case studies

Question 1

what is a case study?

Answer 1

an in-depth investigation, description and analysis of a single individual, group, institution or event

Question 2

whom might case study analysis focus on?

Answer 2

• unusual indivduals or events eg. person with a rare disorder
• ‘typical’ cases eg. elderly person’s recollections of their childhood

Question 3

what type of data does a case study usually produce?

Answer 3

qualitative

Question 4

what methods does a researcher use to construct a case history?

Answer 4

• interviews
• observations
• questionnaires
• combination of all of these

Question 5

how might a case study produce quantitative data ?

Answer 5

if the person is subject to experimental or psychological testing to assess what they are capable of

Question 6

how long does it take to construct a case study?

Answer 6

case studies tend to take place over a long period of time (longitudinal)

Question 7

apart from the personal themselves, who else might be asked for additional data?

Answer 7

family and friends of the individual

Question 8

evaluation: strengths

Answer 8

• offers rich, detailed insights that shed light on very unusual and atypical forms of behaviour
• contribute to our understanding of ‘typical’ functioning eg. HM demonstrated the existence of separate stores in STM and LTM
• may generate hypothese for future study
• a solitary contradictory instance may lead to the revision of an entire theory

Question 9

evaluation: limitations

Answer 9

• difficult to generalise findings when dealing with small sample sizes
• information that makes it into the final report is based on subjective selection and interpretation of the researcher
• personal accounts from participant / family / friends may be prone to inaccuracy and memory decay, especially if childhood stories are being told
• evidence from case studies have low validity