Learning how to write cases from Arthur Conan Doyle

As a student and even as a teacher, I have always taken the case study for granted. I was not aware of the hard work, the thought process and the research undertaken to write these case studies till I joined ICFAI Business School, Bangalore (IBS-B). It has its reseach centre where qualified people qualifications and flair for teaching are recruited. This group is split into teams- one writes derivative books(compilation of articles on a particular topic) and the other, case studies. In addition, IBS-B encourages faculty and students to involve in the case writing process.

The research team does not involve in primary date collection. The work involves the use of secondary data only. Once a case study is written,reviewed and finalised, it is uploaded in www.ecch.com. ecch stands for the European Case Clearing House and belongs to the Cranfield University, U.K.

The case writing exercise involves in-depth study of a subject. My experience as a teacher helps me to visualise whether a trigger (the basic idea that develops into a case) can become a potential case and stir a meaningful discussion in the class. As a big time fan of Sherlock Holmes, I think a case study is like a thriller unfolding with an issue say, a murder, gradually introducing the characters, leaving hints in the case about the suspects and finally igniting a discussion to find out who the murderer is.

Want to write case studies - grab a copy of 'The Complete Short Stories of Sherlock Holmes' by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.