Academic Writing for International Students of Business

Using case studies

A case study attempts to show exactly what happened in a particular situation. For example,
if you are studying microfinance, you might look at the performance of one specific scheme
in a district of Dhaka in Bangladesh.

What are the advantages of including case studies?

Is there a disadvantage?

 Match the topics on the left with the case studies on the right.

Case Studies

UNIT

4.1

Both essays and reports may include case studies, which are detailed examples. One

case study may be the main subject of a paper, or several may be included to

illustrate different situations.

Topics Case studies

Improving crop yields in

semi-deserts

The Berlin experiment: increasing public

participation in collecting and sorting waste

Encouraging entrepreneurship

in Africa

The effect of the 2008 property crash on Spanish

banking

Improving recycling rates in

large cities

A study of a French supermarket training

programme

The impact of the housing

market on the wider economy

Using the internet to reduce visits to the doctor in

Dublin

Approaches to motivation in

the service sector

A Moroccan scheme for subsidising new

business start-ups

Making health care more

cost-effective

Using solar power to operate irrigation pumps in

Ethiopia