Case Studies / Messy Populations Flashcards
What is meant by ‘messy data’ in research?
Rare-cases, abnormalities or extreme-outliers that make conventional data analysis difficult or impossible to apply.
How do individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia provide an example of ‘messy data’?
Individuals with the same diagnosis may present vastly different symptoms.
This is because the DSM-V has a long list of varying symptoms, which people only need to consistently present a minimum of two in order to receive the diagnosis.
The above leads to Hidden Subgroupings.
Therefore, it makes it difficult to generalise or draw definitive conclusions about such a varied population.
List:
THREE key attributes that could make a group/population ‘messy’
(to analyse using conventional methods)
- Rarity
- Heterogeneousity
- Hidden Subgroupings
Heterogeneousity refers to a lack of consistent patterning/trends.
Because typical statistical methods aren’t suited to analysing this kind of data, you need to apply different techniques to understand what differentiates subgroups, and why there is heterogeneousity occuring.
Define:
Case Studies
An umbrella-term for more in-depth and detailed methodological approaches involving smaller samples or individuals and typically taking place over longer timeframes.
These studies also tend to focus on outliers or rarer groups/individuals.
When are most statistical tests useful?
When the data we want to analyse can be randomly sampled and results in homogenous variance.
Are case studies typically considered inductive or deductive?
Inductive
You are starting with data/observations and then analysing this to add to existing/create new theories.
List:
THREE attributes/approaches associated with case studies that may be applied to special populations.
- Small N Design.
- ‘Traditional’ Case Studies.
- Tests Beyond Verbal/Conscious Response.
What are TWO examples of methods used in a ‘traditional’ case study?
- Systematic interviews/tests.
- Reveiwing historical information/facts.
Give THREE examples of tests beyond verbal/conscious response:
- Implicit association tests.
- Psychophysiological or neurological measurements.
- Observational studies.
What is one major limitation of case studies?
A lack of generalisability (and often replicability).
Although case studies such as the infamous ones surrounding H.M have provided many fields with invaluable insights, such as various functioning mechanisms of the brain, they simply do not hold as much ‘weight’ from a statistical perspective or in empirical approaches because of their rarity.
How might case studies or research surrounding special populations be harmful sometimes?
Publishing studies about special/rare populations from an outside perspective can potentially lead to stigma, harrassment, and/or misunderstanding for that population.
This can especially be exacerbated by the the media/journalism as they tend to select the most sensational elements for their reports.
How might case studies or research surrounding special populations be beneficial sometimes?
Increasing awareness/understanding can lead to the better establishment of support systems or self-identification for other individuals related to these populations.
Individuals may especially connect with the autoethnographic reports of others and be inspired to share their own experiences.
Define:
(Auto)ethnographic Research
A qualitative approach involving the connecting personal experiences covering notions of culture, politics, and societal relations.
The ‘auto’ aspect of this relates to when it is the researcher themself recounting experiences.
What are THREE possible techniques for reviewing historical/factual information during a case study?
Analyse publically available…
- Recordings of subjects.
- Online posts.
- Medical/legal records.
These approaches are especially useful when conducting research on populations such as severe criminals, who would otherwise be uncooperative/dishonest etc. in studies.
Who are the ‘messiest data/population’ that we tend to utilise tests beyond verbal/conscious response for?
(According to Matt Hammond’s lecture)
Children!
