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CASE STUDIES

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Title: CASE STUDIES


1
CASE STUDIES
2
  • A case study is an intensive description and
    analysis of a single individual.

3
  • The data for a case study may be obtained from
    several different sources, including
  • naturalistic observation
  • interviews and psychological tests
  • archival records

4
  • 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.

5
  • The case study method has been used by
  • child psychologists
  • memory researchers
  • animal behaviorists
  • researchers in fields such as
  • anthropology
  • criminology
  • neurology
  • sociology.

6
  • 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.

7
ADVANTAGES OF THE CASE STUDY METHOD
8
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.

9
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.

10
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)

11
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)

12
Tentative Support for a Psychological Theory
  • Few researchers would accept the results of a
    case study as conclusive evidence for a
    particular hypothesis.

13
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.

14
naturalistic observation
  • Observation of behavior in a more or less natural
    setting without any attempt by the observer to
    intervene

15
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

16
DISADVANTAGES OF THE CASE STUDY METHOD
17
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.

18
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).

19
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.

20
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".

21
FOCUS GROUPS
22
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.

23
  • 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.

24
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.

25
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.
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