Case Studies of Brain Damaged Patients Flashcards
What are the 4 strengths of case studies?
1) Case studies can gain rich in-depth data due to the extensive testing and transcription of data. Multiple research methods can be used, meaning results can be cross-checked for validity.
2) Measurements of damage to the brain can be measured using neuroimaging techniques which is objective and can easily be replicated, therefore considered scientific.
3) The patients with brain damage are often tested in laboratory conditions, with high experimental control. EG Schmolk Et Al 2002.
4) Case studies provide a unique insight into how memory works whilst avoiding the ethical issue of invasive investigation. Deliberate damage to the memory system or brain would be unethical in a laboratory experiment, therefore case studies of patients with existing brain damage can be studied to investigate memory.
What are the 4 weaknesses of case studies?
1) Case studies often gain qualitative data which is subjective in nature- it is reliant on individual judgement and opinion when interpreted, therefore case studies can be considered to be unscientific.
2) Case studies of brain damaged patients often rely on very unique cases therefore the results cannot be necessarily generalised to the wider population, without brain damage. Case studies are usually ideographic and do not result in general trends to apply to others.
3) When investigating a patient with brain damage, there is no comparison “baseline” data from before the damage . Therefore, it is hard to establish a cause and effect relationship between the brain damage and the memory loss, as some of the lack of abilities may have been evident prior to the damage.
4) Can be intrusive if multiple memory tests are used, which could cause the participants some distress- can go against BPS ethical guidelines of avoiding causing psychological harm.
What is a case study?
An in depth study of a single person or a small group that all share a single characteristic. They’re focused on due to unique characteristics.
Case studies are usually longitudinal studies- what does this mean?
They take place over a period of time, typically months. This is done because they record changes of behaviour and mental state of participants.
What is the point in a case study?
They can be used to see the effects of brain damage on an individuals memory over a long period of time. They allow researchers to investigate a topic in far more detail than usual.
What different research methods can case studies use?
Primary and secondary data, observations, PET scans, experimental methods and also triangulation. This can be used to compare and check consistency of findings.
How can Scovilles case study on HM show how qualitative and quantitative data is used in case study research?
He used a mix of qualitative data through observations, interviews. He then combined them with quantitative data from questionnaires and biological research.
What does an ideographic approach mean in case studies?
This involves recording what happens to- or reconstructing what has already happened to- a single participant or group of individuals. It does not test hypotheses, look for causes or try to uncover laws.
What does a nomothetic approach mean in case studies?
If it shows unexpected or interesting results, it may be followed up with a wider-scale survey or experiment to draw conclusions about people in general. This tries to uncover scientific laws by “averaging out” the data on lots of individuals.
