Page 298 - DEDU502_GUIDANCE_AND_COUNSELING_ENGLISH

Guidance and counseling

Notes • Permitting investigation of otherwise impractical (or unethical) situations
Case studies give psychological researchers the possibility to investigate cases, which could not
possibly be engineered in research laboratories. For example, the Money Case Study.
Case studies are often used in exploratory research. They can help us generate new ideas (that
might be tested by other methods). They are an important way of illustrating theories and can help
show how different aspects of a person’s life are related to each other. The method is therefore
important for psychologists who adopt a holistic point of view (i.e. humanistic psychologists).
27.7 Limitations of Case Study

• Can’t generalize the results to the wider population
• Researchers own subjective feeling may influence the case study (researcher bias)
• Difficult to replicate
• Time consuming

What is the importance of intervention making a case study?

Self Assessment
2. Multiple choice Questions :
Choose the correct option :
(i) ______ strategy involves observing the subject, often in a natural setting.
(a) Direct observation (b) Interviews
(c) Physical observation (d) Participant observation.
(ii) ______ is not used as a source of information for a case study

(a) Interviews (b) Archival records
(c) Documents (d) Books
(iii) The first section of case history is related to ______
(a) problem (b) intervention
(c) client background (d) Diagnosis

27.8 Summary

• A case study is an in-depth study of one person. Much of work and theories were developed
through individual case studies.
• In a case study, nearly every aspect of the subject’s life and history is analyzed to seek patterns
and causes for behavior.
• Explanatory : Used to do causal investigations.
• Exploratory : A case study that is sometimes used as a prelude to further, more in-depth
research.
• Descriptive : Involves starting with a descriptive theory. The subjects are then observed and
the information gathered is compared to the pre-existing theory.
• Intrinsic : A type of case study in which the researcher has a personal interest in the case.

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