One of of three methods used for descriptive research is the case study. The case study method is the oldest form of research used in psychology today. To help you better understand what case studies are I would recommend you think of an individual person case. Case study is when someone studies one person to explain things that happen for all of us. Basically applying the outcome to all people ; one representing all. Case studies will describe your behavior. In present day we have noticed that although the individual cases may be accurate, it only applies to that one person. There will always be a conflict of interest because what may happen to one person does not necessarily happen to the next. For example you may say that after conducting a case study you have come to the conclusion that all people who drink alcohol more than 3 times a week have worse livers than a non alcoholic drinker. This may be true but there is someone who may drink even more and not be effected with the same outcome. This type of study is good because it allows you to go in depth and gain valuable informati...
What is a case study? A case study is a process or record of research in which detailed consideration is given to the development of a particular person, group, or situation over a period of time. There is many different types of cases; rape, robbery, arson, kidnapping and finally murder. Case studies lead to trials;a formal examination of evidence before a judge, and typically before a jury, in order to decide guilt in a case of criminal or civil proceedings. One famous case study that went to trial was Jodi Arias Trial. Her case was her getting convicted of brutally murdering her ex-boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
In the field of psychology, there are many reasons why a psychologist would use a case study as a research method. One reason to use a case study is so the psychologist can illustrate a problem (American Psychological Association, 2009). For example, a case study was conducted on a child named Genie that grew up in severe isolation. Due to her extremely neglectful circumstances, Genie never spoke a word until she was discovered at the age of 13. Because of the case study observations conducted on Genie, psychologists were able to conclude that if an
(What information is provided to you in the case study? What are the facts? List them all using bullet statements)
‘An analysis of persons, events, decisions, periods… in which a study is conducted and the case is illuminated and explicated." (1)
According to Bryman and Bell (2015), a research strategy is “a general orientation to the conduct of business research” (p. 37). Researchers distinguish between a qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods research. While qualitative research focuses on understanding texts and words and usually applies an inductive approach, quantitative data aims at measuring numerical and statistical data and typically follows a deductive approach (Bryman & Bell, 2015, pp. 37–38). A mixed methods research combines qualitative and quantitative research strategy, where either one of the two strategies is prioritised over the other or have the same status (Bryman & Bell, 2015, pp. 643–645).
Qualitative methods can be traced back to the ancient Greek historians. Herodotus, who is often called the father of history, traveled widely in the ancient world and recounted in his Histories the stories he had heard from the people he met. His successors down the ages recorded their observations of people that they encountered in their travels. These kinds of observations eventually became formalized in the discipline of anthropology. In clinical research, qualitative methods were first used in case histories, for instance, Breuer and Freud’s (1895/1955) first cases, which began the psychoanalytic tradition, and Watson and Rayner’s (1920) study of ‘‘Little Albert,’’ which helped establish the behavioral tradition. There is also a tradition of participant observation methods in mental health research, though they are more often conducted by sociologists than by psychologists. Classic examples of participant observation studies are Goffman’s (1961) Asylums and Rosenhan’s (1973) ‘‘Sane in insane places’’ study (Barker and Pistrang 2002).
There are many elements involved in conducting a proper research. The two general types of research designs are qualitative and quantitative. These types of designs are different in many ways. Quantitative is an objective research typically focused on numerical data. Qualitative research is subjective research focused on narrative data. This paper further elaborates on many elements that separate quantitative research from qualitative research.
Research methodology is analogous to a kaleidoscope (Cunningham, 2000). Just as a kaleidoscope reveals different shapes and colours of objects to the viewer depending on the angle at which it is held, a methodology provides different observations on phenomena for the researcher depending on how it is employed and implemented.
Case study uses information obtained from one person or a few people to illuminate the behaviors of others and suggest further research. Sigmund Freud popularized case study along with his psychonalytic theory of personality. A major advantage of the case study is that focussed on one person allows researchers to gather a great deal of detailed information. The goal of a case study is to use the information gathered from one person to understand the behaviors of others. “The case study is often used by used by psychologist in order to research into aspects of the human psyche.” (Keirs, 2009) Psychologist use experiments, interviews, questionnaires, observations, diaries, and psychometric tests are used within a case study. There are two basic types of case study; retrospective and longitudinal. In retrospective, your information comes from the history of the person you are studying. If it were a person who was being studied, you would have been to interview the person about their childhood and their family, as a result developed a report of their life and early life. In contrast longitudinal, investigates the future. They research consequences of a certain situation that has happened. The key feature in the case study method is subject matter. The subject matter is usually a person or an animal. Much like experimental case study, it often uses variables. As with any other method, it has its advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of case study is the ecological validity of it. The information that is used in these studies is from real life environment. The information is good information because the research is so in depth. The research if often very useful. There are also disadvantages and potential disadvantages. One main disadvantage is case studies usually relate to one individual, and what applies to you may not apply to me. Replication would not be easy with case study because of the unique situations.
Case can be categories as an event, process, problem, a person, or several people. Case study, itself is one of the qualitative research methodology that was introduced in 1900 years. Important about this study is it evolve a comprehensive or depth understanding of a case within a real-life (Yin, 2009). This type of approach may across many scientific discipline, especially social science, anthropology and sociology. Some scholar agreed that one of the advantages of case study is that it simplifies complex concepts. In this process, multiple source of information is involved; such as interviews, observations, audiovisual report, etc. These criteria contribute to a good qualitative case study since in-depth understanding of the case will help
In this paper, I will define quantitative and qualitative research methods and provide examples in the context of social issues which will hopefully provide insight into how this methods are properly applied.
Descriptive Research in part was selected because needed information can be collected without interfering with the environment, or having to manipulate variables. Oftentimes these are referred to as correlational or observational studies. In business, a descriptive study can provide information about the naturally occurring, behavior, attitudes or other characteristics of specific sectors. Descriptive studies are at times undertaken to illustrate just how interconnected things are in the world around
This essay is going to critically discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using surveys and questionnaires as a method of Socio-Legal research. When conducting socio-legal research, a number of methods can be used to collect useful information.
Qualitative data analysis is the process of transforming data into information, information into understanding and understanding into knowledge (Davenport & Prusak, 1998). Furthermore, qualitative data analysis can be described as a blend of scientific studies and artistic style to create an innovative product. The research acts as the primary research tool, and must be able to sustain composer throughout the entire study. In addition, the researcher must be able to pay attention to the small details of the study, without losing sight of the big picture of the study (Chenail, 2012).
Case studies are a collection of data obtained using various methods gathered on an individual or group to record areas of interest in order to assist with analysis and provide recommendations. The study should include the name of the person, although this should be protected to provide anonymity where appropriate, and a brief description of the subject. The setting where the study is to be performed should be included. The aim of the observation must be presented along with a report of the findings. The type of method used will depend upon the subject and the area of interest. Data is gathered on the subject in this case observations were used to provide the data. An interpretation of the study will be made in order to provide a conclusion and recommendations made if applicable. Freud famously used the case studies that he carried out on his patients to develop his Psychoanalytic Theory.