At the International Journal of Osteoarchaeology, case studies are normally published in the article format of a Short Report. Most journals allow a lower word count for a case study than they do for population study published as a research article, or for a review article, and that helps to focus the authors’ minds on the key information they need to demonstrate the important findings of their case. Writing a case study in the field of osteoarchaeology can seem a less daunting prospect for early career scholars than a large scale multi-site analysis, and some academics enjoy writing case studies throughout their career. Here we will discuss where case studies work well, their limitations, and discuss how authors can ensure their case studies attract the attention of other academics in the field.