JISC

Since case studies are primarily concerned with communicating the value of an activity to others, as much attention has to be given to the expectations and needs of likely audiences as to representing the practice fairly and fully. Understanding audience expectations and needs is vital when making decisions about how to publish a case study.

If the purpose behind a case study is to develop understanding of e-learning by practitioners, a Typology of Effective Interventions that Support e-Learning Practice , Sharpe, R. (2004) provides some essential guidelines. The author suggests that support for practitioners in developing e-learning practice of their own should take different forms ‘in response to varying patterns of need, interest and context’. This variation in audiences’ responses to materials suggests that multiple formats may sometimes be desirable, with the added advantage that alternative routes to information also make it easier for individual users to access the material.

• Users vary in the level of detail they want to receive and in the amount of time they have available. Thus it is good practice to provide different levels of content and different routes by which the case studies can be accessed: for example, short focused narratives for easy reading are appropriate for some purposes or audiences. These can be backed up by detailed versions offering more information – for example, on the technologies used or techniques for successful implementation. Longer versions can be made available as PDF or Word files from a CD-ROM or from the web

• If the case study is directed towards a subject specific audience, consider whether aspects of the material can be made relevant to practitioners in other subject disciplines – for example, by adding generic points of advice at the conclusion. The detail of the case study will be essential for practitioners working in that subject discipline, but the potential that some key aspects may be relevant to those working in other subject disciplines should not be overlooked

• Making case studies available on the web or on a CD-ROM as separate files adds value to their usability – case studies which address different issues or types of technology can then be selected by educational/staff developers to target the needs of particular client groups

• It may also be beneficial to publish the completed capture documents on the web alongside case studies, since evidence of the methodologies that have been used offer additional value to researcher and advanced practitioner audiences

 Recommendation

Purpose, context and audience need to be considered at an early stage in the project so that if different formats are required, these can be built into the project plan and timeline.