case studies

• Case study

  A researcher gathers a range of information on an individual, a group or an organisation
• Case studies


  • Interviews are often the main source of data collected
  • Researcher can include observations of behaviour and experimental findings from psychological tests, and even include content analysis on records like diaries
  • Provide a level of detail that is collected about the individual or group
• Types of case studies

  • Psychologically unusual individuals
  • Events, such as looking at the reasons for football violence
  • Organisations, such as the hiring policies of Google or the teaching at outstanding schools
  • Typical members of a demographic, like a group of 15 year old working class boys
• Qualitative data

  Usually collected in case studies due to the use of interviews
• Quantitative data

  Can be used to back up qualitative findings when researchers include experimental techniques
• Snapshot

  A short case study
• Longitudinal study

  A long case study where changes can be observed over time
• Famous case studies


  • Paul Broca's research on a patient referred to as Tan
  • Freud's case study of Little Hans
• Case studies of children with abnormal upbringings


  • The case of a child called Genie who was severely deprived of care from infancy until 13
• Strengths of case studies

  • Collect in-depth and rich information about individuals, leading to a high level of realism and validity
  • Preferred approach of humanistic psychologists
  • Can study behaviours that can't be replicated in the lab
  • Can show a pre-existing psychological theory is incorrect or not yet complete
• Weaknesses of case studies

  • Depend on memory and recall, which is often inaccurate
  • Suffer from researcher bias as researchers work closely with the case
  • Findings can't be generalised to wider populations
  • Exact replication is impossible
  • More data is collected than can be used, leading to researcher bias in what is included
• Case studies can generate hypotheses that can be tested experimentally and then ultimately accepted