purdue owl apa case study citation

How to Write a Case Study in APA Format

Table of contents

• 1 What Is a Case Study In APA Format?
• 2.1 Sample Of APA Case Study Outline
• 3.1 Title Page in APA for Case Study Project
• 3.2 APA Title Page Example
• 3.3 The Abstract for an APA case study

Whether you study social sciences or life sciences, you’re likely to encounter a case study analysis in your academic journey. These papers demand a lot from students. First, you must have impeccable research and analysis skills. Sample populations, particularly people, can be challenging to analyze. It’s easy to misinterpret data and come up with the wrong conclusions. Additionally, you’ll need to have a knack for writing to present your findings persuasively, backed up by evidence-based arguments that build confidence for your teacher to accept the results of your work. If you need to boost your paper, Papers Owl is here to help you with a wide range of guidelines on how to write a case study in APA.

What Is a Case Study In APA Format?

To make your success, first realize that a case study is detective work. Your research may have an unresolved question or to carry out some testing to validate a hypothesis; in this case, studies are born. Psychology, nursing, and business are common fields this method is applied. In this scientific method, you’ll approach an event, action, individual, etc. And apply a set of circumstances to observe outcomes. Most papers in this field are written in the APA format, which can be a burden for students, especially if they aren’t familiar with this style. If you lack time or motivation for writing, appeal to our professional writers to write a case study  in APA format, and we will ensure your paper is perfectly formatted and gets a high grade.

Structure of Case Study Report In APA

First, let’s look at the sections in writing a case study in APA, which shares a few similarities to a typical research paper.

Introduction: Introduce your topic to the reader. Be sure to include the state of current research and where you plan to develop the current state of knowledge. You should include an interesting fact to reinforce your work’s importance and develop an interest in your hypothesis. Finish off with a thesis statement that you’ll focus on your workaround.

Aims: In this section, you answer the questions regarding why you are conducting your research and any questions you’ll explore. Avid case study writer recommends focusing your questions around your thesis. You can develop a triangle with a diagram and drill down your questions in a logical format that matches your paper’s main purpose.

Methods: Writing a case study in APA requires a methods section that details how you conducted your research. Did you conduct any interviews, send out questionnaires, or observe any behaviors? Detail them in this section, and state the environment and circumstances surrounding your data collection.

Results: Now that you’ve identified what you’d planned to accomplish and how you went about it in your APA case study format, it’s time to post the results. Don’t be shy if things don’t go swimmingly. Often in studies, we have unexpected results, which sometimes makes your paper more interesting to read.

Discussion: It’s time for the heart and soul of your paper. After all your research and observation, it is time to have a discourse on the results. The key to how to write a case paper in APA hangs on your ability to interpret the results in a meaningful way. Be sure to focus the discussion on your stated methods and how they pertain to your aims.

Recommendations: Here you want to detail what is to follow your research. Professional case study writers advise stating any knowledge gaps in your work and any unanswered or new questions you had found in the process. Your insights will be useful for others to follow in your footsteps and expand on your analysis.

Sample Of APA Case Study Outline

Example of writing a case study analysis in APA format:

Writing a case study in APA Step By Step

Knowing how to write a case study in APA format is a common question for students. In addition to the typical academic standards, APA has its own requirements that must be adhered to. The first step is to create a heading, known as a running head, that will be present on each page of your paper. The running head includes:

• The page number on the right margin
• A shortened title of your paper in ALL-CAPS no longer than 50 characters to the right

Title Page in APA for Case Study Project

The title of a case study in an APA paper is a requirement. The purpose is to state the name of the work, who the author is, and the institution that sponsored the research. It has the following parts:

• The words “running head” at the top, followed by the actual running head
• The full title of your paper using APA titling no longer than 12 words
• Your name without any designations (Dr/Ph.D./Rev/etc.) and the institution you attend

For APA Style ( 7th edition ), the cover page should also have:

• A page number at the top right corner.
• The institutional affiliation where the research took place.
• Course information, which is mandatory for student papers.
• The author’s note is optional and usually appears in professional papers.
• Font options have expanded to include Calibri 11, Arial 11, Lucida Sans Unicode 10, Times New Roman 12, or Georgia 11.
• All text on the title page should be double-spaced.
• Center all page contents and capitalize the first letter of significant words.

Note: APA 7 distinguishes between the formatting of title pages for professional and student papers. For instance, professional papers include a running head, while student papers do not necessarily include one.

APA Title Page Example

The Abstract for an APA case study

The abstract of your paper works as a summary to give a brief overview of what it contains. Include the running head at the top; the first line should have the word “abstract” centered. Follow the abstract with 150-250 words summarizing your paper. You may also index some keywords to help find the contents of your work in academic databases. At the end of your summary, indent once, and in italics, indicate keywords related to your work.

Writing an effective college paper requires a lot of planning and formatting to get it done right. Brush up on these guidelines for how to write your paper in APA format . If you need someone to review your work or write any parts of your paper, reach out to our professional writers, who are always willing to lend a hand.

Additionally, with the help of our blog, you can make sure you create a professional PowerPoint presentation that clearly outlines the main points of your paper. If you need help with this, our professional writers can provide guidance.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / How to Cite Sources / How to Cite a Case Study in APA, MLA, or Chicago

How to Cite a Case Study in APA, MLA, or Chicago

When citing a case study, the format in MLA and APA is similar to that of a report, and in Chicago style, it is similar to that of a book. For all three citation styles, you will need the name of the author(s), the title of the case study, the year it was published, the publishing organization/publisher, and URL (if applicable). The templates and examples below will demonstrate how to cite a case study in MLA, APA, and Chicago styles.

Author Last Name, Author First Name.  Title of Case Study . Edition (if applicable), volume number (if applicable), Publisher, year of publication, URL without http:// or https:// (if applicable).

Hill, Linda A., et al. HCL Technologies (A). Rev. edition, Harvard Business School, 2008, www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=34784.

In-text Citation:

(Author Last Name(s) page #)

(Hill et al. 8)

Author Last Name, Author Initial. (Publication Year). Title of Case Study (Case # if applicable). Publishing Organization. URL

Hill, L., Khanna, T., & Stecker, E. (2008). HCL Technologies (A) (Case 408-004). Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=34784

(Author Last Name, Publication Year)

(Hill et al., 2008)

Notes-bibliography style

Author Last Name, First Name.  Title of the Case Study . Publishing City: Publishing Organization, Publication Year. URL.

Hill, Linda A., Tarun Khanna, and Emily Stecker. HCL Technologies (A).  Boston: Harvard Business School, 2008. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=34784.

1. Author First Name Last Name, Title of the Case Study (Publishing City: Publishing Organization, Publication Year), URL.

1. Linda A. Hill, Tarun Khanna, and Emily Stecker, HCL Technologies (A) ( Boston: Harvard Business School, 2008), https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=34784.

Author-date style

Author Last Name, First Name. Publication Year. Title of the Case Study . Publishing City: Publishing Organization. URL.

Hill, Linda A., Tarun Khanna, and Emily Stecker. 2008. HCL Technologies (A).  Boston: Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=34784.

In-text citation: 

(Author Last Name Publication Date)

(Holl, Khanna, and Stecker 2008)

Citation Guides

• Annotated Bibliography
• Block Quotes
• Citation Examples
• et al Usage
• In-text Citations
• Page Numbers
• Reference Page
• Sample Paper
• APA 7 Updates
• View APA Guide
• Bibliography
• Works Cited
• MLA 8 Updates
• View MLA Guide

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