GUIDE FOR INTRODUCTION
✓ As with any other paper, your case study introduction should serve as a roadmap for your readers.
Your introduction should not only identify the research problem and its significance. But also discuss
why this specific case is being written and how it relates to addressing the problem. A good
introduction must answer the following questions:
1. What is being studied?
2. Why is the issue important to investigate?
3. How will this research advance new knowledge or ways of understanding?
✓ The reader needs to have a clear understanding of the situation for which a solution is sought. You
can explicitly state the problem posed in the study.
✓ This initial section gives the reader an overview of what your case study analyses and its findings.
Remember, to include a thesis statement.
✓ The introduction should aim to hook the reader's attention in the first few sentences by explaining,
in an interesting way, the question you will be answering or the case you will be exploring. Then
include some background information on the topic and details of your selected case (explaining how
they relate). State why the topic is important and why the selected case enriches current available
information on the topic. Summarize your literature review and include previous case studies that
your findings will build on. End with the possible ways that your case study can be useful in the
future and your thesis statement.
✓ The introduction should set the stage for the case study and state the thesis for the report. The intro
must clearly articulate what the study's intention is, as well as how you plan on explaining and
answering the thesis. Again, remember that a case study is not a formal scientific research report
that will only be read by scientists. The case study must be able to be read and understood by the
layperson, and should read almost as a story, with a clear narrative. As the reader reads the
introduction, they should fully understand what the study is about, and why it is important. They
should have a strong foundation for the background they will learn about in the next section. The
introduction should not be long. You must be able to introduce your topic in one or two paragraphs.
Ideally, the introduction is one paragraph of about 3-5 sentences.
✓ Explain what you will examine in the case study. Write an overview of the field you’re researching.
Make a thesis statement and sum up the results of your observation in a maximum of 2 sentences.
GUIDE FOR BACKGROUND
✓ Incorporate relevant issues and facts and conduct extensive research on the problem. This is the
point where you need to demonstrate how well you have researched your problem.
✓ Background is the information you discovered that describes why there is a problem. This will
consist of facts and figures from authoritative sources. Graphs, charts, tables, photos, videos, audio
files, and anything that points to the problem is useful here. Quotes from interviews are also good.
You might include anecdotal information as well.
✓ Here you can write the most relevant facts and pinpoint the topic issues.
✓ Present relevant information from various reliable academic sources to help the reader understand
the extent of research in your chosen topic and help them understand the importance of your case
study (e.g., enhances current understanding, fills a gap in knowledge). Include descriptions of key
theories about your topic. You can obviously use the internet and library to locate relevant literature
but don’t forget to also check your lecture notes or class textbook to seek ideas/pre-existing
research/theories that you may want to include.
✓ The background should detail what information brought the researcher to pose his hypothesis. It
should clearly explain the subject or subjects, as well as their background information. And lastly,
the background must give the reader a full understanding of the issue at hand, and what process
will be taken with the study. Photos and videos are always helpful when applicable. When writing
the background, the researcher must explain the research methods used, and why. The type of
research used will be dependent on the type of case study. The reader should have a clear idea
why a particular type of research is good for the field and type of case study. For example, a case
study that is trying to determine what causes PTSD in veterans will heavily use interviews as a
research method. Directly interviewing subjects garners invaluable research for the researcher. If
possible, reference studies that prove this. Again, as with the introduction, you do not want to write
an extremely long background. It is important you provide the right amount of information, as you
do not want to bore your readers with too much information, and you don't want them underinformed.
✓ Provide background information and the most relevant facts. Isolate the issues.