1. Case studies:
A short guide to writing case studies

2. Case studies – a short guide to writing case studies
Understand the purpose or intention:
Why are you writing it?
Who do you want to influence?
What are they key messages?
Know your audience:
Will they understand what you are trying to convey?
Will it maintain their interest?
Will it have impact or encourage them to take notice?
Defining the issue:
Provide an introductory statement clearly outlining the issue or problem
Provide relevant background
Outline the actions used to solve the problem
Case studies provide an opportunity to show case good or promising practice. They are frequently used to describe a problem or issue, which logically and step by step has been addressed to show impact or improvement
GETTING STARTED
A well written case study will be informative, maintain interest and prompt action or further inquiry so remember the 4 core principles.
TELLING YOUR STORY
Clarity
Concise
Relevant
Impact
Demonstrate the impact:
Show what change or improvement has been made
State how you measured impact
Specify the return on investment
Provide data and clear evidence of improvement
Show how this impacted on service users
Bring the case study alive with a relevant short quote or feedback
THE RESULTS

3. Case study template example
Title
Include a short descriptive title which reflects the example and will capture the readers interest
Background
Include a short focussed summary;
What was the issue or starting point?
What did you want to achieve?
How was this supported?
Practice development
Provide a concise overview of the development;
Include details of the process and steps taken as part of the development
Describe the changes and interventions
Measuring impact
Describe the short and long term improvement
for the individual
for the service provision
Include:
Any feedback received
Improvements which were secured for the parents / family
Information about return on investment (ROI) or value for money
Any numeric data – e.g. survey results
Learning
Provide key areas of:
Learning and what worked
Things you might do differently
References
Include relevant links and references

4. Local practice examples
Understand the purpose or intention:
Why are you writing it?
What do you want to showcase?
What are they key messages?
Know your audience:
Will they understand what you are trying to convey?
Will it maintain their interest?
Will it help others or influence decisions?
Defining the issue:
Clearly outline the practice and why change was needed
Describe your aims & objectives
Be succinct in describing your actions
Local practice examples can be used to celebrate successes and to share what works. They are not formal research however they make an invaluable contribution to knowledge translation and learning or research generation
GETTING STARTED
A well local practice example will be informative, maintain interest and prompt action or further inquiry so remember the 4 core principles.
TELLING YOUR STORY
Clarity
Concise
Relevant
Impact
Demonstrate the impact:
Show what change or improvement has been made
Provide key learning points to guide others
Show evidence of what worked and why
Include any monitoring or evaluation
Show how this impacted on service users
Bring the case study alive with a relevant short quote or feedback
Share what your next steps will be
THE RESULTS

5. Local practice example template 1
Title
Include a short descriptive title which reflects the key focus and main benefit
Description
Include a short focussed description of your practice example & the main benefit
Context – what was the aim?
Provide a concise overview of your aims and objectives
Describe the starting point, baseline and include useful data about population or demographics
Explain how the need arose
Method – what did you do?
Provide clear details of:
What you activity you undertook
Who was involved and why
Outcomes – what difference did you make?
How was this measured? Can you show evidence of impact?
What has changed?
Was there any user feedback?
Was this value for money / did you make any savings?
Key learning points
Provide key areas of:
What are the key learning points and what worked well?
What things you might do differently
What future plans do you have to embed this?
References
Include relevant links and references where appropriate

6. Sharing case studies and practice examples
There are number of places to share case studies and local practice examples – the important thing is to write it up and share; we can all then learn, generate new ideas at least identify any gaps and inform the evidence base
On the web
PHE / WHO
NICE
Awards
Nursing time / Cavell
Social media
Twitter / We learn
Fab NHS stuff
SHARING EXAMPLES
Share & learn
Identify gaps
Generate ideas
Evidence base
Remember case studies & practice examples can:
Support reflection and revalidation
Help identify service improvements and improve quality of care
Generate new evidence or support existing evidence
Support decision making
Raise the profile of a service and provide an opportunity to celebrate!
Support learning and development
THE BENEFITS

7. References / further reading
Please send any case studies to