Case studies

Question 1

what is a case study?

Answer 1

often involve in depth analysis of unusual individuals/ events (e.g. person with rare disorder or sequence of events) over time.

They are idiographic and very individualistic

but case studies may also focus on more ‘typical cases’ e.g. elderly people’s recollection of childhoods

Question 2

how are case studies conducted?

Answer 2

usually involves the production of qualitative data

researchers may construct a case history of the individual concerned - using interviews, observations, questionnaires or combo of all.

the person may be subject to psychological testing to assess what they are/ are not capable of - may produce quantitative data

Question 3

how long are case studies?

Answer 3

they usually take place over a long period of time (longitudinal)

they may involve gathering additional data from family and friends and the individual.

Question 4

strength of case studies

Answer 4

offer rich, detailed insights that shed light on atypical forms of behaviour - may be preferred to the more ‘superficial forms of data collected from a questionnaire or experiment.

and case studies may contribute to our understanding of ‘typical’ functioning

e.g. HM demonstrated typical memory processing - existence of STM and LTM stores

case studied may generate hypotheses for future study and may lead to the revision of an entire theory

Question 5

limitation of case studies

Answer 5

generalisation is an issue when using a small sample - each individual and their experience is unique

also information in the final report is based on the subjective selection and interpretation of the researcher.

personal accounts from friends and family and individual may be prone to inaccuracy/ memory decay

means evidence from case studied begin to look low in validity.

researcher may get to know the individual well - leading to lack of objectivity.