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Case Studies

NOTES:

1. The term "case studies" can be ambiguous: it can mean specific examples from real companies or fictitious stories written to help students learn a topic. The resources below provide a mix of both types of case studies - be sure that the studies you find are the type you need!

2. This guide has some resources that will be of more use to students (especially the tips on finding case studies in the SFU Library catalogue and in Business Source Complete) and other resources that instructors will find useful (especially the links to case clearinghouses and the sample cases). If you don't find what you need here, don't hesitate to ask for help.

 

Finding Cases

  • Books:
    • Try searching the SFU Library catalogue by Keyword and include the phrase case stud* (truncated with an asterisk to cover both plural and singular) as part of your search. Check out these sample searches: case stud* and organizational behavior // case stud* and information technology // case stud* and brand name products.
       
    • Also try an Advanced Keyword search in which you look for case studies in the Subject field, combined with your specific need (entrepreneurship? strategy?) as a Keyword. Add case* in the Title field as well to increase your chance of getting books that contain large numbers of cases. Click here for a link to a search for books that have cases in the title and case studies in the subject.
  • Articles:
    • In Business Source Complete enter your search terms, then either check off the Document Type Case study or include the Subject Case studies as part of your search.
       
    • CBCA Fulltext Business offers similar ways of finding case studies: either choose the Document Type (click on More Search Options) Case study or include the Subject Case studies as part of your search.
       
    • See the Sample Cases area below for some specific journals focusing on business cases.
  • Websites: There are several publishers and clearinghouses of cases on the web. Many will allow qualified faculty members to view cases for examination purposes (after registering). Note, however, that you usually need to pay for the cases if you are not a faculty member, or if you are a faculty member and you want to use cases in your class.
  • European Case Clearing House "[T]he largest single source . . . of management case studies in the world. We hold and distribute all cases produced by the world's best-known managment teaching establishments, as well as case studies in many languages produced by individual authors from almost every corner of the globe." Search for a case, then click on the link for an "inspection copy" (if available) and follow the links to register as a faculty member.
  • CaseNet: "Cases for Business Education" - a partnership between South-Western College Publishing (they publish many of your textbooks) and a few universities and colleges. Registration as qualified faculty members is required (again) to view the cases.
  • Harvard Business School: Thousands of PDF format full-text cases, articles, and teaching notes are ready to download for examination purposes.  NOTE:  Requires registration (restricted to qualified faculty only) to view cases. If you aren't a faculty member, or if you want to use copies of specific cases in a class, you can purchase the PDF or paper version of the case at this site as well. Also see below for a discussion on how to find some HBS cases in the Harvard Business Review.
  • CasePlace.org: A searchable database of business case studies and supplemental materials. The cases described tend to focus on social and environmental issues in business. You can search for relevant cases by discipline or topic, then use the supplied contact information for the author/publisher to request the cases. Note that many of the cases they list are from the Harvard Business School and the European Case Clearing House (mentioned above).

Sample Cases

  • British Columbia Innovation Council (BCIC ) case studies: A rare focus on BC companies!
     
  • Cases online via the Harvard Business Review:  Try searching for Harvard Business Review in the Publication Name field, then checking off the box for case studies on the search screen. Add in other terms to focus your search. Click here for a link to a broad search for case studies in the HBR.
     
  • The Times 100: Free business case studies on real life companies.
  • Acadia Institute of Case Studies: (Acadia University) Most studies are focused on small business and entrepreneurship and include teaching notes. Some of them even include short videos (Quicktime). Permission is granted for educational use.
  • Company-specific case studies (intended as examples of how customers have used or could use their products): IBM, Intel, and LANSA.

Developing and Analysing Cases

  • Application of a Case Study Methodology by Winston Tellis: (The Qualitative Report, Volume 3, Number 3, September, 1997) This academic article covers all of the social science methodology behind designing, conducting, and analysing a case study.  It also features a detailed bibiliography.  Winston Tellis, Ph.D. is Director of Undergraduate Programs in Fairfield University's School of Business and formerly he was Director of Technical Services also in the School of Business at Fairfield.
  • You might also want to try checking an index of education articles such as ERIC: start with the subject heading (or Descriptor) Case Method (Teaching Technique). Click here for a link to this search.  Alternatively, try our Education Research Complete database using Case method as your subject search term.  Again, click here for a link to this search.

 

Owned by: Mark Bodnar
Revised by: Mark Bodnar
Last Modified: 2012-05-17