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A case study involves extensive research on a person, group, or situation to show correlation or causation between factors. It can be used to establish product efficacy and safety. The difference between correlative and causal factors is important in interpreting results.
The study of a person, a small group, a single situation or a specific “case” is called a case study. It involves extensive research, including documented evidence of a particular problem or situation: symptoms, reactions, effects of certain stimuli, and the conclusion reached after the study. A case study can show a correlation between two factors, whether or not a causal relationship can be proven. It may sound complicated, but it’s really very simple.
For example, a case study may show that obese people tend to drink a lot of diet soda. This would imply that there is a correlation, or association, between being overweight and drinking diet soda. No causal factor has been proven, or in other words, there is no scientific evidence to indicate that drinking diet sodas actually causes obesity, only that there is an association between the two.
Another case study may demonstrate both causal and related factors. While research and evidence show that obese people also tend to eat more fatty foods than thinner people, there’s science to back up that eating fat makes people gain weight. The difference between causal and correlative factors is important in the study, because sometimes such studies are used to promote a specific medicine, therapy or product; or to demonstrate that a particular product is unhealthy, unsafe, or should be used with care.
A case study can be used to demonstrate that a medicine is safe for the largest percentage of a given demographic, based on physical evidence, interviews, and observations. On the other hand, the same resources can demonstrate that the medicine is not safe for some segments of the population, including some age groups. A case study can also be used to test other products or services or even decide which business model is more cost-effective.
A case study can be an important tool in establishing the efficacy and safety of a product. Depending on who is conducting the study, a company may also use it as a tool to discount the claims made by competing manufacturers. To better decipher the case studies, be sure to pay close attention to the factors examined and ascertain whether they are correlative, causal, or both.
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