Case Study Design and Analysis Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Monitoring and Evaluation Officers, Evaluation Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-ME-077

Before you join: Participants should have practical experience with development, humanitarian, public-sector or social programmes and familiarity with basic monitoring or evaluation concepts, such as indicators, theories of change and data sources.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Case studies are often commissioned when monitoring data show trends but cannot explain why results differed between locations, partners or participant groups. A well-designed case study examines a bounded programme experience using traceable evidence rather than favourable anecdotes. It can test a theory of change, identify implementation mechanisms, document unintended effects and bring affected people's accounts into decisions. Poorly scoped cases, weak consent, selective voices and unsupported causal claims can damage credibility, expose participants to risk and produce reports that managers cannot use.

This course develops the practical skills required to design, conduct, write and analyse credible development and humanitarian case studies. Participants define the case and unit of analysis, frame questions, select cases and participants, prepare protocols, collect qualitative evidence and manage ethical risks. They use purposeful sampling, semistructured interviews, document review, observation, triangulation, coding, pattern matching, explanation building and process tracing. The course also addresses calibrated contribution claims, evidence-based writing, quality assurance and using findings for programme adaptation, donor reporting and community feedback.

Teaching combines short technical briefings with facilitated analysis of development and humanitarian cases, group design work, interview and coding simulations, peer review and application planning. Participants build a case study protocol and supporting evidence plan for a current or anticipated assignment. They leave with reusable templates for case selection, data collection, coding, evidence appraisal, reporting and follow-up, alongside a practical plan for applying the approach in their own programme.

The course suits monitoring, evaluation, research, learning, programme and communications professionals who already work with project information and need to produce defensible case-based evidence.

What you will be able to do

  • Define a bounded case study and unit of analysis for an evaluation purpose
  • Develop case study questions, propositions and a theory-of-change evidence plan
  • Select cases and participants using purposeful sampling criteria and a selection matrix
  • Prepare a case study protocol with interview guides, source plans and field procedures
  • Apply informed consent, safeguarding and data protection measures during fieldwork
  • Analyse qualitative evidence using codebooks, pattern matching and process tracing
  • Write evidence-based findings, contribution claims and case narratives for defined audiences
  • Produce a quality-assured case study workplan and application plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Write case studies that distinguish evidence, interpretation, conclusions and recommendations
  • Defend case selection and causal claims when questioned by donors or senior managers
  • Conduct interviews that produce usable evidence while protecting participant welfare
  • Analyse contradictory accounts without relying on anecdotal success stories
  • Build a reusable protocol for future evaluation and learning assignments

For your organisation

  • Produces case studies with clearer audit trails from claims to source evidence
  • Reduces reputational and safeguarding risks in participant-facing evidence collection
  • Improves donor reports with credible explanations of results and implementation pathways
  • Generates usable learning from programme variation, failures and unintended effects
  • Creates consistent templates for commissioning, reviewing and publishing case studies

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define a bounded case study that serves a clear evaluation, learning or accountability purpose.

  • Case study purposes distinguished from evaluations, success stories and beneficiary profiles
  • OECD DAC criteria translated into case study lines of inquiry
  • Unit of analysis defined for projects, communities, institutions and decisions
  • Bounded case logic establishes timeframes, locations, actors and intervention components
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies information holders, gatekeepers, users and affected groups
  • Claims, evidence and audience needs aligned before fieldwork begins

Participants can build a defensible case study design with focused questions and testable propositions.

  • Yin's single-case and multiple-case designs matched to evaluation purposes
  • Theory of change converted into testable propositions and rival explanations
  • Research questions separate descriptive, explanatory, exploratory and instrumental case purposes
  • Embedded units of analysis specified without losing the whole-case perspective
  • Case study protocol structures questions, sources, procedures and reporting expectations
  • Analytic generalisation distinguished from statistical generalisation and anecdotal inference

Participants can select information-rich cases and participants using transparent sampling criteria.

  • Purposeful sampling criteria define typical, critical, deviant and revelatory cases
  • Maximum variation sampling captures contrasting contexts, outcomes and implementation pathways
  • Case selection matrix records relevance, feasibility, risk and evidentiary value
  • Participant selection balances beneficiary perspectives, implementer accounts and disconfirming voices
  • Sample size justified through information power, saturation and available resources
  • Access assumptions tested against permissions, security constraints and seasonal availability

Participants can plan and conduct structured qualitative data collection for case study evidence.

  • Document review extracts timelines, decisions, outputs, outcomes and contextual factors
  • Semistructured interview guides use funnel questions, probes and neutral wording
  • Direct observation records behaviours, interactions, conditions and material evidence systematically
  • Focus group discussions distinguish shared norms from individual experience
  • Field notes separate observation, interpretation, quotations and follow-up actions
  • Source triangulation compares administrative data, testimony, records and observations

Participants can manage consent, safeguarding, confidentiality and data handling risks in case study work.

  • Do-no-harm assessment identifies distress, retaliation, exclusion and protection risks
  • Informed consent procedures address purpose, recording, withdrawal and data use
  • Safeguarding referral pathways prepared before discussing violence, exploitation or abuse
  • Anonymisation decisions protect identities while retaining necessary contextual meaning
  • Data management plans set access controls, retention periods and deletion procedures
  • Power-aware interviewing reduces social desirability, coercion and interviewer influence
  • CHS commitments inform accountable engagement with crisis-affected people

Participants can analyse case evidence systematically and assess plausible contribution pathways.

  • Codebook development combines deductive themes with inductive codes from field evidence
  • Pattern matching tests observed sequences against theory-of-change propositions
  • Explanation building traces mechanisms, conditions, decisions and unintended consequences
  • Process tracing assesses causal contribution through hoop tests and smoking guns
  • Negative case analysis challenges preferred interpretations and confirmation bias
  • Evidence matrices link claims, sources, confidence ratings and caveats
  • Within-case and cross-case synthesis identify convergent and divergent findings

Participants can write clear case narratives and findings supported by proportionate evidence.

  • Case narrative structure moves from context through intervention, evidence and implications
  • Finding statements distinguish facts, interpretations, conclusions and recommendations
  • Evidence warrants connect quotations, documents and observations to each claim
  • Contribution claims use calibrated language when attribution cannot be demonstrated
  • Participant voices quoted accurately, ethically and with contextual explanation
  • Tables, timelines and pathway diagrams clarify complex implementation evidence
  • Plain-language editing removes jargon, unsupported adjectives and ambiguous causal wording

Participants can review case studies for traceability, balance, methodological quality and ethical integrity.

  • Triangulation matrix checks consistency across methods, sources and time periods
  • Member checking tests factual accuracy without transferring analytic control
  • Peer debriefing exposes assumptions, blind spots and alternative interpretations
  • Audit trails document decisions from case selection through final revisions
  • COREQ reporting items strengthen transparency in interview-based case evidence reports
  • Limitations statements specify missing evidence, bias risks and transferability boundaries
  • Quality assurance checklist verifies traceability, balance, consent and citation accuracy

Participants can tailor case findings for decision-makers, contributors and learning processes.

  • Audience segmentation differentiates donor reporting, management learning and community feedback
  • One-page case briefs present decision-relevant findings, caveats and recommended actions
  • Learning questions convert case findings into programme adaptation decisions
  • Facilitated sensemaking tests implications with teams, partners and participant representatives
  • Feedback loops return findings to contributors in accessible formats
  • Use tracking records actions, owners, deadlines and evidence of uptake
  • Publication risk review checks confidentiality, political sensitivity and unintended harm

Participants can prepare a practical workplan and apply course methods to their own assignment.

  • Case study workplan sequences design, approvals, fieldwork, analysis and publication
  • Roles and responsibilities assigned through a RACI matrix
  • Budget estimates cover translation, travel, transcription, safeguarding and dissemination
  • Protocol adaptation identifies decisions required for participants' current assignments
  • Personal application plans specify first actions, support needs and milestones
  • Peer review commitments establish follow-up accountability after the course

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Case study protocol template
  2. Case selection and sampling matrix
  3. Semistructured interview guide
  4. Codebook and evidence matrix
  5. Case study report outline
  6. Ninety-day case study application plan

Who should attend

  • Monitoring and Evaluation Officers — need credible case evidence alongside indicator data
  • Evaluation Managers — commission and assure case studies for evaluations and reviews
  • Programme Managers — use case findings to understand implementation and adapt delivery
  • Research Officers — collect and analyse qualitative evidence for development programmes
  • Learning and Knowledge Managers — turn field evidence into actionable organisational learning
  • Communications Specialists — write responsible impact stories supported by verifiable evidence

Skills and tools covered

Case study designPurposeful samplingQualitative data collectionEvidence triangulationCausal contribution analysisCase report writing

Tools and standards

OECD DAC evaluation criteria, Yin's case study protocol, Most Significant Change technique, COREQ checklist

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish methods, followed by guided case analysis, small-group design work, interview simulations, coding practice and peer review. Participants assess realistic programme evidence, including documents, quotations, monitoring data and conflicting accounts. Facilitated discussions examine ethical dilemmas, contribution claims and reporting choices. Throughout the course, participants adapt templates to a current or anticipated assignment and complete an application plan for use after the programme.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical experience with development, humanitarian, public-sector or social programmes and familiarity with basic monitoring or evaluation concepts, such as indicators, theories of change and data sources. Experience conducting interviews, reviewing programme documents or contributing to reports is useful. Participants should bring knowledge of a current or planned programme that could form the basis of their application work. Formal research qualifications, advanced statistics, qualitative analysis software and prior experience writing case studies are not required.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic monitoring or evaluation concepts and have some experience working with programme information. You do not need formal research qualifications, advanced statistics or qualitative analysis software experience.

Bring a current or planned programme, evaluation question or reporting requirement that could benefit from a case study. Non-confidential background documents, a theory of change or existing monitoring reports will help you apply the templates.

It is designed for M&E, evaluation, programme, research, learning and communications professionals in development and humanitarian settings. It is particularly useful for staff who commission, conduct, review or write case studies.

The course focuses on bounded case study design, purposeful case selection, evidence chains and writing usable case narratives. It addresses the specific challenge of explaining programme results and contribution, rather than teaching qualitative methods in isolation.

Participants develop a protocol, sampling approach and evidence plan that can be adapted for a live assignment. The reporting and quality assurance tools can also be used to review case studies prepared by consultants or partners.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides approximately 6.5 contact hours. The five days progress from design and sampling through collection, ethics, analysis, writing, quality assurance and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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