Case studies Flashcards
(9 cards)
What are case studies and how is the data for case studies collected
-In a case study, researchers gather information with a high level of detail from an individual or group
-Data is mainly collected from interviews or observations, but can also be collected from content analysis or experimental methods
Case studies are usually conducted on…
-Psychologically abnormal individuals (Clive wearing , HM etc)
-Unusual events (violent riot at a football match)
-Organisational practices e.g teaching at an outsanding school
-Typical individuals from a certain demographic e.g a group of working class school boys
What type of data is usually collected from case studies?
-Qualitative data is usually collected from case studies, due to the use of interviews
-However, quantitative data can also be collected due to the use of observations, experimental methods and content analysis
Snapshot case study vs longitudinal case study
-A snapshot case study is a case study that looks at behaviour over a short period of time
-A longitudinal case study is a case study that follows people over a number of years
When/where are case studies used + example
-Case studies are significantly used in clinical psychology ; brain damage patients usually have unusual symptoms that give researchers an insight into brain functioning
-For example Tan; a patient who could only communicate using the word “Tan” while his other brain functions such as intelligence and the ability to understand language were left unaffected
-This allowed researchers to identify the part of the brain responsible for speech production known as the Broca’s area
Uses in psychodynamic theory
-Freud used case studies on his clients in order to support and develop his theories of psychodynamics
-For example he suggested that little Hanz’s fear of horses represented his fear of his father
-Freud used this case study as evidence to support the oediups complex
Uses in childhood theory
-Case studies on children with unusual development can be used as evidence to support theories on childhood
Advantages of case studies
-Case studies take a holistic approach to studying human behaviour; the depth and detail of data can be considered a true reflection of the person’s experience and give highly valid insights into behaviour. This increases the realism of findings
-Case studies are often the only way to investigate unusual or extreme human behaviour as they cannot be replicated in a lab, often for ethical issues. Therefore there would be some research that would not exist without case study methods
-Case studies can create research hypotheses which can then be tested using experimental methods. For example using FMRI scans to investigate the existence of the Broca’s region
Disadvantages of case studies
-As case studies rely heavily on interviews for data collection, they can suffer from social desirability bias ; this is when the patient alters their behaviour to make themselves “look good” in front of the researcher
-Case studies may suffer from researcher bias, as the researcher may subjectively interpret results from interviews and observations in a way that confirms their research hypothesis
-As case studies are unique, exact replications of the study to test for reliability are not possible
