Case Studies (OCR GCSE Psychology): Revision Note

What is a case study?

• A case study is not a single research method but a combination of methods used to collect detailed and in-depth information about one person or a small group

• Case studies focus on unique individuals or rare situations, often providing insight into conditions or behaviours that cannot be ethically or practically studied in other ways

• Case studies typically gather qualitative data, e.g.

  • Interviews with the participant or people close to them (e.g. family, friends, colleagues)

  • Naturalistic observations of the participant’s behaviour

  • Personal documents, such as diaries or journals

• Case studies can also include quantitative or clinical measures, e.g.

  • Psychometric tests (e.g. IQ or personality measures)

  • Scores from memory or problem-solving tasks

  • Clinical data, such as MRI scans or medical reports

• Most case studies are longitudinal, meaning the participant is studied over a long period of time to observe changes or developments

Examples of case studies

• HM was a man with brain damage resulting in severe memory loss (anterograde amnesia)

  • He was studied for over five decades, and his case helped identify the role of the hippocampus in memory

• Eve White/Eve Black was a case study on multiple personality disorder

  • She was studied over several years and later made into the film The Three Faces of Eve

• Genie was a famous case study of a girl who suffered extreme neglect and isolation, having been locked away by her parents until age thirteen

  • She was studied to see the effects of nature versus nurture on language development and behaviour after such severe deprivation

Evaluation of case studies

Strengths

• Provide rich, in-depth qualitative data that gives deep insight into human behaviour and experience

• Allow researchers to study rare or unusual conditions that cannot be ethically recreated in a lab

• High validity, as they explore real-life experiences in detail and often over a long period of time

Weaknesses

• Use small samples, often just one participant, making it difficult to generalise findings to others

• The researcher may become too close to the participant, losing objectivity and leading to bias

• Findings can be subjective and difficult to verify or replicate due to the unique nature of each case