Writing A Case Study

WRITING A CASE STUDY
A case study is a conscious retelling of an experience which may be presented to a group for
analysis and evaluation. The experience ought to be an event for which you have some
responsibility for the outcome. The case study must be as brief as possible, one to two pages,
double spaced. Please carefully select an event, critical incident or conversation which when
brought to class will be real to you.
CASE STUDY APPROACH
I. BACKGROUND: Setting the event in context: Where? Include important context
information. Who was involved – personal? Pressures? How and why were you
involved?
II. DESCRIPTIONS: A problem may be stated at the outset. What happened? What
did you do? Include essential facts, neither more nor less than needed. Include as
much detail as possible in the limited space. Accurately reflect the situation. A
verbatim may help. A verbatim is taking a portion of the event and writing exactly
who said what; including body language, facial expressions, pauses, and other
information which relays the emotion and clarifies the meaning of what is being –
and not being – said. (See verbatim section below for further details.)
III. ANALYSIS: Identify the issues and relationships that were apparent as you
viewed the situation. What was happening? Are these issues apparent in your
written version of the situation? Who were you as minister and leader? How was
God evident or absent?
IV. EVALUATION: Estimate your own effectiveness in the event. Did you function
effectively? Why? Why not? Did you do what you set out to do? What factors or
forces emerged which you did not anticipate? What questions might the group
discuss that would be most helpful to you?
CONFIDENTIALITY: To protect the identity of real persons or institutions, please use

fictitious names and places.
SAMPLE CASE STUDIES
SAMPLE “A”
BACKGROUND: My church is located in a “bedroom community” of about 5,000 highly
trained technicians and engineers in a population center of over 100,000. Most of the people
who have joined our new church are young couples with small children. We had no young
people beyond ninth grade, and only four in the ninth grade. My attempts to get acquainted
with young people in the community were met with suspicion and hostility at first, but we got
a small group started. Youth meetings were structured largely by the group, my method being
to get acquainted first, and then begin to structure the group after they had confidence in me.
Chris is a 15 year-old ninth-grader I have tried to involve in our church and youth group. His
parents are sensitive, hard-working, intelligent people of culture and refinement. They enjoy
their home and their work. They have no TV in their home- they can’t be bothered with such
trivia. Chris has two older brothers - one in the Peace Corps and the other in the university.
Chris did not want to attend our bi-weekly meetings but came at the insistence of his parents.
At one of these meetings, the person with the program did not come at the last minute, and
the group decided to talk about drugs. Without any advance preparation, Chris gave what
amounted to a lecture which covered such things as the origin of marijuana, heroin, and LSD,
the chemical analysis of each, the physiological effects on the boy, etc. He did this with the
competence of a college professor explaining it to a group of lay (people).
DESCRIPTION: One evening not long after this I called at Chris’s home. His parents were
away, and he was studying. He invited me in. He told me he was reading Dante’s Inferno in
research for an assigned composition which was “to select some historical character you
believe has gone to hell and tell why you think so.” In the conversation that followed Chris
told me he had read extensively in science, philosophy, and current literature - and that he did
not believe in the existence of God. I tried to suggest he might not have all the evidence yet to
make such a decision; that many scientists believe in God. I was inclined to accept his
statements as evidence of one who had given considerable thought to them.
ANALYSIS: I was so overwhelmed with this boy’s knowledge and his probing mind which
was questioning the things I didn’t until my college days that I froze. I felt it was obvious to
him I had little to offer to challenge him at his intellectual level. He is an exceptional boy, but
I have discovered that many young people in this community are not far behind.
EVALUATION: 1. How do I minister to young people like this? 2. How can I prepare myself
to handle situations where my incompetence in science and technology is so obvious? 3. How
can I handle the “freeze” situations?
SAMPLE “B”
BACKGROUND: As in most denominations presently there is a great amount of tension
arising from different understandings of the nature and mission of the church. Within our
denomination there is a divisive group, composed mainly of lay (people) who have been
circularizing the church and seeking to sow seeds of ill will and dissension, particularly in
setting lay (people) over against the ministers. I heard of an organization meeting of this
group in our city and decided to attend the meeting even though it was really intended for lay
(people) only. Five of the members of our church were there. It upset me greatly that this
divisive group might get a foothold in this church. In the weeks that followed all the officers
received information through the mail from this group, with attacks and insinuations about
the subversion of the church. I determined that I would have to do something about this
meeting of the officers.
EVENT: I chose to speak on this at the next monthly meeting of one of the boards. During
the meeting some of the (people) made charges about the denomination which had obviously
come from this dissident group. They alluded to the stand on social issues, control of church
property, and the lack of value of the church magazine. Much to my surprise, some of the
(people) who support the church wholeheartedly were mute that evening. I felt very much
alone as I tried to answer some of these unfounded attacks. At the end of the meeting it was
customary for me to speak to the group about any matter that concerned me. I talked about
this dissident group and their insinuations about the leadership of the church. I maintained
that such a group in the church was more of a problem than a solution, and stated that if we
were more faithful in seeking guidance from God’s Word we would have a better and more
effective church. Finally I told them that I disagreed with them and disapproved of this group,
and it was my responsibility as their pastor to tell them how I felt.
ANALYSIS: I am sure that my speech alienated some of the (people) at the meeting, at least
for a time. I was really very threatened by the discussion that had taken place, and even
though my personal security in the church was not threatened I took it very personally. I was
very defensive, and later realized that I had manipulated them emotionally at the very time
that I was denying any manipulation. My advice about more use of the Word of God was a
smoke screen, because I had not used the Bible in the meeting any more than they.
EVALUATION: I was not very effective in combating the attitudes of some of those officers
because of my defensiveness. I do feel that I had to take some stand for the sake of those who
did not understand it. The one good thing that emerged was that they expressed gratitude that
I told them how I felt, even though they may have disagreed. I need to learn how to deal more
effectively with hostility and opposition. How might I have handled the problem more
effectively?
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Case studies taken from Putting It Together in the Parish, by James D. Glasse (Nashville:
Abington, 1972), pp. 79-83.
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