Case studies

• Definition

  A detailed/in depth study of an individual, small group, institution or event. It collects information from a variety of sources e.g. the person involved, their family + friends.
• Key features of case studies

  • Involve the detailed/in-depth study of an individual, small group, institution or event
  • It collects information from a variety of sources e.g. the person involved, their family and friends. 
  • Are often longitudinal in nature
  • It can collect both quantitative and qualitative data
  • It uses many different methods to gather information such as:
  • Interviews
  • Questionnaires
  • Observations
  •  Tests e.g. IQ tests, memory
• Strengths of case studies

  • allow researchers to study cases they couldn't practically or ethically manipulate in an experiment e.g. cases of amnesia you can't give people neurological damage to see how it effects memory
  • high ecological validity as they study real life situations
  • findings valid as researcher can triangulate findings from different methods used on the same case study
• Weaknesses of case studies

  • possible ethical issues as there are issues with anonymity/confidentiality due to studying one group or individual
  • low in reliability as based on naturally occurring events, therefore difficult to repeat study to check consistency in findings