty Research Hospital for the past seven years. She currently manages ei

TUTORING SERVICE RESOURCE

ACADEMIC

Case study assignments usually require you to identify problems and issues in a scenario, in order for you to demonstrate your developing knowledge of theories and professional policies. For example, you may be asked to identify issues in a healthcare case study and demonstrate your knowledge.

These are a number of steps you should follow when writing a response to a case study:

1. Read the Case Study and Question Carefully

In this step, you should highlight any points that you think are important. While it might seem like an obvious step it is often skipped or rushed. Spend real time carefully reading the case study and question to ensure you have understood what you are being tasked to do.

1. Identify the Main Issues

In this step you are required to identify the key issues arising from the facts in the case study.

1. Link Theory to Practice

In this step use you should link your knowledge about a topic—such as theory, codes of practice, policy and practices—to the facts in the case study. In other words, in this step you are applying your knowledge in practice by using this knowledge to identify and resolve issues and solve problems.

1. Plan Your Response

In this step, outline your response. You can use the set questions as headings when you plan your written response. It will help you organize your thoughts and stay on track. It will also ensure you do not miss any material you need to cover.

1. Write Your Response

A written response to a case study requires an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Think of the introduction as a brief guide to your paper. The introduction of your case study response should tell the reader:

• What the context or focus of the case study is—in other words, what is it about?

• What key areas will be covered, and in what order.

• What conclusion has been reached—this is generally, the thesis statement.

This is the main part of your response and will be made up of a number of paragraphs that work through the issues in your case study. You will need to decide on how many paragraphs are required to respond to each of the questions or issues raised in the case study. Some issues may require more than one paragraph in response. In the body of your case study response you should:

• Refer back to the headings you created in the Plan Your Response step to keep your writing on track.

• Ensure each paragraph focuses on only one main idea.

• Build the points you are making in a logical order.

• Clearly link the end of one paragraph to the beginning of the next paragraph.

Your conclusion should draw together the main points you have made in the body of your case study, without introducing any new ideas. You should also restate your thesis statement. Do not rush your conclusion as it is the last part of your paper to be read before it is marked. Instead, look at your conclusion as an opportunity to make final, good impression.

1. Edit and Proofread

As with all assignments, use the spell-checking tool on your computer and then read through your paper yourself to detect and correct other errors and omissions. Check you have answered all questions and backed up your answer with relevant literature. Check that you have followed instructions, that you have acknowledged all sources of information correctly and that all references are in your reference list.

1. Submit

Does your paper demonstrate that if you were a professional working in this particular situation, you would know what policies and procedures should be followed, or what actions to take to deal professionally with the situation? If so, it is ready to submit.

Below is a good resource for helping you format your paper.

This resource has been created to give you an idea of how to set out a case study.