case studies

• Case study

  very detailed investigations of an individual or small group of people, usually regarding an unusual phenomenon
• 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
  • Defined by the high level of detail that is collected about the individual or group
• Types of case studies

  • Psychologically unusual individuals (Phineas Gage)
  • Unusual events (e.g. a violent football riot)
  • Organisational policies (e.g. the teaching at outstanding schools)
  • Typical members of a demographic (e.g. 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


  research that is done over a long period of time where changes in behaviour over time can be observed
• 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 Genie, a child 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. Due to its holistic nature, it is the preferred approach of humanistic psychologists
  • Often the only way to study certain behaviours that can't be replicated in the lab for ethical reasons.
  • Can show a pre-existing psychological theory is incorrect or not yet complete
• Weaknesses of case studies

  • interviews, a large part of case studies, depend on memory and recall, which is often inaccurate
  • Suffer from going native as researchers work closely with a case for a long period of time and may lose objectivity
  • Findings can't be generalised to wider populations
  • Exact replication is impossible
  • More data is collected than can be used, and the researcher decides what to include(researcher bias)
• Case studies can generate hypotheses that can be tested experimentally and then ultimately accepted