Research Guides: Case Study Research: Finding a Case Study

Finding a Case Study

Search for case studies in EagleSearch

Example: "case study" AND aviation

Below are instructions for locating case studies in some aviation specific databases:

Advanced Technologies & Aerospace Database This link opens in a new window
Provides citations, abstracts and some full text articles, to aeronautics, astronautics, computer & information technology, communications and space sciences journal articles, conference proceedings, NASA documents, and technical reports.
1. From the Advanced Search page, enter a term or terms to describe the topic of your search
2. Below, in the "Document type" box, select Case Study
3. Click on Search
Search Tips
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: automat* will find automate, automated, automatic, and automation.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “crew resource management.”
- Use connectors AND, OR, NOT to separate terms and phrases: "flight crew" AND fatigue.
- To locate a complete issue of a journal, click on Publications at the top of the screen.

AIAA Aerospace Research Central (ARC) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to journals, standards, ebooks and papers published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).
1. In the search box, type in the following with quotes: "case study"
2. To search for case studies in a particular area, type AND followed by a keyword related to your topic
  - i.e. "case study" AND uas
3. Click on Search
Search EagleSearch for standards owned by the Hunt Library.

Search Tips
- Enter search terms in the Search box located along the top.
- When two or more words are entered, the database will automatically place AND between the words.
- The operators OR and NOT can be used but must be uppercase.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search them as an exact phrase, such as a book title: “From Rainbow to Gusto.”
- Use the asterisk (*) to find variant endings of a root word: plan* will find plan, plans, planning, etc. The asterisk cannot be used within quotation marks for phrase searching.
- To find a specific AIAA paper, change the drop-down menu to the search box from Anywhere to Find by Paper
- To browse journals, books, or standards, click on the respective tab located along the top.

Below are instructions for locating case studies in some business specific databases:

SAGE Business Cases This link opens in a new window
Multidisciplinary peer-reviewed business cases, many with teaching notes and discussion questions.
Good to Know
- The About SAGE Business Cases guide can be found at http://sk.sagepub.com.ezproxy.libproxy.db.erau.edu/about-business-cases.
- To create a free optional profile, click on the Profile icon in the upper right corner of the database web page. A profile allows you to make lists, save searches, and more.
- To obtain a faculty teaching code, send a request to library@erau.edu or call 386-226-7656.
Search Tips
- To find cases by topic, enter a word or phrase in the box titled "Search in SAGE Business Cases" in the top center of the main search screen. Note: This search box automatically performs an "exact phrase" search; to perform a search with Boolean operators (AND, OR, NOT), click on the Advanced link just below the lower right corner of the search box
- For an alphabetical list of cases, click on the link titled Browse SAGE Business Cases.
- To browse by Discipline, Region, or other categories, click on the relevant Browse by... box in the center of the screen.
- To search other SAGE products in addition to Business Cases, or for additional search options and filters, click on the Advanced link just below the lower right corner of the search box.

Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Provides access to scholarly journals in the disciplines of business, marketing, management, accounting, finance and economics.
1. In the search box, enter a term or terms to descirbe the topic of your search
2. Below, in the "Limit your results" box and in the "Publication Type" field, select Case Study
3. Click Search
Good to Know
- To create a free EBSCOhost account and access additional features such as saving preferences, research organization and sharing, saving and retrieving search history, etc., click on the Sign in link in the upper right corner of any page.
- Articles in HTML format can be read aloud using the Text-To-Speech feature.
Search Tips
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “consumer behavior”
- Use the asterisk (*) to find variant endings of a root word: comput* will find computer, computers, computing, etc.
- Use the options in the Refine Search section on the left to further focus your results.
- To search for company information, first perform a basic search using the company name. When the results page appears, click on the desired company name under Company Information on the right.
- For help using and searching this database, click on Help in the upper right-hand corner.

JSTOR This link opens in a new window
Full-text periodicals in business, arts & sciences, and security studies & international relations.
1. Select Advanced Search either in the menu at the top of the page or above the search box
2. In the first search box, type in: "case study"
3. In the dropdown to the right change All fields to Item Title
4. In the second search box, enter a term or terms related to your topic
5. Click Search
Search Tips
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: pilot* will find pilot, pilots, piloting, etc.
- When two or more words are entered, the database will search for them as an exact phrase. If you wish to avoid this, place AND between the words.

Below are instructions for locating case studies in some engineering specific databases:

AccessEngineering This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to McGraw-Hill resources and publications including instructional videos and classic books such as Marks’ Standard Handbook for Mechanical Engineers and Perry’s Chemical Engineers Handbook.
1. In the Search Access Engineering box, enter: "case study" OR "case studies"
2. Click Search
3. Add topic-related terms to the search above to focus your search, or use the filtering options in the "Refine results by" box on the left side of the page
Good to Know
- To create a free AccessEngineering account, click on the My account button on the right side of the AccessEngineering homepage. Then, choose Log in via email/username and click on Register.
- To use features including printing, document downloading, and annotating text, sign in with an AccessEngineering username and password.
- Downloadable Excel Spreadsheet Calculators covering a range of common calculations across several disciplines are available. Click on Spreadsheets.
- If you have access issues, clear your browser's cache and cookies. If you are using the Chrome browser, please try an alternate browser such as Firefox.
Search Tips
- To conduct a search with multiple terms or phrases, use connectors AND, OR, NOT to separate terms and phrases: paper AND core
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: automat* will find automate, automated, automatic, and automation.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: "paper core”
- To view other sections available in a book, click on the book title (Source) below the citation.
- To view resources in a particular subject area, click on the Subject button, then the desired subject, and then Browse Selected.
- Pop-up blockers may interfere, so please allow pop-ups.
- For help in searching this database, click on the Help link at the top of the page.

IEEE Xplore Digital Library This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to all IEEE journals, magazines, conference proceedings, transactions and standards in areas such as electrical engineering, computer science, electronics, and more.
1. In the search box, type in the following with quotes: "case study"
2. To search for case studies in a particular area, type AND followed by a keyword related to your topic
  - i.e. "case study" AND avionics
3. Click on the magnifying glass (search button)
Good to Know
Click Create Account in the upper right corner of the database page to access additional features such as Alerts, Search History, etc.

Search Tips
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “aircraft instrumentation”
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: optic* will find optics, optical, etc.
- Click Advanced Search to access additional options such as specific field searching, Boolean (AND/OR/NOT) searching, and Publication Date ranges.
- Once results are obtained, click on PDF below the citation to view the complete document.
- For help using and searching this database, click Help or Get Help in the menu bar across the top of the screen on any database page.

Below are instructions for locating case studies in some general/multidisciplinary databases:

Academic OneFile This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles from scholarly journals and other resources in the sciences, engineering, business, as well as humanities and social sciences areas.
1. Select Advanced Search from beneath the search box
2. Enter a term or terms related to your topic
3. Click the Document Type button under Filter Your Results and select Case study
4. Click Apply
Good to Know
- To save documents you will need to have a Google Account to save to a Google Drive.
- To create a Google Drive account, click on Sign in with Google at the top of the page.
- To hear a document read aloud, click or tap Listen to expand the player and begin playback.
Search Tips
- Click on the links along the top of the results list to limit to: Magazines, Academic Journals, Books, News, Images, Videos and Audio.
- Use the filters to the right of the results list to narrow results further.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “mission to mars”
- Use connectors AND, OR, NOT to separate terms and phrases: "mission to mars" AND spacecraft
- To locate a complete issue of a journa or magazinel, select Publication Search.

ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
Provides citations, abstracts, and some full-text items covering all subject areas including business and economic journals, magazines, trade, and journals in psychology and computing.
1. Select Advanced Search from the menu at the left center of the page
2. In the search box, enter a term or terms related to your topic
3. Below, in the "Document type" box, select Case Study
4. Click Search
Search Tips
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: automat* will find automate, automated, automatic, and automation.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “crew resource management.”
- Use connectors AND, OR, NOT to separate terms and phrases: "flight crew" AND fatigue.
- To locate a complete issue of a journal, click on Publications at the top of the screen.

Taylor & Francis Online This link opens in a new window
Scholarly journals in education, humanities, social sciences, technology, and more.
1. In the search box, type in the following with quotes: "case study"
2. To search for case studies in a particular area, type AND followed by a keyword related to your topic
  - i.e. "case study" AND communication
3. Click on the magnifying glass (Search button)
Search Tips
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “virtual reality”
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: pilot* will find pilot, piloting,
- Connect search terms with AND: automobile AND biofuel
- For help using and searching this database, click the Help link at the bottom of the page.

Ebook Central This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to a growing collection of ebooks on a variety of subjects, such as aviation and human factors.
1. In the search box, type in the following with quotes: "case study"
2. To search for case studies in a particular area, type AND followed by a keyword related to your topic
  - i.e. "case study" AND security
3. Click Search
Good to Know
- Bookshelves are based on your ERNIE login. (Older versions of bookshelves were overridden.)
- A separate Ebook Central account is no longer required for the use of Bookshelf, highlighting, and downloading features.
- You can add books to your Bookshelf by clicking on the Add to Bookshelf link located on the left of the book’s Detail Page or by placing a bookmark on any page within the book.
- For most books the print/download limit is 40% of the book's pages. Printing or downloading a chapter or page range do the same thing and deduct in the same way based on the pages allowed. Both options create a PDF that does not expire.
- Check the "Availability" section, on the Detail Page, or in the Book Details side panel to see how many copies are available and if it is for Online reading or Download, or both.
- You can change the language of the interface by clicking on Settings in the naviagation bar and clicking on Language. Choose your language and save the changes.
Search Tips
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “crew resource management.”
- Use connectors AND, OR, NOT to separate terms and phrases: "flight crew" AND fatigue. Connectors must be capitalized.
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of a word root to find all variants: automat* will find automate, automated, automatic, and automation.
- Click the Read Online button to view the full text of a book. Or, click on Full Download to download, if available.
- Use the table of contents or navigational arrows to browse.
- Use the "Search within book" search box to search for a term or phrase within the book.
- For help using and searching in the database, click the question mark icon (?) in the upper right corner, or use their Help Guide
Request Items
- Books not available full text online in this database may be available in print. Search for the title in EAGLEsearch to see if the library owns a print copy. Visit the Borrow and Renew (Access Services - Circulation) page for help in checking out material.
- If you see that a book is "Available on request," you may read the book online for up to 5 minutes; click Read Online to do so.
- Click on the Request button or request this book link to fill out the form to request the library purchase it if you cannot locate it in our catalog.

Below are instructions for locating case studies in some psychology specific databases:

PsycArticles This link opens in a new window
Full-text articles from the APA (American Psychological Association) and affiliated journals.
1. In the search box, type in the following with quotes: "case study"
2. To search for case studies in a particular area, type AND followed by a keyword related to your topic
  - i.e. "case study" AND behavior
3. Click Search
Good to Know
- To create a free EBSCOhost account and access additional features such as saving search preferences, research organization and sharing, retaining and retrieving search histories, etc., click the Sign in link in the upper right corner of the page.
- Articles in HTML format can be read aloud using the Listen feature. The Listen feature is not available for PDF documents.
Search Tips
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “post traumatic stress”
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of a root of a word to find all variants: traum* will find trauma, traumatic, traumatize, etc.
- Connect search terms with AND: veteran* AND trauma*
- Experiment with other options to further refine and focus your search.
- For help using and searching this database, click on Help in the upper right corner of the page.

PsycInfo This link opens in a new window
Human factors and psychological scholarly research.
1. In the search box, type in the following with quotes: "case study"
2. To search for case studies in a particular area, type AND followed by a keyword related to your topic
  - i.e. "case study" AND aviation
3. Click on the magnifying glass (search button)
Search Tips
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: pilot* will find pilot, pilots, piloting, etc.
- When two or more words are entered, the database will search for them as an exact phrase. If you wish to avoid this, place AND between the words.
- Always clear your searches after printing, emailing, or saving.

SAGE Journals This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to scholarly journals in the areas of human factors and ergonomics.
1. In the first search box, type in the following with quotes: "case study"
2. To the left of the first search box, change the dropdown All content to Title
3. In the second search box, type in a keyword related to your topic
4. Click Search
Good to Know
- Using Advanced Search allows you to search only the journals available to ERAU students, faculty, and staff.
- A free, optional account is available and offers access to additional tools such as email alerts, saved searches and favorite journals. To create an account, click Access/Profile in the upper right corner of the website.
Search Tips
- To search for documents containing an exact word or phrase, enclose the term in quotation marks. Example: “climate change”
- Use parentheses to group terms and Boolean operators as needed. Expressions within parentheses are evaluated first. Example: enter the following query to search for documents containing flood and also containing either climate or weather: flood AND (climate OR weather)
- To search for documents containing two or more terms that appear within a certain distance of each other, put quotation marks around the terms followed by a tilde (~) and a number to indicate the maximum number of words apart that the terms can be. Example: to find documents containing the terms climate and change within ten words of one another, enter the query: "climate change"~10
- Search results are listed in order of relevance. Users can increase the relevance of one term in a multiple-term query by raising the term’s boost factor. Raise a term’s boost factor by appending a caret symbol (^) and a number (the boost factor). Example: entering the query climate^7 global gives the term climate seven times more relevance than the term global.
- Additional Boolean Search tips

Below are instructions for locating case studies in some science specific databases:

ScienceDirect This link opens in a new window
Provides access to scholarly journals and ebooks in the areas of physical sciences, engineering, life sciences, health sciences, and social sciences and humanities.
1. In the search box, type in with quotes: "case study"
2. To search for case studies in a particular area, type AND followed by a keyword related to your topic
  - i.e. "case study" AND physics
3. Click Search
Search Tips
- Browse for or search within specific topic areas using the ScienceDirect Topics homepage.
- Variants of root words will be searched automatically. No special character is needed.
- Connect search terms with AND, OR, NOT:: pilot? AND fatigue.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: “sleep deprivation”

PLOS ONE This link opens in a new window
Full-text access to research articles in biology, genetics, and medicine from the Public Library of Science.
1. In the search box, type in the following with quotes: "case study"
2. To search for case studies in a particular area, type AND followed by a keyword related to your topic
  - i.e. "case study" AND energy
3. Click Search
Vendor: PLOS
Coverage: April 2006 - present
Full Text: Complete

Good to Know
- The database defaults to the advanced search option. Click the Simple Search link below the large search bar to search the entire database.
- An account is required to receive journal email alerts and to comment on articles; a free account can be created by clicking on Create account in the upper right corner.
Search Tips
- Browse articles in a particular subject area by clicking on Browse. Once a subject area is chosen, sub-categories will appear with each new selection to allow further narrowing. Click on View all articles and then list articles to view articles in that subject area.
- Enclose terms in quotation marks to search for exact phrases: "tropical diseases"
- Use an asterisk (*) at the end of the root of a word to find all variants: botan* will find botany, botanical, botanist, etc.
- Use AND to separate terms and phrases: "tropical diseases" AND fatigue
- Use the Advanced Search option to search for terms in specific fields such as Title, Author, Abstract or Body.
- Scroll to the bottom of the Advanced Search screen to explore other PLOS journals, i.e. PLOS Medicine, PLOS Biology, etc.

Harvard Case Studies

Harvard Business Publishing offers free Educator Accounts to university-affiliated instructors. Among the benefits is access to the Harvard Business School's famous series of case studies.

New accounts must first Register. Current accounts may Sign In.

Note: Free student or individual accounts are not available.