Case Study Research and Artificial Intelligence: Developing Case Studies with ChatGPT
Extending AI-assisted methodology from analysis into research design.
Case study research demands careful boundary-setting, rich contextualisation and a defensible chain of evidence. This paper shows how generative AI can support that work — while transparency, theoretical grounding and researcher oversight preserve the rigour that qualitative case studies require. Together with the AI-assisted thematic analysis paper, it forms a complete published toolkit for AI-supported qualitative research: the case study process shapes the research design, and the six-step AI process analyses the data it produces.
The same principles carry across both papers: give the AI the research aim, questions, context, participants and theoretical underpinnings before it works; instruct it step by step rather than in one request; evaluate its outputs against published criteria; and document every prompt so the process is transparent and auditable.
Naeem, M., & Thomas, L. (2025). Case Study Research and Artificial Intelligence: A Step-by-Step Process to Using ChatGPT in the Development of Case Studies in Qualitative Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 24. https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069251371478 (open access)
How does this differ from AI-assisted thematic analysis?
The thematic analysis paper focuses on analysing data through the six STA steps. This paper focuses on the case study method itself — how AI can support the development of case studies in qualitative research from design through to write-up.
Who is this process for?
Doctoral researchers and academics using case study methodology who want a published, citable process for incorporating generative AI without compromising methodological rigour.