Research Methods 10: Case studies Flashcards
When asked to outline/describe a key study which 5 features must be included?
-It is an in-depth investigation
-It’s of a naturally occurring event
-It can be longitudinal or retrospective
-The researcher gathers a range of information
-The researcher uses a number of methods
What are two examples of real-life case studies we use?
-The case of Clive Wearing
-The case of Genie
What did Clive Wearing suffer?
A rare brain infection caused by the cold sore virus which attacked and destroyed his hippocampus with other parts of the cortex
How was Clive’s condition?
He was supposedly in a “snapshot of time”, causing confusion and extreme fear. He lost his short term memory.
What state was Genie in when discovered?
She was severely deprived and although 13 looked like a child of 7. She was completely unsocialised.
How was Genie raised?
She spent most of her time in the dark and was beaten if she made any noise
By the age of 18 how was Genies speech?
She didn’t develop normal language skills, by 18 she could only produce short sentences which lacked important aspects of grammar.
What are the two strengths of case studies?
-They produce rich meaningful data in the form of qualitative data
-Case studies have high levels of ecological validity
What are the two weaknesses of case studies?
-Case studies are difficult to repeat meaning that they are not reliable
-Case studies are unique and is only of one person or a small group, which means that it is unrepresentative
