On This Page:ToggleExamplesTypes of Case StudiesData CollectionHow do I Write a Case Study in Psychology?StrengthsLimitations
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Case studies are in-depth investigations of a person, group, event, or community. Typically, data is gathered from various sources using several methods (e.g., observations & interviews).
The case study research method originated in clinical medicine (the case history, i.e., the patient’s personal history). In psychology, case studies are often confined to the study of a particular individual.
The information is mainly biographical and relates to events in the individual’s past (i.e., retrospective), as well as to significant events that are currently occurring in his or her everyday life.
The case study is not a research method, but researchers select methods of data collection and analysis that will generate material suitable for case studies.
Freud(1909a, 1909b) conducted very detailed investigations into the private lives of his patients in an attempt to both understand and help them overcome their illnesses.
There is an ethical issue of competence. Only someone qualified to diagnose and treat a person can conduct a formal case study relating to atypical (i.e., abnormal) behavior or atypical development.
The objective of case study research is to uncover themes, patterns of behavior, and influential contextual factors through an inductive investigative approach leading to greater explanatory power and understanding of real-world phenomena.
Examples
Famous Case Studies
Clinical Case Studies
Child Psychology Case Studies
Types of Case Studies
Where Do You Find Data for a Case Study?
There are several places to find data for a case study. The key is to gather data from multiple sources to get a complete picture of the case and corroborate facts or findings throughtriangulation of evidence.
Most of this information is likelyqualitative(i.e., verbal description rather than measurement), but the psychologist might also collect numerical data.
1. Primary sources
2. Secondary sources
3. Archival records
Searching historical archives, museum collections and databases to find relevant documents, visual/audio records related to the case history and context.
Public archives like newspapers, organizational records, photographic collections could all include potentially relevant pieces of information to shed light on attitudes, cultural perspectives, common practices and historical contexts related to psychology.
4. Organizational records
Organizational records offer the advantage of often having large datasets collected over time that can reveal or confirm psychological insights.
Of course, privacy and ethical concerns regarding confidential data must be navigated carefully.
However, with proper protocols, organizational records can provide invaluable context and empirical depth to qualitative case studies exploring the intersection of psychology and organizations.
How do I Write a Case Study inPsychology?
Interpreting the information means the researcher decides what to include or leave out. A good case study should always clarify which information is the factual description and which is an inference or the researcher’s opinion.
1. Introduction
2. Case Presentation
3. Management and Outcome
4. Discussion
5. Additional Items
Strengths
Case studies allow a researcher to investigate a topic in far more detail than might be possible if they were trying to deal with a large number of research participants (nomothetic approach) with the aim of ‘averaging’.
Because of their in-depth, multi-sided approach, case studies often shed light on aspects of human thinking and behavior that would be unethical or impractical to study in other ways.
Research that only looks into the measurable aspects of human behavior is not likely to give us insights into the subjective dimension of experience, which is important topsychoanalyticand humanistic psychologists.
The method is, therefore, important for psychologists who adopt aholisticpoint of view (i.e.,humanistic psychologists).
Limitations
Because a case study deals with only one person/event/group, we can never be sure if the case study investigated is representative of the wider body of “similar” instances. This means the conclusions drawn from a particular case may not be transferable to other settings.
Because case studies are based on theanalysis of qualitative (i.e., descriptive) data, a lot depends on the psychologist’s interpretation of the information she has acquired.
This means that there is a lot of scope forAnna O, and it could be that the subjective opinions of the psychologist intrude in the assessment of what the data means.
For example, Freud has been criticized for producing case studies in which the information was sometimes distorted to fit particular behavioral theories (e.g.,Little Hans).
This is also true of Money’s interpretation of theBruce/Brendacase study (Diamond, 1997) when he ignored evidence that went against his theory.
References
Breuer, J., & Freud, S. (1895).Studies on hysteria. Standard Edition 2: London.
Curtiss, S. (1981).Genie: The case of a modern wild child.
Diamond, M., & Sigmundson, K. (1997). Sex Reassignment at Birth: Long-term Review and Clinical Implications.Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 151(3), 298-304
Freud, S. (1909a). Analysis of a phobia of a five year old boy. In The Pelican Freud Library (1977), Vol 8, Case Histories 1, pages 169-306
Freud, S. (1909b). Bemerkungen über einen Fall von Zwangsneurose (Der “Rattenmann”). Jb. psychoanal. psychopathol.Forsch., I, p. 357-421; GW, VII, p. 379-463; Notes upon a case of obsessional neurosis,SE, 10: 151-318.
Harlow J. M. (1848). Passage of an iron rod through the head.Boston Medical and Surgical Journal, 39, 389–393.
Harlow, J. M. (1868).Recovery from the Passage of an Iron Bar through the Head.Publications of the Massachusetts Medical Society. 2(3), 327-347.
Money, J., & Ehrhardt, A. A. (1972).Man & Woman, Boy & Girl: The Differentiation and Dimorphism of Gender Identity from Conception to Maturity. Baltimore, Maryland: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Money, J., & Tucker, P. (1975). Sexual signatures: On being a man or a woman.
Further InformationCase Study ApproachCase Study MethodEnhancing the Quality of Case Studies in Health Services Research“We do things together” A case study of “couplehood” in dementiaUsing mixed methods for evaluating an integrative approach to cancer care: a case study
Further Information
Case Study ApproachCase Study MethodEnhancing the Quality of Case Studies in Health Services Research“We do things together” A case study of “couplehood” in dementiaUsing mixed methods for evaluating an integrative approach to cancer care: a case study
Olivia Guy-Evans, MSc
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MSc Psychology of Education
Olivia Guy-Evans is a writer and associate editor for Simply Psychology. She has previously worked in healthcare and educational sectors.
Saul McLeod, PhD
BSc (Hons) Psychology, MRes, PhD, University of Manchester
Saul McLeod, PhD., is a qualified psychology teacher with over 18 years of experience in further and higher education. He has been published in peer-reviewed journals, including the Journal of Clinical Psychology.
