CASE STUDIES

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CASE STUDIES
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• A case study is an intensive description and
  analysis of a single individual.

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• The data for a case study may be obtained from
  several different sources, including
• naturalistic observation
• interviews and psychological tests
• archival records

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• A case study occasionally describes the
  application and results of a particular
  treatment, as, for example, when a new
  therapeutic technique is used to treat an
  emotionally disabled person.

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• The case study method has been used by
• child psychologists
• memory researchers
• animal behaviorists
• researchers in fields such as
• anthropology
• criminology
• neurology
• sociology.

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• Many aspects of the case study method make it a
  unique means of studying behavior.
• It differs somewhat from more experimental
  approaches in terms of its goals, the methods
  used, and the types of information obtained
  (Kazdin, 1980b).
• the case study method is often characterized as
  "exploratory" in nature and a source of
  hypotheses and ideas about behavior (Bolgar,
  1965).
• Experimental approaches, on the other hand, are
  frequently viewed as opportunities to test
  specific hypotheses.

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ADVANTAGES OF THE CASE STUDY METHOD
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Sources of Ideas About Behavior

• The "power" of the case study method, according
  to Bolgar (1965), "lies in its ability to open
  the way for discoveries". It acts as a breeding
  ground for hypotheses that may subsequently be
  pursued with more rigorous methodologies.

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Opportunity for Clinical Innovation

• The case study method provides an opportunity to
  try out new therapeutic techniques or to attempt
  unique applications of existing techniques. In
  this way it offers an opportunity for clinical
  innovation.

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Method to Study Rare Phenomena

• Certain events appear so infrequently in nature
  that it is possible to describe them only through
  the intensive study of single cases. (The story
  of the Wild man from Aveyron)

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Challenge to Theoretical Assumptions

• A theory that all Martians have three heads would
  quickly collapse if a reliable observer spotted a
  Martian with only two heads. The case study
  method can often advance scientific thinking by
  providing a "counter instance" a single case
  that violates a general proposition or
  universally accepted principle (Kazdin,
  1980b).(The story of Genie the abused 13yo girl)

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Tentative Support for a Psychological Theory

• Few researchers would accept the results of a
  case study as conclusive evidence for a
  particular hypothesis.

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Complement to the Nomothetic Study of Behavior

• Psychology is largely a nomothetic discipline.
  This means that psychology (like science in
  general) seeks to establish broad
  generalizations, "universal laws" that will apply
  to a wide population of organisms. As a
  consequence, psychological research is often
  characterized by studies that involve large
  numbers of subjects and seek to determine the
  "average" or typical performance of a group.

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naturalistic observation

• Observation of behavior in a more or less natural
  setting without any attempt by the observer to
  intervene

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nomothetic approach

• Approach to research that seeks to establish
  broad generalizations or laws which apply to
  large groups (populations) of individuals the
  average or typical performance of a group is
  emphasized

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DISADVANTAGES OF THE CASE STUDY METHOD
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Difficulty of Drawing Cause-Effect Conclusions

• One of the goals of science is to discover the
  causes of phenomena to reveal in an unambiguous
  manner the specific factors that produce a
  particular event. However, cause-effect
  conclusions can rarely be drawn on the basis of
  results obtained from the case study method. The
  major limitation of the case study method in this
  regard is its failure to control extraneous
  variables. Numerous plausible hypotheses are
  generally present to "explain" behavior change.

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Sources of Bias in Interpretation

• The "outcome" of a case study often depends on
  inferences drawn by a researcher who is both
  participant and observer (Bolgar, 1965).

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Possible Biases in Data Collection

• The material of a case study often includes
  several kinds of information, some of it obtained
  from personal documents and psychological tests.
  Each of these sources of information must be
  carefully examined for possible biases.

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Problem of Generalizing from a Single Individual

• As Bolgar (1965) stated, "Much of the criticism
  leveled against the case study method of research
  is based on the accepted canon that it is
  impossible to generalize from one case".

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FOCUS GROUPS
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FOCUS GROUPS

• Psychologists sometimes bring people into the lab
  for qualitative interviews and observations. This
  is particularly popular with the product market.
• e.g. introducing a new product market to find out
  if persons are likely to buy.
• In a focus group typically 12 15 persons are
  brought together in a room to engage in a guided
  discussion of some topic in this case
  acceptability or saleability of you product.
• Subjects are selected on the basis of relevance
  to the topic under study.

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• Participants are not likely to be chosen through
  rigorous probability sampling methods. This means
  that the participants do not statistically
  represent any meaningful population.
• However, the purpose of the study is to explore
  rather than to describe or explain in any
  definitive sense.
• Nevertheless, typically more than one focus group
  should be used in a given study because of the
  serious danger that a single group of 7 12
  people could be too atypical to offer any
  generalisable insights.

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Advantages of focus groups

• Socially oriented research methods capture real
  life data in a social environment
• Flexibility
• High face validity
• Speedy results
• Low in cost
• Also- Group dynamics frequently bring out
  aspects of the topic that would not have been
  anticipated by the researcher and would not have
  emerged from interviews with individuals.
• Save from embarrassment later on.

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Disadvantages

• Focus groups afford the researcher less control
  than individual interviews
• Data are difficult to analyse.
• Difference between groups can be troublesome
• Moderation requires certain skills
• Groups are difficult to assemble
• Discussion must be conducted in a conducive
  environment
• Focus Group research differs from other forms of
  qualitative field research. It is a good
  possibility for face-to-face contact. Excellent
  way to set questions for questionnaires.