Definition und explanations

Kaiser (1983) has defined a case study as a teaching method or learning strategy in which the students are confronted with “practical cases” from different aspects of life. The methodology aims at practical solution strategies rather than at a transfer of theoretical knowledge.

A case study is based on real conditions. You will be provided with the necessary case study material. It contains all important information in the form of original texts, which means that this material has not been edited like a textbook but may be incomplete or incorrect (Müller et al. 1991).

The characteristics of a case study can be summarized as:

• work on a real problem
• open solution; there is not one correct path to a solution approach
• case study material is provided though it is not edited
• theoretical knowledge is not sufficient for understanding

What does it mean for you?

For you, this means that in the beginning, you will receive all the case study material (such as GIS data and additional information material) necessary in order to be able to analyse and solve the stated problem. However, you will get original data that may be incomplete or even incorrect so you might not be able to adopt it straight away. First, you have to think about how to process this material. You might, for example, have to make sure that units are consistent, incorrect data filtered out or adjustements made before you can process the material further.
The solution of a case study is open and not forced upon you. For you, this means that you will not be guided step by step but have to think solution-oriented and look for one or several solution strategies before analysing and applying them. Of course, there will be a supervisor in case you have problems or questions.