Writing an outline when undertaking any assignment plays a critical role to its success. Whether a case study outline or otherwise, it helps the writer to organize his/her work. In addition, the case study outline can help you improve the overall quality of the assignment. The outline of a case study should have the following:
Title page– it should have a well-thought title that will capture the attention of the reader.
Abstract/synopsis– it is a summary of what was covered by the project, and it is written after the project is completed.
Introduction– it introduces the problem that the research will investigate, the significance of the problem, and gives background information on how these problems were identified.
Hypothesis– it describes the question under discussion. The researcher raises research questions that will help in providing solutions to the research problem.
Methodology– This chapter states the processes that will be employed to investigate a research question. The researcher need also to justify every decision made. The processes employed in investigating the research question should have the capacity to be duplicated.
Results– it is the actual observations that were made by the researcher. When writing a case study outline or the completed case study, you could choose to write the results and interpretation in the same chapter, however, there should be a distinct difference between the two.
Analysis– this is an explanation or interpretation of the results or data collected. It helps in understanding the implications of the facts collected.
Conclusions– it states what was deduced from the research. While some researchers prefer to have a separate chapter on recommendations, others prefer to include it in a conclusion.
References– it is a list of all the sources used in the research process. Research without sources is as good as fiction.
Acknowledgments– appreciates those who contributed to the success of the project
Appendix– provides extra information such as graphs, tables, etc