Case/Pilot/Blind Studies

Question 1

case study

Answer 1

detailed study into the life of a person which covers great detail into their background, looking at the past and present behaviour of an individual in order to build up a case history
- produces qualitative data
e.g. Patient HM, Little Hans

Question 2

case study: strength

Answer 2

detailed, can gain in depth insight
makes basis for future research
permits investigations of situations that would be otherwise unethical/impractical

Question 3

case study: weakness

Answer 3

not generalisable to wider populations as data is only gathered from one person
interviewer biases = social desirability bias and interpretive bias
time consuming
difficult to replicate

Question 4

pilot study

Answer 4

small-scale, trial version of proposed studies to test their effectiveness and make improvements

Question 5

pilot study: strength

Answer 5

identify potential problems which can be modified before committing to the expanse of the full investigation
any part of the investigation can be tested: validity of measure (does it have face validity?), is procedure effective (is it too long, unclear instructions, left out steps?)

Question 6

pilot study: weakness

Answer 6

doesn’t find out if results are valid, only if the measure and procedure is valid

Question 7

single-blind study

Answer 7

research method in which the researchers do not tell the pps if they are in the experimental condition or control condition
- avoids demand characteristics

Question 8

double-blind study

Answer 8

research method in which neither the pps nor the experimenter knows who is being given a test treatment or a control treatment
- avoids demand characteristics
- avoids placebo effect
- reduces investigator effects

Question 9

control group/condition

Answer 9

sets a baseline so that results from the experimental condition can be compared to results from this condition
- can conclude the cause was the effect of the IV