CASE STUDY

Introduction
The samples below are papers by students, unless specifically noted.  They are examples of "A" level undergraduate
writing or entry-level professional work.  To get a better idea of how this type of paper is written, you will want to look at
all the samples.  Then compare the samples to each other and to what the "Basics" part of this chapter says.   
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the paper you will be required to write; then read, either fully or using skim reading as described here.
Unless otherwise noted, sample papers do not necessarily meet all requirements an individual instructor or professional
supervisor may have: ask your instructor or supervisor.  In addition, the samples single spaced to save room; however, a
proper manuscript given to an instructor or supervisor normally should be double spaced with margins set at or close to
1" unless another format has been requested.
  
SPECIAL NOTES: This sample case study uses the "Patient-Symptoms-Plan" structure of organization and is a type of
paper meant more for reporting on or studying an individual patient or client.  It is written in APA style and is modeled
after a fictional episode--with names changed and all actual dialogue from the show removed--on the once-popular
television drama ER.   
The structure this paper uses is
Brief Introduction
PATIENT/CLIENT
SYMPTOMS/PROBLEM(S) & DIAGNOSIS
TREATMENT PLAN (Components, Applicaton, Results/Prognosis)
Brief Conclusion 
---
Laleh Yaghoubi
EngC 3014 - Jewell
Section 10
Case Study Draft III
Case study: Erectile dysfunction from torture
by Laleh Yaghoubi
        The following is a case study of a male client, Mubilajeh, suffering from a sexual disorder (impotence).  Erectile
disorder, the inability to have an erection or maintain one, is currently the most common sexual disorder among men
(Hyde 468).  One result of erectile disorder is that the man cannot engage in sexual intercourse.  For many men,
including this individual, psychological reactions to erectile disorder may be severe: embarrassment, depression, and
anxiety.  The client was diagnosed and given an assessment with the goal of determining the factors.  Through a process
of discovery, the client's history finally revealed that the impotence was actually a result of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
(PTSD) caused by a past experience.  People with PTSD fear re-experiencing a traumatic event and sometimes are
unable to remember certain aspects (Barlow 138). However, through psychoanalytic therapy, this client illustrates a
successful recovery.
   
Patient
        This section presents a brief patient assessment, including a case history of the client considered in the study. 
Mubilajeh, thin proportioned and nearly seven feet tall, is a thirty-year-old African male originally from Nigeria.  He is a
peaceful and proud African man.  He has been married to his wife, Zhane, for nine years, and they hope to have children
very soon.
        At the age of fourteen, Mubilajeh's father passed away, which left his mother alone to raise six children.  Mubilajeh
was the oldest of the six children.  After his father's death, Mubilajeh felt obligated as "man of the house" to financially
support his family.  These difficult times forced him to quit school, and he found a full-time job at a neighborhood library. 
Mubilajeh had always been an excellent student in school; he especially missed writing his creative stories.  Mubilajeh
found his job extremely boring; therefore, he kept himself occupied reading anything he found interesting in the library to
pass time.  Mubilajeh returned back to school when his brothers were old enough to work and help financially support the
rest of the family.  This allowed all three of them to work and attend school.  Mubilajeh eagerly continued and completed
his education at a local university.
        In Nigeria, Mubilajeh became a well-known professional writer and an engineer.  He later published a very
controversial story that stirred considerable political debate.  The Nigerian government felt the story could provide a
cause for starting a revolution and threatened Mubilajeh, so he and his wife escaped to the United States.  They moved
to Philadelphia approximately four years ago and live in a one-bedroom apartment a mile from Mubilajeh's place of
employment.  Mubilajeh is a hard-working janitor in the emergency services department at St. John's hospital.
Symptoms and Diagnosis
        This section presents a description of the Mubilajeh's problems and their diagnosis.  His complaints presented a list
of symptoms associated with a particular kind of sexual disorder, erectile dysfunction (impotence).  This has been a very
embarrassing and stressful problem for him and has put a strain on his relationship with his wife, Zhane.  Zhane has
been sympathetic but she is very worried about him.
        Mubilajeh was feeling sharp pains in his lower back and proceeded to see a doctor at his place of work.  During his
medical office examination, the attending physician, Dr. Dahl, noticed twenty enormous burn scars all over Mubilajeh's
back.  Though healed through time, the scars still felt rough like the bark of a tree.  Dr. Dahl asked Mubilajeh, "How did
you get those?"  However, Mubilajeh didn't want to talk about it.  'We don't have to talk about it, but I am rather
concerned about that possible hernia," replied Dr. Dahl.  After x-rays and further tests Dr. Dahl revisited with Mubilajeh
and determined that surgery was urgently necessary.
        After Mubilajeh's surgery, Dr. Dahl reported the successful results to Zhane.  Dr. Dahl, concerned about further
possible problems with Mubilajeh's health, asked Zhane how Mubilajeh got the severe scars on his back.  Zhane
explained that due to the controversial story that Mubilajeh published, a group of soldiers came to their house and
captured him.  That same night, the soldiers returned and raped Zhane.  After several weeks the soldiers released
Mubilajeh.  Barely alive, he finally returned home.  He had broken bones, severe burns, and bruises.  Zhane explained
that she never told Mubilajeh of her rape by the soldiers.  Also, Zhane volunteered to share that she and Mubilajeh had
been experiencing intimacy problems. During his routine patient check-up, Dr. Dahl consulted with Mubilajeh about the
information Zhane had shared with him.  Mubilajeh confessed that he had been experiencing impotency.
        During a standard room check/preparation one day, Nurse Elliot walked in and found Mubilajeh in the comer of an
examination room.  The room was in disarray. Mubilajeh had blood all over his hands and shirt. Nurse Elliot not only
found surgical scissors in his hands, but also saw Zhane lying unconscious on the floor in front of him.  Security was
called and Mubilajeh was arrested.  When Zhane finally became conscious from her coma, she explained that after
shamefully confessing to Mubilajeh of her rape, she repeatedly struck herself with the surgical scissors.  Mubilajeh was
only trying to stop her.  "He felt responsible for what happened to me.  I felt ashamed, like I could never please him
again," stated Zhane. Mubilajeh was temporarily released.
         Due to illegal entry into the United States , the immigration office demanded to hear Mubilajeh's whole story in
court. Otherwise, Mubilajeh and his wife would be forced to leave the country.  However, Mubilajeh could not remember
anything from the incident.  It was diagnosed that Mubilajeh was suffering from a posttraumatic stress disorder.
   
Plan
        This section presents the treatment plan that was used for dealing with the client's problem.  Also, this section will
describe the results and outcome of how that process was applied.  This plan took into consideration the severity of
Mubilajeh's disorder with regard to his resistance to treatment.
COMPONENTS [Type of Therapy  Chosen ]
        From a psychological point of view, most clinicians agree that victims of PTSD should face the original trauma in
order to develop effective coping procedures and thus overcome the debilitating effects of the disorder.  In
psychoanalytic therapy, reliving emotional trauma to relieve emotional suffering is called catharsis (Barlow 144).  The
trick, of course, is in arranging the re-exposure so that it will be therapeutic rather than traumatic once again.  A traumatic
event is difficult to recreate, and very few therapists want to try.  Therefore, imaginal exposure, in which the content of
the trauma and the emotions involved with it are worked through systematically, may be used.
        Another complication is that trauma victims often repress their memories of the event.  This happens automatically
and unconsciously.  On occasion, with treatment, the memories flood back and the patient very dramatically relives the
episode.  Although this may be very frightening to both patient and therapist, it is therapeutic if handled appropriately.
APPLICATION [of Therapy to This Patient]
        Given Mubilajeh's resistance to seek professional help, Dr. Dahl attempted to find another strategy for treatment. 
Mubilajeh was still reluctant to seek psychological therapy, but he was beginning to feel more comfortable discussing his
problems with Dr. Dahl.  As a result, Dr. Dahl spontaneously decided to share a personal experience with Mubilajeh in
which he suffered memory loss caused by PTSD from a traumatic incident.
        He explained the gruesome details of a viscous attack.  "Afterwards, all I could think of was 'why didn't I do
anything?"' explained Dr. Dahl. "You can't . . .you can't do anything.  You're helpless," replied Mubilajeh.  All of a sudden,
Mubilajeh remembered what happened to him.  He recalled his eyes tightly blindfolded, the unbearable smell of smoke,
the excruciating pain of being hung by his hands, and the metal irons burning into his skin.  He hopelessly wondered if he
would ever taste Zhane's sweet lips again or smell the scent of her perfume.
Results/Outcome
        This section presents the results of the treatment plan used in the study.  After hearing all of the details, the courts
agreed to allow Mubilajeh and Zhane to remain in the United States .  Due to the psychoanalytic therapy process used
by Dr. Dahl, our diagnosis of Mubilajeh's PTSD showed itself to be valid. Dr. Dahl's strategy was successful and
Mubilajeh was able to remember the details of his traumatic experience.  
        Cognitive, Behavioral and Couple Therapy later used in the treatment process also provided successful results. 
Mubilajeh learned to overcome the fear and horror of his past traumatic experience.  The anxiety caused by these
emotions was gradually overcome, as was the sexual disorder.
Conclusion
        The author hopes that the case study presented here has communicated some of the issues and concerns
associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.  The author also hopes to show the damaging effects that patients may
suffer as a result of this disorder.  Such individuals are often doubly handicapped.  Our hypothesis that Mubilajeh's
sexual disorder was actually a result of PTSD caused by a past experience proved to be valid. Mubilajeh was not only
suffering from severe psychological problems caused by PTSD, but psychological problems from his sexual disorder as
well. With a helpful, caring doctor and a therapeutic treatment program he was able successfully recover.
References
        Barlow, D., & Durand, M. (1999). Abnormal Psychology: Anxiety Disorders (pp. 138-144).  New York: State
University of New York.
        Hyde, J., & DeLarnater, I. (1997). Understanding Human Sexuality: Sexual Disorders (pp. 468-49 1). Madison:
University of Wisconsin.
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 Sample Two: Social Sciences Questionnaire Survey Research Paper

SPECIAL NOTES: This paper is written in APA style.  It was written as a final research paper for two classes at once:
advanced composition and a sociology class.  It is an excellent example of junior-level introductory social sciences
writing using original research with a survey-and-interview methodology.  The structure this paper uses is
Brief Introduction
BACKGROUND
PRESENT STUDY (Sample, Instrument, Analysis)
FINDINGS
CONCLUSIONS
Brief Conclusion 
Regarding APA bibliographies, in some versions of APA style, hanging indents are used; while in others, paragraph
indents are used.  This paper uses paragraph indents as requested by the companion sociology instructor.
---
University of Minnesota
EngC 3014 -- Jewell 
Final "Interview" Research Paper 
Copyright Christine Hetcher
Women and Beauty Magazines
by Christine Hetcher
            Beauty magazines, such as Cosmopolitan, Glamour, and Marie Claire, are widely read by women
throughout America .  What do women actually think of these magazines?  Do they feel the magazines are helpful, degrading, or
simply something to read?  This paper is a survey interview to determine what women in their late teens and early twenties think
about beauty magazines in Americatoday.  The purpose of this study is to determine whether women like or dislike beauty
magazines, why they like or dislike them, and how frequently women read beauty magazines.
Background
            This section reviews the previous studies conducted on the effects of women’s magazines. Magazines specifically written for
women have been in circulation for over sixty years, discussing whatever issues were relevant to women at the time (Moskowitz,
1996).  Some of the earlier magazines focused on a war-time rebellion of feminism.  Moskowitz (1996) conducted a study about the
effects of war-time magazines and said, “Women’s magazines of the Cold War era remain symbols of antifeminism” (p.
66).  Moskowitz (1996) found that many women liked the articles because many magazines discussed important issues to them, such
as stress, emotionalism, and feminism (p.66).  Moskowitz (1996) said, “recognition of emotional tension was common for women’s
magazines” (p.67).  This recognition “presented a whole new genre of articles that gave housewives the freedom to interpret their
own states of mind” (Moskowitz, 1996, p. 74).  This freedom was an important issue of the early thirties and forties.
            Today, most women’s magazines focus on five basic concepts: health, career, personal well-being, fashion, and, of course,
sex.  Some articles from a recent Cosmopolitan were “Freaky Flow? Your Most Pressing Period Problems Ever,” “Cosmo’s Hot
New Sex Position,” and “Ten Hollywood Haircuts to Copy Right Now” (Beland, Gotthardt, & Kemp, 1999, p. 250-278).  Such cover
stories would have been shocking in the conservative war era sixty years ago, but are now expected in the liberal nineties.
             Only recently have psychologists and women’s studies enthusiasts begun to wonder what effects magazines with such
articles may have on women.  McCracken (1993) found that some women enjoy reading these articles because they “like to imagine
that they can be like the women in the magazine -- beautiful, successful, etc.” (p. 6).  Other women read beauty magazines simply for
entertainment.  One woman stated, “[The articles] are fun to laugh at because they are so far-fetched,” while another said, “I like to
look at the fashions even though no one I know dresses like that and I know I never could” (McCracken, 1993, p. 7).  Other women
read the magazines because they feel that the advice is helpful and informative (McCracken, 1993, p. 6).  McCracken (1993) stated,
“Many readers experience a pseudo sense of community; the advice columns aid them with their problems and help assure them that
other women experience similar difficulties (p. 6).
            While some women find beauty magazines entertaining and helpful, others find them appalling and degrading.  McCracken
(1993) stated, “Disillusionment can occur when the magazine’s ideal world does not correspond to real life” (p.7).  The contents of
beauty magazines offend some women because the magazines “encourage insecurities, heighten gender stereotypes, and urge
redefining definitions of self-through consumer goods” (McCracken, 1993, p. 9).
            Although much research has been done on women’s opinions of beauty magazines, the results have been inconclusive as to
whether more women like the magazines and read them regularly or whether more women dislike the magazines and never read
them.   In the research reported here, I interviewed young women in order to determine which factors cause the opposing viewpoints
of liking or disliking beauty magazines.  I attempted to discover why women chose to read or refused to read these magazines.  I
expected to find a higher percentage of women who liked beauty magazines and regularly read them than those who disliked beauty
magazines and never read them.
Present Study
            The next section discusses the present study.  It explains how the sample was chosen, describes the instrument used, and
analyzes the results.  This study focused on young women’s opinions of popular women’s magazines and why women liked to read
them or refused to read them.
SAMPLE
            The sample used for this study consisted of twenty young women between the ages of nineteen to twenty-five.  The women
interviewed were randomly selected from students attending theUniversity of Minnesota at noon on three separate days: Monday,
Tuesday, and Thursday.  The students filled out questionnaires distributed to them while they were engaging in various
activities. The activities they were engaging in were either sitting in Coffman Union, walking on campus, waiting for a bus, studying
at a library, eating lunch, playing a sport on the lawn, or waiting for a class.  First, the women were asked if they were between the
ages of nineteen to twenty-five.  If they fit the age group, then they were asked to immediately answer a questionnaire and return it to
me upon completion. 
INSTRUMENT
            The instrument used was a questionnaire consisting of six questions.  The six questions focused on how often the women read
beauty magazines, what they thought of the contents, on what they thought the magazines should change or increase focus,  how
beneficial the magazines were to them, how often they take the advice given in the magazines, and which magazines (if any) was
their favorite including the reason why it was their favorite.  The format of the questions consisted of both a nominal scale and an
ordinal scale of answers according to their responses.
            The following are the questions from the questionnaire administered:
QUESTIONNAIRE
1.  How many times per month do you read beauty magazines?
3 or more,  2,  1,  Less than 1,  Never
2.  How do you feel about the contents of beauty magazines?
Strongly approve Approve,  Neutral or no opinion,  Disapprove, Strongly disapprove
3.  Which are do you think beauty magazines should emphasize more?
Nothing (magazines put good emphasis on all areas),  Health,  Sex, Career,  Fashion,  Personal well being,  No opinion
4.  How beneficial do you think beauty magazines are?
Very beneficial,  Slightly beneficial,  Not at all beneficial, Slightly harmful,  Very harmful,  No opinion
5.  How often do you take the advice or tips given in beauty magazines?
Very often, Frequently,  Rarely,  Never,  No opinion
6.  Which beauty magazine is your favorite?
Cosmopolitan,  Vogue,  Elle,  Marie Claire,  Glamour,  None
Why? _________________________________
                  _________________________________
ANALYSIS
            In order to determine the results of this study, the answers were tabulated and then statistically computed.  This computation
found the relative frequency, or the percentages, of each response to each question.
            Here are the relative frequency charts and histograms for each question:
1. Frequency and Relative Frequency of Times Beauty Magazines were read per month:

  Frequency Rel. Freq.

Never 6 0.30

less than one 0 0.00

1 5 0.25

2 6 0.30

3 or more 3 0.15

Total 20 1.00

 
2. Frequency and Relative Frequency of Opinion of Contents of Beauty Magazines:

  Frequency Rel. Freq.

strongly approve 4 0.20

approve 9 0.45

neutral (no opinion) 3 0.15

disapprove 1 0.05

strongly disapprove 3 0.15

Total 20 1.00

3. Frequency and Relative Frequency of Opinion of Contents of Beauty Magazines:

  Frequency Rel. Freq.

nothing 5 0.25

health 2 0.10

sex 3 0.15

career 2 0.10
fashion 2 0.10

personal well being 3 0.15

neutral (no opinion) 3 0.15

Total 20 1.00

 
4. Frequency and Relative Frequency of Opinion of Benefit of Magazines:

  Frequency Rel. Freq.

very beneficial 3 0.15

slightly beneficial 8 0.40

not beneficial 2 0.10

slightly harmful 1 0.05

harmful 3 0.15
neutral (no opinion) 3 0.15

Total 20 1.00

 
5. Frequency and Relative Frequency of Advice Taken from Magazines:

  Frequency Rel. Freq.

very frequently 2 0.10

frequently 7 0.35

rarely 4 0.20

never 4 0.20

neutral (no opinion) 3 0.15

Total 20 1.00
 
6. Frequency and Relative Frequency of Favorite Magazines:

  Frequency Rel. Freq.

Cosmopolitan 8 0.40

Glamour 4 0.20

Vogue 1 0.05

Marie Claire 1 0.05

Elle 0 0.00

no favorite 3 0.15

don't read beauty mag.s 3 0.15

Total 20 1.00
     
            The responses to the “Why” portion of question six will not be listed here due to the fact that they are personally written
responses.
Findings
            This section examines and discusses the results to the questionnaire.  In order to effectively understand the information found
through the results, this section is broken into six categories in accordance with the six questions from the questionnaire.  These six
categories are how frequently the magazines are read by women in this age group, the opinions of the contents of the magazines, the
opinions of which areas should be emphasized more by the magazines, how frequently women take advice from the magazines, the
opinions of the beneficiallity of magazines, and finally, which magazine was listed as the common favorite and why.
FREQUENCY OF READING MAGAZINES
            The first area of the results is how frequently the women surveyed read beauty magazines. The results to this area found that
most women (55%) read the magazines once or twice a month. When the results are broken down according to each response they
show that 15% of the women interviewed read beauty magazines three times a month or more, 30% read them twice a month, 25%
read them once a month, and 00 % read them less than once a month.  30% of women surveyed never read beauty magazines.
.OPINIONS OF THE CONTENTS
            The second area of the results is the women’s opinions of the contents of beauty magazines. The results to this area found that
most women interviewed (65%) either approved or strongly approved of the contents.  These results broken down show that  20%
strongly approved, 45% approved, 15% were neutral or had no opinion, 5% disapproved, and 15% greatly disapproved.
AREAS NEEDING MORE EMPHASIS
            The third area of results is which areas the women felt needed more emphasis.  Overall, most women (60%) felt that one area
needed more emphasis, but the results differed as to which area should be emphasized.  While 25% felt nothing should be changed,
10% felt the magazines should put more emphasis on health, 15% felt the magazines should put more emphasis on sex, 10% felt the
magazines should put more emphasis on career, 10% felt the magazines should put more emphasis on fashion, and 15% felt the
magazines should put more emphasis on personal well-being.  15% of the women interviewed had no opinion.
FREQUENCY OF ADVICE TAKEN
            The fourth area of results is how often women take the advice given in beauty magazines. Most women (45%) frequently or
very frequently took advice from beauty magazines.  The results show that 10% of women interviewed take the advice given in
magazines very frequently and 35% take it frequently.  However, 20% of women interviewed rarely take the advice given and 20%
never take it.  15% of the women interviewed were neutral or had no opinion.
BENEFIT
            The fifth area of results is how beneficial women interviewed felt beauty magazines are. While most women (55%) felt the
magazines are either very beneficial (10%) or slightly beneficial (40%), other women felt the magazines are at least slightly harmful
(5%) or harmful (15%).  In this area of results, 15% of women interviewed were neutral or had no opinion.
FAVORITE MAGAZINE
            The final area of results to this study is which magazine women choose as their favorite and why.  Most women interviewed
choose Cosmopolitan as their favorite (40%) with Glamour  a distant second (20%).  Both Vogue  and Marie Claire  received 5% of
the votes each, and no one chooseElle  as their favorite.  15% of the women interviewed did not have a favorite beauty magazine and
15% did not read beauty magazines.
Summarized Conclusions
            This section provides a summary of the results found with final conclusions about these results. The findings of this study
show that most women (70%) read beauty magazines often (once a month or more) and were supportive of the contents of the
magazines (65%).  Most women (60%) felt the magazine should put more emphasis on one certain area, but differed as to which
area.  Only (25%) felt the magazines had a good balance of topic emphasis.  The reason most women gave for
choosing Cosmopolitan  as their favorite was because it was “very hip” and “not afraid to discuss important topics to women.”  Also,
most women (55%) felt that the magazines were helpful to their daily life and frequently used the advice found in the magazines
(45%).
            The results to this study lead to the conclusion that, despite the fact that beauty magazines may seem frivolous to some, young
women of today use them as types of survival guides.  Women look to them for advice in their careers, health, personal well-being,
fashion styles, and sex-lives. Examining these results shows that women consider beauty magazines as they would consider a friend;
they go to them for advice, new ideas, and health tips. 
            These results can be  interpreted in two ways.  The first interpretation is that the magazines are a benefit to women because
they give them guidance and allow them to feel more secure in their lives.  The second interpretation is that women are so concerned
with what is in “vogue” that they feel they need to consult a magazine to guide them.  This poses an interesting question that will lead
to another survey to determine how dependent women are upon these magazines.
            This survey interview asked young women about their opinions towards beauty magazines. The purpose of this study was to
determine why women like or dislike beauty magazines and how frequently women read beauty magazines.  The results to this study
supported the original hypothesis that a higher percentage of women like beauty magazines and read regularly read them than the
percentage of women that disliked the magazines and refused to read them.  The results lead to the interpretation that beauty
magazines are well liked among women in the age group of nineteen to twenty-five because they contain many topics found
interesting by these women and because they offer beneficial advice and tips.