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Vital Signs 1998 Student Case Study Competition APPENDIX A: Case Study Reports and Dossiers The case study is comprised of two complementary artifacts: a Report and a Dossier. Reports provide a summary of the fieldwork and findings, the Dossier an archive of reprints, photographs, interview notes, survey data, simulation results, etc. Both are described in this appendix. Case Study Reports You could think of Case Study Report as having many uses. They can inform our understanding of the subject buildings, provide fodder for lectures and articles, frame hypotheses for more detailed study, and allow the comparison of architectural intent to actual outcome. A basic outline for a Case Study Report would include: Abstract - A concise synopsis of the project and its findings. Introduction - The first section would present the case study subject (building, site, or technology) and summarize what was known about the design as the study began. This a good place to reference journal articles, books, press releases and so on that have shaped the profession’s general understanding of the project. Hypothesis - Every building has a story, in fact many stories, to tell. A key challenge in conducting a Vital Signs Case Study is the student development of hypotheses to focus and bound their field investigations. In our experience this is a sometimes difficult but very necessary step. The hypothesis (or hypotheses) should be clearly stated in the Case Study Report. Methods - Having stated a hypothesis the next section should describe methods used to gather and analyze data addressing descriptive information, occupant response, and physical performance. Results - The results section should present the findings of the field work in a clear, succinct fashion. The heart of the report, this section should provide a narrative and graphic summary of what was found and whether it supports the hypotheses or not. Conclusions - A section summarizing the investigation and conclusions regarding the investigation’s hypotheses. Lessons Learned: Describe the lessons you learned from conducting the case study. Appendix- Include the Case Study Dossier form. So Case Study Reports are summaries of your study, using a concise and engaging format. On some occasions your audience may want more detail than the Case Study Report format allows. This becomes the role of the Case Study Dossier. Case Study Dossiers Detailed artifacts from an investigation be archived in a Case Study Dossier maintained by the originating institution. It is our observation that considerable effort goes into the collection of building case study artifacts and that relatively little of this material can be included in the Case Study Report proper. The Case Study Dossier provides a vehicle for organizing these artifacts and offering them to students and faculty interested in further information on the building. A Case Study Dossier Form that can be used to document the contents of the dossier is included with this program. By their nature the Case Study Dossiers are somewhat open-ended and thus might contain many types of artifacts. Major categories would include: Basic Building Information - A brief description of the building (an abstract), building location, awards received, building credits (e.g.; architect, contractor, owner), and contacts for information and access. Descriptive Materials - Copies of bibliographic resources (e.g.; references in books and periodicals, press releases, URLs) and visual artifacts (e.g.; schematic drawings, construction documents, photographs, videotape.) Case Study Hypotheses and Methods - The principal issues investigated, the methods you applied, and whether a summary Case Study Report is available. You might also describe issues worthy of attention that fall outside the bounds of the current investigation. Records of Interviews - Notes from interview sessions including the date, parties involved, agenda, interview method, and content. Indicate whether a taped version of the interview is available. Candidates for interview among others include building occupants, architects, consulting engineers, lighting designers, energy analysts, architecture critics, frequent visitors, and first-time visitors. Subjective Surveys - Full copies of any surveys used in your study. Data generated by the surveys could be available as completed forms or summaries. Indicate whether normative data are available or whether the surveys represent distinct sets (e.g.; before/after, north-side/south-side). Physical Performance Data - Copies of physical data collected during the study. For each data set describe the methods used to gather the data, the time period they represent, and their archival format (e.g.; Excel V5.0 spreadsheet, Hobo .dtf file). Describe the variables represented by physical data and the location(s) selected for measurement. Describe the time frames for the measurements. These could range from snapshots (specify time and general conditions) to hourly annual measurements (specify measurement interval, averaging period, etc.) Other physical data may come from indirect sources such as independent monitoring efforts, operating logs, energy management control systems, or utility records. If these are available indicate their content and source. Analysis Artifacts - The results of your analysis procedures. Intermediate forms of the data would typically be omitted from the Case Study Report or other summaries. These working documents (e.g.; spreadsheet summaries, simulation outputs) can be very useful to others. Each study would generate its own type of artifacts with some matching items on the list above and others not. It is unlikely that many in the broader audience would desire access to all of these details. However, it would be an invaluable service to provide them to those academics with a specific need. The Case Study Dossier provides a vehicle for this exchange. |
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to: All contents copyright (C) 1998. Vital Signs Project. All rights reserved. Created: 10/08/97 |
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