Anatomy of a case chapter The bits that make up a case Paul Mundy www.mamud.com
Structure of a case chapter Title, author – What’s it about, who wrote it? Lead – Hey! This is interesting! Read me! Nutshell paragraph – What is the chapter about? Background – Who, where, when? Problem – What needed to be solved? Intervention – Who did what, when, where, how? Results – What happened, evidence? Challenges – What is still a problem? Analysis, lessons – What does it all mean? More information – References, contacts, websites Plus… Boxes, illustrations, tables, graphics
Trading Up Book published 2008 by KIT and IIRR 300 pages 8 Parts 1 Intro 2 Background 3 Framework 4-6 15 cases (grouped into 3 types) 7 Analysis 8 Resources
Example of case chapter Title Location Lead Nutshell paragraph Heading Background
Story box Box title Whole box is a quote, tells a real person’s story 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Box tells a story in chronological order Box illustrates topic of text, but without getting in the way
Situation, problem Description of organization Problem
Bulleted lists Introductory para followed by bullets 1 2 Run-in headings in boldface, followed by short explanatory paragraphs 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Details of problem
Resolving the problem Realization there is a problem Intervention: who did what?
Results Details of intervention Run-in boldface headings Results of intervention Key data
List box List of actors Put them in box so they don’t clog the text More data
Challenges and solutions Solutions, recommendations
Focus on details Details about a particular aspect of story Placed here so they don’t interfere with the story
Analysis Table Graphic Graphic
More analysis Graphic Crossrefs to graphic References, more information
Analysis Text analysis Crossrefs to tables and figures Graphic
Solutions Recommendations A case as a book chapter Lead Nutshell Problem Background Intervention Results Analysis Challenges Solutions Recommendations More info
Structure of a case chapter Title, author – What’s it about, who wrote it? Lead – Hey! This is interesting! Read me! Nutshell paragraph – What is the chapter about? Background – Who, where, when? Problem – What needed to be solved? Intervention – Who did what, when, where, how? Results – What happened, evidence? Challenges – What is still a problem? Analysis, lessons – What does it all mean? More information – References, contacts, websites Plus… Boxes, illustrations, tables, graphics