Case Study Methodology
Case Study Methodology
This course illustrates and describes the case study methodology to conduct qualitative empirical research aimed at crafting a Thesis, Dissertation, Scientific Article or Research Project.
Course description
This course aims at providing students and participants with the theoretical and practical information and guidelines to:
- Become knowledgeable about the definitions and main rules of qualitative research and case study;
- Define the case study methodology and understand its domain of application and its different types (descriptive, explanatory, exploratory);
- Identify and apply the key steps to conduct a case study, by means of a practical example of its application in a scientific article (Ghezzi, A., Cavallo, A. (2018). Agile Business Model Innovation in Digital Entrepreneurship: Lean Startup Approaches, Journal of Business Research DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2018.06.013).
This course includes content to guide students and participants aiming at applying the case study methodology in all of its key steps:
- Setting the problem;
- Defining objectives;
- Framing the analysis in extant theories;
- Defining the methodology, which is further divided into the sub-steps of
- Deciding the unit(s) of analysis
- Selecting cases
- Collecting data
- Analyzing data
- Interpreting the findings
- Evaluating the case study and assessing the role of theory.
Co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union
Project number 574050-EPP-1-2016-1-DE-EPPKA2-CBHE-SP
This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This communication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
Intended Learning Outcomes
Prerequisites
No formal knowledge is required.
Activities
The forum of this MOOC is freely accessible and participation is not guided; you can use it to compare yourself with other participants, or to discuss course contents with them.
A Bibliography section is available, where you can find a list of resources that can help you in deepening the topics of the course.
Topic outline
Assessment
Your final grade for the course will be based on the results of your answers to the graded quizzes. You have unlimited attempts at each quiz, but you must wait 5 minutes before you can try again. You will have successfully completed the course if you achieve 60% (or more) of the total course score. The maximum score possible for each quiz is given at the top of the quiz. You can see your score in the quiz on your last attempt or on the 'Grades' page.
Certificate of accomplishment
You must be registered in POK through Politecnico di Milano personal account to obtain the Certificate of Accomplishment. It will be released to anyone who successfully completed the course by achieving at least 60% of the total score in the graded quizzes and filling the final survey.
You will be able to download the Certificate of Accomplishment directly from Politecnico di Milano web services.
The Certificate of Accomplishment does not confer any academic credit, grade or degree.
Information about fees and access to materials
You can access the course absolutely free of charge and completely online.
Course faculty
Antonio Ghezzi
Teacher
Antonio Ghezzi, Ph.D., is currently Professor of Strategy & Marketing at the Department of Management, Economics and Industrial Engineering, Politecnico di Milano – Italy; Professor of Strategy & Startups and member of the core faculty at MIP – Graduate School of Business; and Research Head of the Hi-tech Startups Observatory - Digital Innovation Observatories. His main research field are Corporate and Business Strategy, Business Model Design & Innovation, Digital Strategy, Strategic Entrepreneurship and Incumbent-Startups strategic collaboration. He is author of more than 100 academic publications appearing in scientific journals (like the International Journal of Management Reviews, Journal of Business Research, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, R&D Management and Management Decision), conference proceedings, books and book chapters. You can reach him on ResearchGate, LinkedIn (Antonio Ghezzi – Politecnico di Milano) and Twitter (AntonioGhezzi83).
Acknowledgements
Antonio Ghezzi wishes to thank Prof. Michela Arnaboldi – School of Management of Politecnico di Milano – for sharing her insight on Case Study research as well as providing the original material that was integrated to develop this course content; and Eng. Silvia Sanasi for carefully supporting the content development process.
Contact details
If you have any enquiries about the course or if you need technical assistance please contact pok@polimi.it. For further information, see FAQ page.