Write a Case for GUISD

To learn more about writing a case study, you may wish to consult, you may wish to review the Teaching with Case Studies section on the Faculty Club homepage.

The following criteria can serve as a brief guide.

• Tell a clear, compelling story that is coherently organized and engaging.
• Avoid overanalyzing the issue and leave most of the analysis for the students.
• Arouse interest and provoke discussion.
• Promote decisionmaking and problem solving in the classroom.
• Allow for alternative solutions.
• Include participant interviews or other primary sources.

COMPONENTS OF A CASE

There is no set length for a case. Given the time frame of most courses, there is a clear preference for shorter cases, from 10 to 15 single-spaced, typed pages (about 7,000 to 10,000 words). The narrative should include:

• A decision-forcing or a retrospective structure.
• A compelling introduction that hooks the reader.
• A brief background section sufficient to introduce the students to the subject, if necessary.
• The body of the case--divided into digestible subsections--that fleshes out the subject, identifies the key decisionmakers, and presents the major decision points.
• Consecutively numbered endnotes.
• Appendixes, chronologies, and so on if necessary.

THE TEACHING NOTES

Authors must submit teaching notes to provide the instructor with advice on how to teach the case. Teaching notes should:

• State a clear pedagogical purpose and utility--that is, spell out the learning issues raised by the case.
• Present additional analysis to help the case teacher better understand the case.
• Relate the narrative to theory or provide general, practical lessons.
• Suggest open-ended questions for in-class discussion.
• Offer writing assignments or role-playing exercises.
• Suggest categories of interest and courses to which the case applies.
• And above all--explain how you taught the case in your course.

THE ABSTRACT

Authors must submit a one-paragraph abstract of the case in order to reference it on the web site. The abstract must briefly characterize the case's contents and emphasize the pedagogical purpose of the case.

It is also important for the author to identify the appropriate geographic and subject indexes for cross-referencing the case.

REVIEW AND EDITING

Academic reviews are conducted by faculty who have participated in the Pew Faculty Fellowship in International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. Case studies are matched with a reviewer whose area of expertise and interest is similar to the case.

After review, the case is either returned for revision/rewriting or is accepted for publication. Once accepted, the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy will have the case copyedited, produced, marketed, and distributed for classroom use.

SUBMITTING A CASE STUDY FOR PUBLICATION: SUMMARY

• the case narrative
• teaching notes
• the case abstract
• WordPerfect or Word file: please send on disk. Sending the file as an e-mail attachment is acceptabble as long as we have a hard copy.
• one hard copy of the complete case

All submissions will be acknowledged upon receipt. Send the submission to:

Mr. Charles Dolgas
Director of Publications and Administration
Institute for the Study of Diplomacy
1316 36th Street, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20007

For additional information, Mr. Dolgas can be reached at:

Tel: (202) 965-5735 ext. 204
Fax: (202) 965-5811
E-Mail

Skip Links

Catalog

Catalog Index

Faculty Guides

Organization Links

Questions