Case Studies

Question 1

What is a case study?

Answer 1

An in-depth investigation of an individual, small group or organisation

Question 2

What strengths do case studies have?

Answer 2

It provides detailed information about the individual (usually qualitative data)
Case studies record behaviour over time, so changes can be seen and we can track their development
Useful for investigating impractical or unethical situations (e.g brain damage)

Question 3

What limitations do case studies have?

Answer 3

Data can be subjective. A case study relies on the individual being studied remembering events and they might not be reliable. Researcher interpretations could be biased and unreliable.
Ethical issues, e.g. confidentiality
Can’t generalise data as focuses on one person