Key points at a glance
- A case study examines a bounded case in its context.
- The case and the people interviewed are not necessarily the same unit of analysis.
- Connect sources through a shared analytical question.
What exactly is your case?
A case study may examine a process, project or institution in its particular setting. Define what belongs to the case and what falls outside it. Specify the period, organisational context and activities you actually intend to investigate.
Crowe and colleagues discuss case studies as a way to investigate complex questions in their real-world context. For your planning, connect the case boundaries with the research question. “Studying a company” is too broad when your real interest is the introduction of one particular workflow.
Justify the case substantively
Explain why this case can illuminate the question. It might reveal a typical process, an unusual development or a theoretically useful contrast. Convenient access is a practical advantage, but it does not replace a research justification.
Original example: You examine the introduction of a digital feedback process in one seminar over a semester. The case is the implementation project, not each individual interviewee. Teachers, students and project documents offer different perspectives on the same bounded process.
Connect sources within one analysis
Identify which data can address each subquestion. Interviews reveal reported experiences, minutes record agreed actions and observations can show actual routines. Check whether sources concern the same period and issue before interpreting them together.
Create a case overview linking events, evidence and unresolved contradictions. If minutes mention training but participants recall no introduction, do not simply discard one account. Investigate whether attendance, timing or the meaning of “introduction” differs.
More sources do not automatically make an analysis stronger. What matters is how you evaluate and connect their claims. Record missing documents and perspectives you could not access as well.
Report findings and their transferability
Provide enough context for readers to understand the case, then develop the answer through selected evidence. A detailed project history is not itself an analysis. Each part of the account should make an identifiable contribution to the research question.
Keep conclusions within what the case supports. One seminar does not establish a statistical claim about all universities. You can nevertheless explain which conditions seem important to the observed process and when comparison with another case would be useful.
Final submission context
Formal details can feel like a separate writing task, but they matter just as much for a printed submission. Anything missing, misplaced or inconsistently formatted in the document will also appear in the bound copy.
Use this guide together with your cover page, table of contents, page numbers, source notes and appendices. Prepare the final PDF for printing and binding only after the complete file has been checked.
Practical check before PDF export
- Do headings, chapter structure and page numbers match?
- Are sources, figures and tables included completely?
- Are required elements such as declarations, appendices or the cover page included where required?
- Did you open and check the final PDF after exporting it?
Checklist
- Define the case, period and context.
- Justify selection through the question.
- Link sources to specific subquestions.
- Investigate contradictions.
- Explain the reach of the conclusions.
Common mistakes
- Naming an organisation without defining the unit of analysis.
- Using convenient access as the only selection reason.
- Confusing a case description with a supported analysis.
Print and bind your finished thesis
Once you have checked the content and final PDF, configure the printed copies to match your submission requirements.
Configure printing and bindingRelated content
Explore related guidance on thesis structure, sources, formatting and final submission.
Frequently asked questions
Can one case be enough for a bachelor thesis?
Yes, with an appropriate question and sufficient analytical depth. Justify the selection and discuss expectations with your supervisor. Additional cases also increase the material and comparison workload.
Is a case study always qualitative?
No. Qualitative and quantitative data may both be relevant. Choose data around your aim; the case study label does not automatically prescribe one data type.
Do I always need interviews?
No. Documents, observations or other suitable evidence can also support a case study. Explain why your sources can answer the question and which perspectives remain unavailable.