We believe case studies are one of the best ways to share and celebrate the impact of your research. Evidence alone can’t capture the richness of your impact story: it requires a narrative. A story to describe how your research made a difference in the world.
These stories are often text-based, but you might also consider multimedia case studies, like those we produce of the finalists of our annual Impact Competition.
On this page you will find various tools and guides to help you write the best case study possible.
Impact case study template
Our case study template [docx] is designed to make writing a case study as painless as possible. As the word count is limited, we encourage you to write concisely, avoiding technical jargon. This template doubles as the application form for our Impact Competition, so if you’re thinking about writing a case study, why not enter?
What makes an excellent case study?
This image shows what we at UCD believe goes into a good case study. These are also the three criteria that the judging panel use to assess case studies in UCD’s Impact Competition.
Case study examples
One of the best ways to learn how to write a case study is to read others:
- UCD Case Studies – a sample of case studies from researchers at UCD, using the template above.
- (opens in a new window)UK REF Case Studies – this database from the 2021 Research Excellence Framework contains more than 6,000 impact case studies. You can use the search function or filter by Unit of Assessment to find case studies in areas similar to your own. You can also view studies a similar database of case studies from the (opens in a new window)2014 REF.
- (opens in a new window)Australian Research Council Case Studies – another searchable database of case studies from a national research assessment exercise.
- (opens in a new window)University of Limerick Case Studies – you can sort this selection of case studies by QS Ranking Subject Areas and by the relevant Sustainable Development Goals.
Tips for writing your own case study
The tips in this infographic will help you tell a compelling story that celebrates the societal impact of your work. Click here to download the guide as a PDF booklet.
Reflections on Research Impact video series
Episode 7 of NUI Galway’s (opens in a new window)nine-part video series offers further guidance on how to write an impact case study: