Research Methods - Case Studies Flashcards
What are case studies
depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, group, institution or event.
What do case studies often involve ?
analysis of unusual individuals or events.
insight into areas that psychologists could not study through manipulation because it would be unethical to do so.
How are case studies used to collect quantitive and qualitative data
Qualitative - interviews, observations , questionnaires
Quantitive - person or people complete experimental or psychological testing to asses what they are capable of
Are case studies longitudinal ?
Yes - take place over a long period of time
What is a strength of case studies ?
Insight into atypical
Case studies offer rich and detailed insights into unusual and atypical forms of behaviour.
For example, HM revealed the importance of the hippocampus in memory.
allows us to understand more about human behaviour that could not be investigated using traditional research methods such as experiments.
What is another strength of case studies ? (Future study)
generate hypotheses for future study.
For example, KF showed that there were different types of short-term memory.
This led to the development of the working memory model to try and explain KF’s behaviour which could not be explained by the multi-store model of memory.
What is a limitation of case studies ( small)
Case studies tend to involve a single individual or small group of people.
For example, HM individuals who became case studies regarding memory.
Just because HM’s hippocampus was involved in memory and that did not necessarily mean that this would be the case for everyone.
Cant be generalised
What is another limitation of case studies ? (Researcher involved)
Researchers become very involved in case studies which can reduce their validity.
Case studies usually happen over a long period of time and involve getting to know the individual or individuals and their families well.
This means that there may be subjective selection and interpretation of the information by the researcher
Decreasing validity
What is another limitation of case studies (unusual events)
Case studies cannot be replicated as they often involve analysis of unusual individuals or events.
For example, Clive Wearing experienced amnesia and could not form new memories after he contracted encephalitis.
Ethically psychologists cannot induce the same illness in other people to see if they too experience the same amnesia which reduces the reliability of the findings.
