n. 1. A detailed analysis of a person or group, especially as a model of medical, psychiatric, psychological, or social phenomena. 2. a.

A detailed intensive study of a unit, such as a corporation or a corporate division, that stresses factors contributing to its success or failure. b. An exemplary or cautionary model; an instructive example: "Before they lost their independence, [the two companies] were case studies in unsuccessful long-term planning" (T. Boone Pickens, Jr.). http://www.answers.com/topic/case-study

What is a Case Study?

The study of a person, a small group, a single situation, or a specific "case," is called a case study. It involves extensive research, including documented evidence of a particular issue or situation -- symptoms, reactions, affects of certain stimuli, and the conclusion reached following the study. A case study may show a correlation between two factors, whether or not a causal relationship can also be proven. It may sound complicated, but it's really quite simple. For example, a case study may show that obese people tend to drink a lot of diet soda. This would mean that there is a correlation, or association, between being overweight and drinking diet soda. No causal factor has been shown, or in other words, there is no scientific evidence that indicates drinking diet soda actually causes obesity, just that there is an association between the two. Another case study may prove both causal and correlative factors. If research and evidence show that obese people also tend to eat more fattening foods than leaner people, there is science to back up the fact that eating fat causes people to gain weight. The difference between causal and correlative factors is important in a case study, because sometimes such studies are used to promote a specific medicine, therapy, or product; or to show that a particular product is unhealthy, unsafe, or should be used with care.

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