RESEARCH METHODS- Case studies Flashcards
Define case studies
A research method that involves a detailed study of a single individualinstituition or event
What do case studies provide?
A rich record of human experience but are hard to generalise from
What type of research are they?
Evidence based research
Where is information sourced from?
-The person themselves
-Family
-Friends
Which techniques may be used?
-Interviews
-Observations
Which tests may be used to produce psychological data about the person/target group?
-IQ
-Personality
Why may the experimental method be used?
-To test what the person/target data can or cant do
What are the possible themes the findings are organised into?
-Individual thoughts
-Fellinsg
_emotions
-Experiences
-Abilities
What type of data is it?
-Qualitative
-May be quantitative (scores from psychological test
Are they usually longitudinal
-Yes
GIve some examples of case studies
-Henry maloasian-Hippocampus removed to stop epileptic seizures
-Little Hans (Freud)- psychoanalysis
Give an advantage of case studies
Case studies create opportunities for a rich yield of data, and the depth of analysis can in turn bring high levels of validity
The detail collected on a single case may lead to interesting findings that conflict with current theories, and stimulate new paths for research.
Give a disadvantage of case studies
There is little control over a number of variables involved in a case study, so it is difficult to confidently establish any causal relationships between variables.
- Case studies are unusual by nature, so will have poor reliability as replicating them exactly will be unlikely.
- Due to the small sample size, it is unlikely that findings from a case study alone can be generalised to a whole population.
- The case study’s researcher may become so involved with the study that they exhibit bias in their interpretation and presentation of the data, making it challenging to distinguish what is truly objective/factual.
