Case Studies

Kevin raised the issue of case studies in psychology as a research tool. Another prominent use of the case study method is in business schools, particularly for MBA classes. These are essentially vignettes, often based on actual events, where students are presented with real-world business dilemmas and asked to come up with solutions in time-pressured environments working either individually or in teams. Some examples of the Harvard case studies are linked here. Case studies are less prominently used in teaching Economics (though examples welcome). There are a lot of potential advantages to integrating them in that they encourage a lot of debate and force people to think about how textbook material applies in less defined settings.